New-York tribune., 1910-06-04
uR. FOLKS PLATFORM.

WR. FOLKS PLAFFORM
In announcing his candidacy for the
Democratic Presidential nomination in
1912 Ex-Governor Joseph W. Folk of
Missouri felt impelled, no doubt, to sub
Scribe TO various principles which pass
current as Democratic. In his speech at
St Louis on Thursday evening he at
tempted to prove his orthodoxy as JEFF
fersonian by declaring in favor of state
rights. the election of United States
Senators by a direct vote, the abandon
ment of the Philippines and the levying
of lust federal income tax. Alr. Folk
achieved prominence as district atfof-
ney and Governor of Independent ten
deneies. inclined TO put his duty TO the
public above partisan interest He ola
a good work in Missouri, where partisan
ship has been carried To extremes, and
his character as q Democratic leader
somewhat in advance of Democratic
sentiment was further established by his
defeat for the SenatOrship two years
ago i'm a Democratic primary. his suc-
cessful rival being that model of the
Jeffersonian virtues as they were under
stood in Missouri before the Folk ad-
ministration-the Hon. William joel
Stone.
To attract the support of the Missouri
Democracy it may have seemed im-
portant to Mr.. Folk to swear fidelity
TO "anti-imperialism" and the popular
election Of United States Senators. 1T
used to be necessary to take an oath of
LOYALTY to the ratio of is TO /. But Il. z.
Bland is dead now and William j.
Bryan is i'm Europe, so Mr. Folk evil
IDENTIFY considered himself released from
that historic vow. Most of his other
vows were no doubt perfunctery, for
after making them he crowded them
aside with the assertion that there was
only one first class issue before the peo-
pie of the United States.
That issue, he said, was the perpetual
ton or elimination of privilege, and be
tried to make it fit the eXigencieS of his
candidacy by arguing that the Repub-
lican party was seeking to defend privi-
lege while the Democratic party was
seeking to destroy it. Mr.. Folk has not
forgotten his experiences as prosecuting
to believe that line dividing those de
Tending privilege and these attacking it
would be exactly parallel with line
separating the Republican party from
the Democratic. Yet he Over-ingen-
iously tries TO make sheep of one body
Of voters and goats of the other by
charging that those who favor prOtec
tive tariff are on the side of privilege,
while those who favor a revenue or non
protective tariff are battling for justice
and equality.
It is hardly creditable TO Ex-Governor
Folks reputation for independence and
breadth of judgment that he should Sue
cumb to so shallow Il misconception.
The Republican party has favored pro-
tectiye tariffs not as means of benefit
ing individuals, but as a means 3f stimu-
lating industry. improving the wages of
labor and creating greater national pros
perity. 1t has always held that if
duty did not benefit the country as
whole it ought 10 lie repealed There
may have been tariffs under which in
diTidual manufacturers obtained over
protection and profited excessively But
the protection was not intended prima-
rily for them but fer the industry in
which they were engaged, whose devel-
opment necessarily helped along in zthe
general development The Republican
party may have to confess to errors of
Judgment in estimating the protection
needed in certain lines of production.
But no critic can justly say that its in
tention was to create a privileged class
or TO Pamper individuals at the expense
of the public. Such Il policy would. be
as intolerable to most Republicans as it
would be 10 most Democrats. Mr. Folk
is strangely misinformed as to the pur-
poses and feelings of the Republican
party, or else he has stopped TO q fan
t8stie Misrepresentation in order to i'm
prove his fortunes 81 a Presidential can
Gidate