The Sauk Centre herald., 1910-12-01

Causes November Elections Both State by
Standpat Republican Whom live in Sank
and Ought to Know What They Talking About

took advantage of the occasion to key
UP the wild and woolly Westerners to
a conception of the beauties of the
Payne-Aldrich tariff measure, which
had been the principal fruit of his ad-
ministration. His own course upon
the tariff revision, which had beep
promised by his partyin the national
convention at Chicago, had been pc
culiar. He had exhibited all the
vacillation of weak character. Be-
fore his election he had said that the
promises made by his party would
have to be kept or the party would be
called to reckoning by the American
people for the violation of them. He
had asserted that "the rates were
generally excessive" and had said
that "revision in accordance with the
pledge Of the platform" meant "sub-
srantial revision downwards." Even
after the election these are his words:
"Unless we act in accordance with
our promise, or if we only keep the
word of promise to the ear and break
it to the nope, we shall be made ac-
countable to the American people and
shall suffer such consequences as fail
ure to keep faith has always been
visited with"
The promise was broken, and under
( the subtle manipulation of the crafty
and experienced Aldrich and his
crowd the president slowly drifted
from his position. Mr. Taft has been
described by Senator Dolliver as a
very affable gentleman surrounded by
men who knew exactly what they
wanted; and the Characterization is
accurate. After four months of as
unseemly legislative deliberation as
our country has ever witnessed in
which the old theory of protection
was. hardly limited at, but amidst the
swap and swindle, the favored inter-
ests struggled openly and brazenly for
an over-share of the loot, the notori-
Gus tariff bill of 1909 came up to the
president. He gave it his signature,
and upon the same day in his explain
atory statement, uttered his last
feeble protest when he referred to
the measures as not "a complete compli-
ance with the promises made, strictly
interpreted" Since that time Mr..
Taft has addressed his efforts to con-
vincing our citizens that this statu-
tory monstrosity is the "best tariff
legislation ever affected"
But the American people have
taken the president at his word as
put forth in his earlier speeches; and
to this record of broken promises, of
party recreancy, and of bold piratical
disregard of the pu bile interests, the
American people have passed their
unmistakable comment. Beginning
with Maine, where for the first time
in generation, the republicans were
wholly routed, and ending with the
November elections throughout the
country, from ocean to ocean, the
peoples answer to the dominant
party was un-equivocally expressed.
Now let us be fair. l am not even
as democrat claiming that this voice
of the people was a token of special
confidence in the democratic party.
/ believe it, primarily and principally,
to have been an emphatic, stern, a
magnificent rebuke to the republi-
can party, or rather, to be more ex-
act, to the ruling faction therein.
For the progressive republicans have
escaped the storm of popular condem-
nation. Wisconsin replied to Taft,
Sherman, Aldrich and Cannon with
the marvellous majority given LaFol-
lette; and in the first congressional
district in Minnesota the presidents
Winona speech was answered by the
choice, not of a democrat, but of a
progressive republican to fill Tawney's
place.
What of the future? To my mind
it is guess at the best. / believe
that the aggressive and devoted in
surgents are the only hope of the re-
publican party. They may prevent
the craft from going upon the rocks.
Stand-patism is an impossiblity. 1t
is bourbon, and the times would have
to be out of joint more than they are,
for it to prevail.
And / am free to confess that am
not so hilarious as some of my polit-
ical friends over this off-year success
of the democratic party. With little
chance for constructive legislation
continued on page 5