The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-11-03
The National Campaign.

teresting and significant phase of the
Congressional campaign of 1910 is the
fact that the Democratic party, the
Democratic leaders and the Democratic
press, are not expecting or hoping for
success at the polls on November 9th be-
cause of any merits of the party. They
are not presenting to the voters any
claims whatever that their candidates
should be supported because of what the
Democratic party has done or expects to
do. Their whole basis for any expecta-
ton or hope of victory lies in the one
fact that the Republicans are, or have
been, more or less divided.
Neither has there been any attempt to
convict the Republican party of negli-
gence or incapability. Not once has any
Democratic speaker or paper had the
temerity to claim that Republican legis-
lation Of the past few years, and partic-
ularly at the last session of Congress,
was not only up to the standard, but far
in excess of all previous records.
Nor has there been any attack upon
the Administration, either in the way of
pointing out Department scandals or
undue extravaganza; in fact the Demo-
cratic leaders and the Democratic press
have had to acknowledge, if only tacitly,
that the Republican party in both legis-
lation and Administration has proved it
self worthy of continuance in power.
1t is true that the Democratic leaders
in Congress before the close of the ses-
sion and since adjournment on the stump
have endeavored to attack the tariff law
passed at the extra session. This at
tack has largely been confined to one
due to that revision Of the tariff, and yet
just as soon as a Democratic spellbinder
is asked to show or to prove in what way
the various reductions of that tariff We're
connected with the higher prices of the
necessaries of life he retreats ignomini-
ously and drops the subject without
further comment.
| Democratic success cannot come
through any exploitation of Democratic
action; it cannot come through any ref
erence to what the Democratic party did
the last time it was in power; it cannot
come through any promises that the
Democratic platform has made for the
future, for the only promise that is made
at all emphatic by any Democratic
speaker or paper is the threat to pass
through the House tariff for revenue
only, and the people of the country are
not ready to accept a revision of that
sort. The question then arises, will the
Democratic party without record of
anything accomplished, and only with a
history that cannot be repeated, expect
to be returned to power simply because
of a dissatisfaction and unrest that has
swept over the country because Of the
higher cost of living, when it can be
shown beyond question that in no way
can the higher cost of living be attrib-
uted to the last Republican revision of
the tariff.
1t is true that there have been differ
ences in the Republican party concerning
methods and details of legislation-it is
true that the last tariff law was no more
satisfactory to all sections of the country
and to all conditions of people than has
ever been any tariff law enacted previ-
ously III our history by either party. But
that very law with which so much fault
is found by some provided for way to
improve it should it prove detrimental to
any section or industry throughout the
country, and the people have the assur-
ance of the President and the leaders of
the party. as announced in the various
platforms, that if the Tariff Board con-
stituted by that law and provided with
the necessary funds for investigation,
should show to the President that any
schedule was operating to the detriment
of any industry in any section of the
country that revision would be recon-
mended and the fault rectiied
! We have no such promises from the
Democrats-if they are put into power
they will frame and pass an entirely new
law-framed with only one object in
view, tc destroy protection and to reduce
the production of this country either
through foreign importations or the
adoption of a reduced scale of wages to
correspond with those of our competitors
abroad
On the other hand, the Republicans, if
continued in power. promise not only to
rectify any inequality in the tariff, but
to carry out to full completion all of the
pledges made by the party in it's last
National platform. 1t is then for the
voters on the Sth of November to choose
between party that has done nothing
and promises nothing, and a party that
has done even more than it has promised