The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-16
LIVE WASHINGTON $gSSIp.
DEMOCRATIC VICTORY PREDI6,1,.
ED BY MANY POLITICIANS
The Tariff Issue, the Row i'm Repub-
lican Camp and Cannonism Belicy-
ed to be Turning People Against
Republicans-Taft Will Try to Smc-
ceed Himself.

SHdiip CldTk as speaker, and Under
wood of Alabama, as the Democratic
floor leader.
An insurgent meets G.. @. -.
standpatter in the corridor Of the
capitol. Says the insurgent:
'Well, it happened! And it was
just as I told you standpatters it
would be. You have been wiped off
the political map. Tawney Of Mime
sofa Is gone, Smith Of Iowa is gone,
and the few members of the old
standpat bunch that did get back can
count their majorities on one hand.
But 1t serves you fellows right. You
had ample warning. You allowed
Cannon and Aldrich to throttle every
piece of progressive legislation that
came up, and the public was on to
you at every jump in the road. You
revised the tariff upward when you
promised to do just the opposite. But
even then you were not satisfied with
the predicament you found yourself
In. You capped the climax by hav-
ing President Taft declare the Aid
rich-Payne-Smoot bill to be the best
tariff measure ever enacted into law,
when as matter of fact even the
American school children knew the
bill was filled with jokers conceived
to rob the people for ,the thieving
sugar trust and other tariff benefici-
aries. 1t was absolutely certain that
the public would whack you over
your political heads at the very first
opportunity. And they did,"
Then the regular gives his version
Of it, as follows:
Il fear, my friend of the west, that
you do not apply the law Of cause
and effect to the situation. The de-
feat of the regular organization was
due to few reformers and traitors
who called themselves Republicans,
but were really Democrats. Pretend
ing TO be Republicans, they learned
all Of the organization secrets and
then started in on a campaign of
blabbing instead of fighting the
thing out in caucus as they should
nave done and as they would have
done had they been Republicans with
the good Of the party at heart. You
fellows acted like Democrats from
the start, and Uncle joe called the
right time on you when he called you
Democrats. You mention the sugar
joker. Do you know how much
money the sugar people contributed
to the Republican campaign fund? If
you don't, you hadn't ought to say a
word. The sugar joker, my friend,
and every other piece of legislation
about which you complained, was alb
solutely necessary to bring in cam
paig funds. BY making such a howl
over these particular features of the
tariff bill, you only directed attention
to the organization business methods
with the result that Republican vot-
ers deserted us by regiments. The
result Of your wretched politics is
that the present house is Democratic.
and the next President is mighty
likely to be Of the same religion.
Shame on the insurgents!"
Just then along comes Uncle Joe",
who has been defeated for reelection.
but has opened a lobby in Washing
ton for Standard Oil and the LIQUOR
people. The standpatter appeals to
the old gentleman with stogie, but
the latter waves him TO one side,
saying that he has made his millions
and has therefore assumed the GUS
tomary public be damned" attitude.
i:ven the Republicans are not
finding it 50 hard to imagine the next
House Democratic, especially when
ihf: stop to cOnsider-first, the result
of the recent Congressional election i'm
the Sixth Missouri district, where
100 per cent. gain was made by Dick
inson, the Democratic candidate: sec
zine straw ballot, which showed 517l
Republicans approving and G.313j
Republicans disappearing the atti-
tude of the tariff; and third-the re-
ducing of the majority Of the tariff
law was the sole issue, from 10000 to |
5000. 1t should not be overlooked |
that the voters Of the Sixth Missouri
district who rnpudiated the Payne
Aldrich- -Smoot law are at the present
time receiving high prices for but
ter and eggs, grain and livestock, and |
it was this class of voters the Repub- |
licans had expected to find enthusi-
astically endorsing tariff revision up
rd