The Irish standard., 1910-03-05
THE NATIONS CAPITAL
Interesting to Know What
Attitude the
Ex-President Will Take in
Coming Elections.
Growing Belief That Balm
ger Will Resign.
Special to the Irish Standard.

Special to the Irish Standard
Washington, March 3.-Washington
political circles are no better informed
now as to what attitude Theodore
Roosevelt is going to take in the ap-
preaching Congressional elections than
they were a month ago. Standpatters,
progressives and Democrats are strain
ing their ears for sounds that will in
dictate which side of the fence the
strenuous ex President and rhino
hunter is going to be on, as regards the
Taft and LaFollette factions of the
Republican party But so far not an
inkling of information appears to have
been received from Africa.
Perding information from the cor
respondents awaiting Roosevelt in
Cairo, both star6patters and progress
ives are claiming Roosevelt's SYM
pathy. The progressives are unable to
see how Roosevelt can indorse Taft
without indorsing Aldrich and Cannon.
The three are inseprably linked.
The President. Senator Aldrich and
Speaker Cannon form a triumvirate
They cooperate even on the smallest
things, and each Of the triumvirs pub
licly pays tribute to the wisdom and
craftsmanship of the other two.
If Colonel Roosevelt should go so far
as to endorse the Taft-Aldrich- Can
non administration, as John A. Ste
wart, president Of the New York State
League Of Republican Clubs asserts hs
will do, it is difficult to see how he
can retain his present hold on those
western editors who have recently been
voicing their dissatisfaction with the
Taft administration. An endorsement
of Taft by Roosevelt will in all likli-
hood mean that Senator Robert M. La
Toilette will! step into r. RS place as
the logical one to rescue the Repub-
lican leadership from the control Of
the trusts and special interests.
Congress is learning more about the
Payne Aldrich- Smoot tariff law every
day. Rep. Morris Sheppard, one Of the
most prominent members of the Texas
delegation, directed attention to one
excessive rate after another. The Re.
publican side of the House gave close
attention to Sheppard's exposures, but
made no attempt to refute his facts or
figures.
Zone of the chief outrages of the
new Republican tariff is Schedule I,
covering cotton manufactures" said
Sheppard. at contains provisions for
added duties wherever cotton goods
have been mercerized and wherever
they can be separated into threads,
tripling, and quadruplins the already
high tariff rates on a vast class of
common cotton stuffs. According to
the official Republican estimate the
duties in the cotton schedule were raised
from an average ad valorem of 44.S4
in the Dingley Jaw to 50.62 in the Payne
i
ing from S. to 81 per cent under this
new Republican tariff, cotton under
wear q tax of from SO to so per cent
while cotton ribbons and suspenders
bear a tax Of 45 per cent. Even the
wicks of the candles that feebly light
the poorest hresides are taxed nearly
Kn nor can't urhi1o Aior,ord~ on1 y,oo vic
in another section of the law, escape
: with charge of only 10 per cent. The
home manufactures of cotton have a
value Of a billion dollars year, on
which the American people must pay
the equivalent of an average tariff
charge of over 50 per cent.
IF there was schedule in the
Dinglsy law which needed thorough
overhauling it was the wooden sched-
ule, with rates on blankets ranging
from 107 to 1865 per cent, on the cheap
er flannels 40 per cent, dropping to
60 and rs per cent for oriental rugs
and velvet carpets, and keeping the
main burden of taxation upon the mas
ses. This schedule remains practically
!, unchanged, imposing the Dingley aver
age ad yalorem of nearly 60 per cent.
Y Thus, to raise s36,000,OO0 of revenue
Ssgon $62,000,000 worth of wooden i'm
ports, the American people are sub
\ jected to a tax of nearly so per cent
Con the 1897 100000 worth of wooden
Il goods manufactured annually in the
United States.
1T is a typical Republican act to
keep cottons and woolens which are
30 necessary to the comfort and life Of
1.-The masses, under as high tax as
silks, which only the more fortunate
may wear; yea, to keep the cheaper
grades of the former under much
higher impost than the latter.
Il 1.-THE labored efforts of the Repub-
tn, 1,,. s-t~