The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-23
.CUMMINSON DUTY
Iowa Senator Opens Up for the
Kansas Insurgents.
Makes Opening Speech at j. NJ.
Miller's Home.
STRIKES RIGHT OUT.
Stand Pat Republicans Driving
Country to Socialism.
Discusses Features of Tariff Bill
He Declares Are Bad.


ator Albert Cummins, of Iowa,
who in speech last night said the
! standpat Republicans were driving the
4 country into socialism, VIII address a
chautauqua audience at Peabody.
Kan. tonight. Senator Cummins will
aid the Kansas progressive Republi-
can candidates for congress by max
ing several speeches in the state with
IN the next few days. He is to speak
IN Olathe Tuesday afternoon and
| probably in Kansas City, Kan, Tues
day night.
Senator Cummins came into the
home of one of the Kansas regular
Representative James
M. M1ller-to give this message. The
senator was cheered for a minute
when he started his speech. He said:
Cannon and Aldrich and other
StandpatterS are driving the nation
into socialism, or cooperative control
and away from the individual or COM
petitive theory.
L am an exponent of the progress
slve Republican idea,'' he said. "I be-
IleVe that the Republican party can
De made the most progressive party
on earth. The one that does things,
! Tor the good of the whole country
But the special interest man must
be. eliminated. That is my sermon.
That is what talk and if it helps or
7
| Ing 1T does not bother me- For ten
years L fought for progress in Iowa
and we have won and are winning
This is not a local matter at ALL but
| one covering all this country and af-
| fecting other countries so that any
| local matter is of small consideration.
| Our forefathers ordered this govern
ment on the broad principle that in
dividual effort was better than co-op-
eratlve or collective theory of govern
ment, that the work of the individual
was of more Importance and better
for the country than the DEVELOPMENT
of the socialist or monopolistic theory
OF government and industry. 1t is
the competitive against the socialist
, theory of government. Competition
In the individual or in industry are
the only safeguard against avarice
and greed.
Speaker Cannon and Senator Aid
rich are driving the country into a
soc1alistlc form of government be
cause OF their interest in promoting
the cause of monopolies They are
unwilling to takes measures to pre-
| vent the rapidly growing tendency to-
ward monopoly or to disintegrate and
destroy the monopolies already in ex-
istence, where the prices of commodi-
ties are fixed, not by the usual laws
of trade but by the will of a single
man or group of men. Monopoly
does not mean a single factory with
absolute control of one article but a
combination of factories making the
same article whereby the prices are
the same in all, whether or not the
factories are owned by one conpanv
or are controlled through a trust
agreement.
1T is only within the last few years
that the lack of competition between
American and foreign goods has become
so marked that the people began to
talk about the tariff duties being too
high. The people have found that the
absence of foreign competition in the
markets OF this country has made it
possible for the American manufacturer
to increase his rrice at his own sweet
VII and without regard to the actual
market conditions.
THE feeling had --own that some
thing must be done with the tariff. to
re-estaolish competition in trade to
break down the monopolies. The Re
ICblican national convention realized
this and it had to make an agreement
that If it were successful it would re-
wise the tariff SO that the monopolies
and trusts could not longer annihiIate
competition through the tariff sche-
dulles. This was the first real recogni-
tion that the tariff should be put on a
scientific basis where the measure of
the import duties was set to protect
the difference in the cost of production
at home and abroad with a margin for
a reasonable profit.
In the Republican platform there
was no technical promise to revise the
tariff downward or upward. The party
simply pledged itself to make such re-
vision of the tariff as would euualize
the cost of production here and abroad
and make competition possible in this
country in many lines.
Duty to Revise Tariff.
"It was the duty of congress to make
this revisicn. Congress did not do it,
1t did not even attempt to do it, I'm
der the leadership of Cannon and Aid
rich the tariff was revised without the
slightest need to the cost of production
anywhere. # is of no avail to reduce
the duties on any commodity if the
duty is left SO high that the domestic
producer can still maintain his prices
by keeping out competition or even
make his prices higher than before and
reduced but not so 1t would benefit the
American people in any way because
there was no effort made to get at the
production cost of the article.
In many cases the charges were left
so high that the price on many articles
was increased in the face of a reduced
tariff and because the domestic manu-
facturers were not afraid of foreign
competition. Here is a sample The
duty on steel rails was reduced from
$74 a ton to $5.93 a ton and still the
U. s. steel corporation is able to main
tain a price of $2S ton because we
make rails SO much cheaper here than
in other countries.
The Cotton Schedule.
1.-The cotton schedule was actually
raised an average of 25 per cent simply
by changing the duties from ad
valorem to specific duties and this was
one of the biggest frauds perpetrated
by congress in revising the tariff. Dur
ing all the long debate on the tariff bill
Senator Aldrich never attempted to ap-
ply the standard of the Republican
platform pledge. He and his followers