Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-07

Wilson democratic tariff was so bad that
Cleveland would not sign Il and vas 50
serious a blunder that the DinGley tariff
took its place within three years. The
Dingley bill was criticised most bitterly
during all its life. A tariff bill Is a sue
cession OF compromises and always will be
so until we create a tariff commission
which shall be independent OF the local in
terests which now dictate the schedules.
With the members OF congress who voted
against the Payne tariff l have no quarrel
They executed their royal privilege and
have no one to answer 20 for their votes
excepting their constituents and their con-
science, but the Payne tariff has been en-
acted into law and no one thinks It desir-
able TO enter into a new tariff campaign
before the ink has fairly dried upon the
present schedules. II Is folly to permit
democrats to drag us Off our equilibrium
upon the trumped up suggestion that we
did or did not revise the tariff downward.
Just stop and reflect, To enact any tariff
law we must naImonize the interests Of a
majority Of the congressional districts and
a majority Of the states as they are repre-
scented in congress. We cannot pretend to
enact a law which will be wholly opposed
by political economists, publicists or chau-
tauqua speakers. We are very lucky when
we manage to have a majority as.ree to
vote for it,
Tariff Not for Revenue Only.
practical man that he il. President
Taft knows this. Everybody else ought to
know it, and the insurgent senators who
are still growing about 1t know that II
every single amendment to the schedules
proposed by them had been adopted it
would not have relieved the schedules Of
criticism. A republican tariff is enacted
not for revenue only. but for a measure OF
protection and must be adjusted to produce
revenue. The Payne tariff is producing the
! revenue. 1t it the first tariff in forty years
! which was adopted without injury to bust
ness. The wisdom Of the measure as a
whole can only be determined after it has
been in force for two or more years. Give
it the benefit Of the doubt until we can see
its workings.
President Taft entered upon his duties
with the universal good will of the Ameri-
can people. He was praised for every
utterance in his inaugural address. When
he took a hand in the tariff legislation he
was again lauded and encouraged. HIS
judicial sense and his calm good humor
pleased the nation.
"All at once there was a change of pub
lie demeanor. 1t was not due to the
winona speech. 1t did not follow the
signing Of the tariff law. His appointments
and the removal of Pinchot were not re.
sponsible. The president did not profit by
the wood pulp experience Of the speaker OF
the house. In a message to congress
President Taft stated that the deficiency
in the postal service was due to the rate.
charged for carrying newspapers and maya
zines through the mails. He recommends
that the rate be advanced to something
near the cost of performing the servic,
and suggested that such an advance woulC
save the service something like SIS, 10000
per annum.
The public press OF the country pun
ished Speaker Cannon for venturing to op
pose free wood pulp. The same press 1
now Furnishing President Taft for proposing
to make the publishers pay something nea.
the actual expense OF transporting thei
publications through the mails.
The last two sentences are well WORT
rejecting upon. Reputation is an asset o
great Importance TO a public man. TIL
: press Of America is a ruthless destroyer o
reputation. The people in the long ruI
5 reach wise conclusions, but they are some
times stsmpeded by the prints and maya
) zines. Unless the republican newspaper
wake up and inform the people correctly o.
the pretended issues OF the immediat
campaign the next congress will be demo
: cratic, the administration will be hampere-
and the country plunged into the doubt in
l cident TO a proposed radical change in gov
ernmental policy"