The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-01-09
ANDREW JACKSON
DAY CELEBRATED
Missouri Democrats Unite In a
Harmony Conference
CHAMP CLARK CONFIDENT
Democratic Leader Believes That His
Party Will Soon Regain Power
in Congress and Urges
Unity of Effort.

Kansas City, January s.-Following the
harmony conference today 800 Missouri
democrats sat down to an elaborate Jack
son day banquet at the Baltimore hotel
tonight.
Representative Champ Clark, minority
leader In the national House of Repre-
sentatives. was the principal speaker at
the dinner and following the sentiment
of the speakers of the day meeting, he
pleaded for a united democracy that
should swing Missouri back into the DEM
ocratic column.
Mr.. Clark also urged the necessity of
gaining control of Congress. This he said
was necessary not only to help in electing
a democratic President in 1912, but to
effect an honest revision of the tariff.
Norman E. Mack, chairman of the DEM
ocratic national committee. sent a letter
of regret in which he predicted that his
party would control the next House of
Representatives.
Representative II. T. Rainey of Illinois
declared strongly against the ship sub
sidy.
Champ Clark Speaks.
Regarding the purpose of the gathering.
Mr.. Clark said:
This vast gathering of enthusiasm of
Missouri democrats is the first gun of the
campaign of 1910, which 1t is said will
give us a democratic House at WASH
ington, the first step to electing demo-
cratic President in 1912. We meet under
auspices more favorable than we have
been blessed with since 1894.
Thrice is he armed that hath his
quarrel just and surely no people ever
had a more just quarrel than the Amer
lean people now have against the powers
that be.
1--WE owe 1t to the country. to the state.
to ourselves and our posterity to sink
all personal differences, to heal all
wounds, TO exercise mutual forbearance.
To practice self-abnegation to the end that
this year we may elect democratic state
ticket, a democratic legislature, a demo-
cratic United States senator and at least
democratic representatives in Congress,
and In 1912 we may sweep the country
from one side to the other.
1.-The republicans won the election under
false pretenses. They promised a re-
vision of the tariff downward in order to
get in. and when In revised it upward.
The average rate of the Payne-Aldrich-
Smoot tariff bill is In per cent higher
than the average rate of the Dingley
tariff bill. The people asked for bread
and the Aldrich- Cannon crowd gave them
a stone. They asked for a fish and are
requested to regale themselves with a
serpent.
Chances This Year.
ION the congressional campaign of 1910
the overshadowing question will be
whether public men are under any sort
of obligation to tell the truth, and unless
the public conscience is absolutely dead
which L do not believe-the republicans
will receive the bloodiest licking they
have had since 1890 Are ante-election
promises things to be depended upon and
lived up to, or are they mere tricks with
which to deceive the unwary, enticing
bats with which to catch gudgeons? II
the latter. then politics has fallen to a
low estate and contemplate condition.
1T will not help them any when ar
ranged at the bar of public opinion to
say that the republican platform simply
declared for a tariff revision without in
dicating whether that revision was to be
up or down, for their standard bearer,
Hon. William H. Taft, everywhere inter-
preted that platform declaration as mean
ing a downward revision and on that
Interpretation he won the greatest politi-
cal prize known among men.
Suppose he had interpreted the re-
publican promise of tariff revision to
mean revision upward, does any ration
al being believe that he would now be
President of the United States?'
Mr.. Clark said he believed that had
the republicans fulfilled their promise to
revise the tariff downWard-had they cut
1t down per cent on the average, or even
2 per cent-they would have eliminated 1t
from the political equation for a genera
ton. But they did no such thing. On the
contrary, they increased the average 1 n
per cent over the average of the Ding
ley bill, that, too, without counting the
increase caused by taking articles from
the free list and placing them on the
tariff list, which will probably raise the
increase to something above 2 per cent.
They thereby made the tariff question
the most important question In 1910 and
1872
Maximum Tariff.
"Also, 1t must be remembered that
on March 81, next, the Aldrich maximum
tariff of % per cent must be added
against the imports from any country
which does not grant US its minimum
rate-which will make the average in
crease of rates on the imports from
those countries about 27 per cent above
thC dFCA d6O Vi eiC 1DfhSiCy idico. surely
since the morning stars first sang together
for joy, such a stupendous confidence
game was never played upon a confiding
public.
I'm asking for tariff revision and at
the same time continuing the republicans
In Power, the American voter repeats the
condemned performance of jumping out
of the frying pan into the fire. Their
last change is worse than the first
This Payne-Aldrich-S moot monstrosity
invites trade war with every CONNER
cial nation under heaven"
Mr.. Clark referred to Speaker Cannon's
T1gin's speech, in which the latter said
the Payne tariff bill was the best ever
passed and that Representative Mann
of Illinois was the most valuable legis-
lator in Congress.
81 am doing Uncle joe a kindness, ="
said Mr.. Clark. "by suggesting that he
might very much improve his own
speeches by adopting as part of them
Mann's speech against the conference
report on the Payne-Aldrich bill. BY the
way, why did not Mr.. Speaker Cannon
read brother Mann out of the party along
with Senator Cummins, Senator LaFol-
lette, ct Id omne genus? Perhaps he
holds that "nsurging' against the rules is
a more heinous crime than fnsurging'
against the Payne-Aldrich-S moot tariff
BILL"
Democrats Should Win.
Mr.. Clark said among other things that
a democratic House should be elected: so
as to thoroughly and honestly investi-
gate the sugar and other frauds, (which
are a stencil In the nostrils Of the whole
people,"
Referring to political conventions N
Missouri the speaker said that while