The Republican journal., 1910-06-09
Washington Letter.

WASHINGTON, D. c., June 6. Demo-
cratic leaders in Congress are now max
ing campaign material. To be sure, it is
not very good material, but the best OBJ
tainable. A party without a record, or
whose small record is SO bad that it can
not be defended is not in very strate-
getic position when it comes to speech
making for campaign purposes. The
general point of Democratic attack is
tariff, and yet we cannot find in single
speech any reference to the only Demo-
cratic tariff law of the past half CEN
fury. There is no allusion whatever to
the conditions of business, of labor, or
capital, under the operation of the Will
son-Gorman law
Champ Clark, Underwood, Sulzer,
Byrd, Borland, and the two new acci-
dental members, Ravens and Foss, made
long and studied attempts to condemn
the present tariff law, but all sang much
the same song. All these protective
tariff haters had good word to say for
the tariff of 1916 and 1857, which brought
such disaster to American industry. None
of them, however, had kind word to say
for the Wilson, German tariff, but all were
quite sure if they had the opportunity,
they would revise the present law so far
downward that the American consumer
would be able to buy anything he wanted
from any part of the earth-as long as
he had anything to buy it with.
The Democratic tariff talker does not
seem to realize that when we open our
ports to the importations of cheap for
eign made goods, that an equivalent
amount of American made goods must
always be displaced, and that the result
must be a closing of our factories and
millions of idle men. Some of these
Democratic orators, if not all, would in
crease our free list so as to include lum-
Der, wool and woolens, cotton goods,
agricultural implements, boots and shoes,
and all other products of leather, and
hundreds of other products which could
not be made in this country without ade-
quate protection. This would soon mean
putting American labor on the same level
with that of the poorest paid countries
abroad. 1t would mean that we would
have to compete not only with continental
Europe, but with Japan and other Aslatic
countries.
While the Democrats have been making
pleas on these lines, such Republican
leaders as Payne, Fordney Boutell, Hill,
Longworth, McKinlay, Hamilton, Town
send, Reeder, Campbell, Young, and
many others have been contending that
the present tariff law is the best that we
could get, and that under its operation,
both from revenue and industrial stand
point, the country is reaping such bene-
fits as we have never before enjoyed.
1t is interesting to compare these Dem
ocratic and Republican speeches The
tirely negative, except where assertions
are made as to what the party would do
if it had the chance, but there is no men
ton made of what it did do when it did
have the chance. On the other hand, the
Republican speeches are filled with tables
of figures, with the records of commerce,
with the amounts of revenue, with the
increased number of those employed,
and the increased wages which have
come under our new law. The Demo
cratic orator claims that prices have
been raised because of the tariff; the
Republican orator tells us in reply that
the tariff was reduced on every article
upon which the price has been raised.
These speeches which were made while
the sundry civil appropriation bill was
under debate, prove that the tariff is to
be one of the principal issues of the
campaign, or rather not the tariff ques-
ton 50 much as the discussion of the re-
suits of the operation of the law under
which we are now living.
Of course, when it comes to this point,
the Republicans have a far better argu-
ment; in short, the Democrats have nc
argument at all, because no one can con
ceive how present industrial and financial
conditions could be bettered under any
revision that could be brought about by
the Democratic party.
1t is believed now that the session will
be prolonged until after July LIST, but
that the result will mean the passage of
several very important bills and the en-
actment of most benefcent legislation.
There seems no doubt whatever but that
the railroad bill will be passed and receive
the endorsement of almost the entire Re-
publican vote in both Houses, as we'll as
the approval of the President 1t seems,
too, quite likely that Postal Savings
Bank law will be enacted. AS to the rest
OF the legislation pending, it is too early
to predict, but already it is safe to as
sumo that the work of the first Congress
under the administration of President
Taft in its special and first session will
be equal to, if not exceed, that of any
previous Congress for many years.