The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-09
|DRAW LINES FOR
 1872 CAMP PA|GN Entire Battle to Hinge on
 Tariff Question THE COST OF LIVING Democrats Are Now Looking for History to Repeat Itself-Mak-
 ing Capital During the
 Present Session
By JONATHAN WINFIELD

Washington, July s.-(Special.) .)-Issues for the 1912 presidential campaign are already clearly drawn. Something new may arise between this time and the date for framing the platforms of the two parties, but the one paramount issue, tariff reform, is now fixed and the bat tie will be fought out on that question. The whole attitude of the democratic House has been one of forcing tariff to the front. The Senate, too, that is that l part of the Senate favorable to revision of the Payne-Aldrich bill, has joined with l the House in calling the attention of the | country to the necessity of lower tariff duties if the cost of living Is to be lowered.
 And so it happens that the tariff is to be the one great issue for next years fight. This has been the one issue upon which the democrats were able to elect President since the Civil war. Cleve- land ran both times on low tariff plat form and twice entered the White House as the result.
 Democrats are now looking to history to repeat itself. They have confident feeling that next year the country will follow up its congressional vote of last November by electing democratic Sen ate and a democratic President. If the tariff can be made to serve their purpose in carrying this election, they will make | the most of it.
 This explains in a measure why the democrats in Congress are willing for l reciprocity to pass Reciprocity Is tarln revision of the most pronounced type. 1tnn dent, but that makes it all the more necessary that the democrats support 1t. | They could not consistently do other wise They have preached lower tariff duties for years, and if they were to turn down the only real opportunity they have had since the enactment of the Will son-Gorman law to vote for lower tariffs, they would undoubtedly appear to the country as political hypocrites of the
 worst type.
 Therefore they are for reciprocity. They are willing for the President 10 have his share of the credit for this
 movement if there Is any credit know ing all the while that he must divide that credit with the democrats who
 are to put the measure through, II II
 goes through.
 . Then too the action of the House in putting out the farmers free list bill, admitting to this country articles used by the farmers at lower rate than at present, has it's political significance. This measure is intended to appeal to the farmer vote. The farmers have had protection on their products and
 want protection still, but they would like to get the things they have to buy } at just as low a cost as possible. That r is why the free list measure is ex- : pected to win over large element of l the farmer vote in the election year
 from next November.
 l The free list bill may never be en- r acted into law, and probably will not f at this session with a republican pres
 ident and republican Senate standing 2 in its way, but whether or not, the
 democrats will insist that they have , done their part, and they will lay the
 blame for any failure to enact the bill , upon the republicans.
 But the democrats have gone still further in the programme for bringing
 up the tariff before the country. They have introduced the wool bill, revising
 the duties under schedule K of the |, | Payne law. This is another measure
 which the republicans as a whole have
 shown no inclination to support. They enacted the Payne law not much more than IS months ago, and they hesitate now to repudiate the work done then. This is true in spite of the fact that | President Taft has declared that this
 
 by republican members of House and Senate. and will have to be defended further, when the Senate attacks be- gin, but the influence of President Taft may be strong enough to put it through the Senate and allow it Ito become law
 If this action should be taken there is no doubt that the wind will be taken out | of at least one of the democratic sails. It is the present anticipation of the dem | ocrats to hold this measure up to the country as one of the really inquitous 1 acts of the republican party. If the re- publicans, therefore, should join with the democrats and revise this schedule, there l will be little left upon which to base a campaign argument.
 1 The House committee on ways and means is at work on a revision of the cotton schedule. This is to be another campaign bill. It will hardly pass the Senate, but if it fails, by reason of re- 1 publican opposition, it will make better campaign material than If it went l through.
 This is the basis for the big campaign issues next year. These bills will fur nish the democrats with the material with which they may appeal to the voters for | their suffrage.
 Next to the tariff, administrative and 1 legislative economy will be an issue of I vestigations now in progress are designed primarily to make campaign matter. 1 Every one of the executive departments is on the grill Committees are probing l deep into the records of expenditures, and are preparing reports which will show that billion dollar Congresses are simply the result of republican extrav- l agance.
 | The republicans will meet these two issues with strong argument. They will show that it was their President who in- augurated reciprocity, and their Presi- dent who demands the revision of Sched-
 ule K As for the other questions of
 the tariff revision, they will fall back
 upon the argument that the tariff board should report on them before they are put through a revision process. On the economy issue they will rely
 upon the Presidents plans for the econ omy and efficiency commission to sup port their good intentions with regard
 10 cutting down expenditures. These facts show that both sides have some : strong talking points, and indicate even ' now that next years campaign books will not be altogether stupid reading for the thoughtful voter
 Fatal Bridal Tour