Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1911-08-24
Our Washington Letter.

| sented to him fOr the 1euuCtlOH vi th9
high tariff duties now in force have prac-
tically nominated him for reelection and
made the issue of the next campaign so
plain that the campaign will be simple.
The Republican party can not tail to
renominate William H. Taft for the pres
idency again without repudiating him
and his administration, now that he has
made the issue so plain. Had he per-
mitted the bills reducing tariff duties to
become laws without his signature, or
had they not been passed, there might
have been doubt as to his denomination.
but now as the champion OF the highest
protection this country has ever known,
and having forced the issue OF tariff re-
duction upon the two great political par
ties, Mr.. Taft is the logical nominee OF
his party for the presidency, and unless
the party would repudiate him and his
record as President the Republicans must
nominate him again.
Not only does Mr.. Taft's course in We
tong the tariff bills insure his own re-
nomination, but it makes the issue OF the
removal of tariff burdens from the backs
of the people the principal one for the
coming campaign. For years the people
have been crying for relet from the bur-
pens of tariff taxation. In the last CAM
paign the cry became so persistent that
Mr.. Taft had TO conStrue the Republican
platform as promising downward re-
vision of the tariff and gave his personal
pledge for himself and his party that this
should be done. But as soon as he was
elected, he repudiated his promises, ap-
proved the Payne-Aldrich bill, increaS-
ing the tariff duties, although he himself
was forced to declare that it was not what
had been promised and that its wool
schedule was "indefensible," and as
soon as the opportunity was offered him
to approve of bins reducing the tariff du-
ties in accordance with his campaign
promise he vetoed them instead OF sign
ing them.
The Democrats have long been prom
ising that at the first opportunity they
would reduce the tariff duties and remove
as far as possible the tariff burdens from
the American people. The opportunity
came and the Democrats have fulfilled
their promise so far as it has been pos
sible to do so in few months OF legiSla-
ton, with hostile Senate and hostile
President to check them in anything they
may do in the interest of the people and
against the interests of the trusts. Prac-
tically every schedule in the tariff bill has
been gone over and the duties reduced,
especially where the duties are found to
be in the interests of trusts and calculated
10 increase the duties on the necessities
of life. When Champ Clark was asked il
he had heard from The wool growers and
the manufacturers of wooden goods, he
replied that he had heard from ninety
three millions OF American people who
are demanding cheaper clothing and that
it was because OF this great cry from the
people for relief that the Democrats in
the House had taken up the wool bill,
first of all the tariff changes.
But, although the President himself has
said the existing wool schedule is Gin
defensible" and has said that the duty on
wool is "too high and that it ought to
have been reduced" he has vetoed the
bill in which the Democrats in the House
and the Democrats and progressive
Republicans in the Senate had tried to
| give relief from the tariff burden under
which the people are suffering. In his
campaign he declared in favor ofthe peo-
pie; in his administration he has stood
by the trusts to the extent ofvetoing bills
intended for the popular relief. The
Democrats have kept their promises; the
Republicans have broken theirs and the
President has promised one thing and
done another.
The issue in the next campaign is plain
1t will be whether the people will sup
port the party which actually passed bills
reducing the tariff duties or for the party
which includes the President who vetoed
them-whether the people or the trusts
are TO be the beneficiaries in Congress
Sional legislation.
During the closing days of tle session,
Individual members of Congress, in either
House, have accomplished little. The
time of both Senate and House has been
taken up with the consideration of such
important measures as the tariff bills, the
Statehood bill, the campaign publicity
bill and other matters of general legisla-
ton, and the individual has had little to
do unless he had some speech he wanted
TO get before the Senators or Congress
men in regard to one OF the pending big
bills. There has been no opportunity
for the individual TO get private bills
through during the tendency OF the more
important matters and there has been nc
necessity TO introduce bills when the ad-
journment was in sight Consequently
the West Virginia members have moi
been making very much news in the last
few days. They have been voting right
however, on all the bills which have
come up for passage. Both in Senate
and House the West Virginia Democrats
have voted strictly in accord with the
party on all measures which have come
up. Congressman Hughes, the lone Re-
publican from the State, who reached
here few days before time for adjourn
merit, has voted consistently with the
rest of the "StandDatterS" and against tht