Omaha daily bee., 1911-07-08

Inere followed an atmosphere of sus-
pended Judgment. which In the next thing
to suspicion. regarding the president. No
body believed that he was in any way
inimical to good influence or to liberal
interests. but the radicals believed that
he was playing the harmony game on the
wrong side Of the line As spring passed
into summer and the Payne Aldrich tariff
bill was discussed in the house and SEN
ate 1t became manifest that the president
was not throwing the weight of his au-
thority in the direction OF lower revision.
that he was more insistent on getting
through the Philippine tariff and the tariff
board provisions than he was on enforcing
that revision downward OF the schedules
which he had promised In his speeches the
year before. Senator DoIliver made his
eloquent attack upon the president and
the country applauded. Ultimately the
establishment OF the tariff board of
course, Will be worth more than any other
liberalizing factor in tariff legislation DOS
sible, but that was felt TO be a remote
affair and made very little impression upon
the country, which viewed the Payne-Al-
drich bill with loathing
Then came the presidents tour to the
west. the Boston speech In which he
F-~-~NN O~N~eSA fAiuAiSh LOT MS currency
program, but which OF course the public
interpreted as laudation of the senator for
his tariff program-an unjust accuse.
tion, to be sure. Next, came the CLAWS
dismissal, which stirred the country into
almost hostility Then followed the color
less Chicago speeches, followed by the
greatest blunder OF the entire administra-
ton, the Wtnona speech, which to be sure
was not so bad as the headlines made IL
out to be. He did not really read the In
surgents out Of the party" as the head
lines said he did, but we as q people are
becoming newspaper headline readers, so
that headline now has almost more in
fluence than the reading matter that fol-
lows IT. But reviewing this Winona speech
In the most friendly way, II was really
capital error and paved the way for
the party discontents and splits which
have since occurred, The remainder OF the
western tour was q disappointment and
almost failure, In the midst Of It came
the Crane resignation. q disgrace TO the
country and the State department. The
trip down the Mississippi river dissatis
the people there by the evident attempts
OF the president 70 take a middle course
and he returned to the White House with
the cloud OF defeat hanging over his head
AS conservation had been one OF the
great and memorable achievements Of
the Roosevelt administration, the con-
servationlsts became furious over what
they regarded as the presidents retreat.
During the following winter this topic
was uppermost and Washington was full
of excitement. The CLAWS investigation
and the dismissal OF Pinchot were the
main features Of this disastrous period.
The effects OF these ouarrels. added to the
tariff bills diagnosis came quickly. Mr..
Foss was elected to congress from the
Fourteenth Massachusetts, district by an
overwhelming majority. and when a little
later . democrat was elected in the
Rochester district by az complete an over
turn, the country and the president began
to see that they were In the midst OF 4
political revolution. President Roosevelt
returned and Immediately undertook his
crusade for a new natioHalism, II seemed
sure that he would lead q great revolt The
protests against the toryism OF the Payne
Aldrich bill were overwhelming. a. every
body could see. Vermont's republican ma
jority shrunk. Maine went democratic
not because OF prohibition but because Of
the tariff blii-and the country was brae-
ing itself for the storm which broke upon
II In Noyember. The primaries that were
held throughout the west In the summer In
which the progressive elements won by