Bisbee daily review., 1911-05-25

l necessarily costly. A man cannot e/I ! into office without the expenditure Of a good deal of money. even if he ! confines the eXpediturcs 10 perfectly ! legitimate objects. The sources of money are therefore the sources ot political opportunity and power, and those who supply the money can l generally conrroa the nOninauonsg
 that Is to say. the selection Ot those who are to exercise the powers Of ! government and of law making. And l opportunity does not stop at elec- ton. The men elected to office ger- ! erally hope 10 have some political future. and they find that future in turn controlled at the source; so that | those who supply the 'sinews oi
 war are too often able to exercise a kind of command which depTives l representatives of the people of their own real independence. It re | Quires a great deal or courage and an unusual amount !oI individual in- iuative to serve in one of our les l Islatures without being touched and l resrainef and coerced in some de- gree by influences of this kind.
 TFs Tariff Evil.
 one of the best instances t4et could be cited e the whole disai- pointing business of our legislation with regard to import duties The tariff has been the most prolific source of the corrupt interference co business with politics that inc eT- perieuce Of the country has afforded. Almost every Kind<Of business Is af- fected directly or indirectly by the tariff laws and it has in recent years become notorious that the schedules ui the tariff were arranged by the ways and means committee Of the house Of representatives and the r. nance committee or the senate with very tender regard for particular business interests.
 Source of Corruption
 Everybody will agree that 1T Jne tarf1 policy is indeed 10 be pro- tectiye and to seek the objects which it has always pretended 10 seek. it is perfectly legitimate that it should have to pay a very careful regard to the business interests of the country taken as q whole. But taat IS a very different matter from paving regard to the individual In, terests Of particular undertakings and of particular groups of men. Tue long and short Of the whole expser- fence. as we now see 1t, is tnat our whole tariff legislation has degener- sted rom a policy Of protection ln- 10 a policy or patronage The party which has stood most consistently for the so called system Of protection has 1erived not a little of it's power rom the support or the great uusl- ness interests of the country. | do not mean the moral support merely. | mean that it has been supplied with immense sums of money for the conduct Of it's campaigns and for maintenance of it's organization and that. whether consciously or uncon sciously, it has established part nership with the manufacturing in terests of the country which has de urived it of it's liberty of action in all matters touching the tariff. It is bound by obligations, tacit and eX- plicit, to see that those interests are not damaged which have been its most sralwart packers and support CTS.
 Finance Committee Corrupt.
 It has again and again happened. therefore, to the scandal of the whole country. that items and claus es have been inserted into our tariff laws which were not even explained to the members or congress. which received no exposition al all, which were a matter Of private arrange ment and understanding between the representative of certain great business interests and the members of the ways and means committee Of the house and the finance commit tee of the senate. The finance com mittee of the senate in particular during many years was the strong hold of these special interests. ! am not intimating direct cOrrurtiOn Of any kind l am speaking now only Of that subtle corruption Of the will Go which I have already referre7. The will dominant in the finance com mittee of the senate has for many decades together been subseryient to the dictates and to the interests of particular groups of men. Their interests have been served constant ly and often in defiance Of the well known opinions and purposes not on ly Of the national administration but of the members of the houses as we3i for reason struggled in vain against the dictates of the orDujpo- tent leaders of the senate.
 Here displayed in it's grossest form was the intimate power of business over politics.
 Business Men Our Hope.
 The country has definitely made up it's mind that it will get at tie root of the matter and or all other matters like it, and that it wiu break up this alliance. There was time when it looked as if to accon- plish this would involve very dan gerous sort Of strife between the general mass of voters in the conn try and those who exhibited splen- did talents in building up the bus mess of America. But. happily. that threat has disappeared IL is one of the happy circumstances of our time that the most intelligent and progressive of our business men have sga~a tho al Ira Fh.,