The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-31
INSURGENTS FEEL PULSE OF PEOPLE Know Public Sentiment Is
 With Them TAFT HAS A BIG JOB When He Goes to Wisconsin and Iowa and Roasts Insurgents He
 May Find Himself In Very
 Serious Predicament

Washington, August 30.-(SpeciaL)- Some time ago l referred to insurgents as "repentant republicans" No other phrase or name defines them so well. The plain people can understand thls' The insurgents are those republicans who saw the cloud of popular reoeilioh against standpatism coming and had sense enough to look for storm eel lar They are the individual republic ans who are not so fettered that they cannot follow the demands of public sen ntiment.
 The standpat republican is under ob- usations to the interests that he has served and that keeps him in office Where the interests still control cleo tions the representatives must and can afford to disregard the clamor of pub lie demand.
 IaFollette. Cummins. Bristow, Clapp and others of the insurgents are inn pelled to the mourners' bench of re- pentanoe by the preponderance Of sem timent in their states. If majority of the republican voters of Pennsyl- yania were ultimate consumers and men who are not under the dominating Influence of trust fed corporations, Boies Penrose would be an insurgent, as impossible as it may seem.
 President Taft and his supporters made a determined fight against the rise of insurgency in the west in 1s10 Cannon and sherman were sent Into the strongholds of the insurgents, but their efforts were useless. The in- surgents won. Insurgency Is better fortified now than it was in 1910, and yet MT. Taft, in the face of this rising tide, has dared to continue the fight This time he will not send lieutenants into the insurgent field. He will go himself When he speaks in Wisconsin and Iowa he must repeat hs criticism of LaFollette and Cummins or make some sort of explanation. He must at the same time explain his previous ut terances on the tariff and reconcile If he can his vetoes of tariff revision.
 There are thousands of people in the great consuming districts of this coun try who are coming to the point where they have less regard for party than they have for some sort of relief. The indignant republican who Is bold enough to insurge might go far enough to support a party that is honestly try ing to relieve the American people of some of their burdens of taxation.
 Mir Taft has imposed upon himself a task that but few men will envy. But it was to be expected that he would take the course he has. He is a protection ist. He and his party are bound up in 4, oil f,f They Wtl never revise burdensome tariffs down. ward until they are forced to do so. It is not the intention of the party to re- vise the tariff or to permit it's revision at the next session. They will plead for time and the opportunity to have it re- vised by the friends of protection.
 The report of MT. Taft's tariff clerks, if one is even submitted next December. will be the Egyptian puzzle that such re- ports are expected to be and in it the republican protective President will find some excuse to delay scientific" revision until the party can have an opportunity to revise as they see proper.
 Already the republican newspapers are trying to center the attention of the peo- pie on the results of the extra session that has just passed as the Issue for the 1912 campaign. They would beiittle the expected results of the next regular ses-
  of these editorial clamorings is that the results of the regular session will be Identical with those of the session just closed
 The President evidently intends to stand pat on his determination to do whatever revising there is to be done himself. He will seek every opportunity to block re- vision by democrats or even repenteant republicans until he has an opportunity to do the whole job himself with his party restored to power.
 But this time the people are looking.
 They have had promises before.
 They asked for bread and got insults.
 The republican party is pledged to pro lection Republican leaders admit it on the floor of the House and Senate Any promise that they may make during cam paign or in pinch that they will give tariff relief is insincere and the people should know it. If the people want real tariff revision downward they must look elsewhere to get 1t. It will never be honestly given by the republican party. and it should not be expected Protec- ton is the life of the republican party. If the leaders desert this policy that gives them life the party will die.