New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-23
"PEANTT" ST4TESMANSHIP.


Senators. mostly insurgents. with the
Democratic minority for the, pur-
pose of forcing tariff legislation at
this session should probably be charged
IN TO hasty impulse rather than
TO cool deliberation. 1t was mani
festation Of temper rather than studied
development of fractional policy Ihe
Republican insurgents in the Senate
have been suffering for some time from
severe attack Of injured vanity. Their
attitude toward the Canadian reciproc-
ity agreement had subjected them 10
ridiculc and dissipated the political cap
ital which they had laid up as aglta-
tors for n substantial downward re-
vision" of the tariff. Their opposition
10 the Canadian compact disclosed the
fact that they were decidedly averse to
having downward revision begin at
home. The only revision acceptable 70
them was of the sort calculated TO I'M
prove their own political fortunes.
Had the insurgents when the Ca
madam agreement was submitted Ia Con-
gress announced that they would sup
port il in spite of its unpalatableness to
certain proportion Of their constitu-
ents because it was in harmony with
their plan 10 secure lower duties gen
orally. the country would have applaud
ed their position as both coura geous and
consistent They would have proved
their willingness TO take the healing
medicine which they were prescribing
for others But they were unequal 10
gTasping IN exceptional political oppor-
trnity. They bitterly attacked the Ca
madam reciprocity bill on the ground
that il would adversely affect certain
local interests i'm their own states. and
they have never recovered from the
shock Of finding that the country dc
cepted their attitude toward reciprocity
| with Canada as true measure of their
sincerity and capacity as tariff reform
| erS.
Their indignation against IN admin
| stration which uncovered their fraity
| has naturally been growing in intensity.
and il has now found expression in a
| more or less definite coalition with the
! Democratic minority TO defeat reciproc-
| ity 10y insisting that the pending House
| bill shall not he considered separately
and on its merits but he coupled with
other measures charging the free list
and revising the wool, cotton and steel
schedules.
| Formerly, the insurgents profesSed an
earnest desire 10 revise certain sched-
ules because they needed revision. Now
| they are undertaking 10 revise them pri-
mariy as a means of purchasing Demo
cratic support with which 10 Kill off Ca
madam reciprocity
II must he remembered that the Sen
ate insurgents are as much committed
as the administration is TO n revision Of
the tariff schedules step by step and in
the light of information submitted 10
| Congress by the Tariff Board. They
worked hard in the last Congress to Sc
cure Il tariff board, and most of them
! favored the creation Of tariff commits
sion with larger powers than the present
board possesses. The Iowa and Kansas
platforms of 1910 recommended further
tariff revision in accordance with the
| declarations Of the Republican national
platform of 1908, the revision of each
schedule to wait upon the findings Of a
tariff commission. Yet now the West
ern insurgents are ready to go into a
coalition with the Democrats To revise
! the wool cotton and other schedules off
hand at this session. although the Tariff
! Board has promised 10 have the data on
which a revision ought 10 be based ready
| for use at the next regular session
Blinded by their personal irritation, they
are trying to repair one error of iudg-
ment by committing another. In their
| anxiety to injure the administration
| they have thrown consistency 10 the
winds and have demonstrated that they
| have no honorable regard for their own
repeated professions and pledges. The
country is not likely to he impressed by
such peanut craftsmanship.