The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-20
POLITICAL TRANSITION.


tics in this country arc now in a
transition state The machine Repub
lieans, the stand patters, occupy prac'
tically the same position with respect
to progressive movements that the
Democratic party occupied in the
days of Buchanan with respect to the
slavery movement and the ou-sweeping
tornado Of political convulsion that led
to the War of the Rebellion. The
machine Democrats Mt that time re-
fused to SEQ that the people were
aroused on that vital question, and
:hat they were determined. not only
to prevent the spread of slavery, but
to preserve the Union nj whatever
sacrifice might be demanded,
Likewise, the people are now
aroused on the great questions of
trusts, monopolies, and speculative cor
ners on the necessities of life, which
make food prices far and away
beyond any fair or living rate. II is
but few days ago that thousands of
tons of cold storage stuff was thrown
ihe spectators were unable to carry
The burden of their own speculative
iniquities any longer.
Three years ago, when the people Of
the country demanded revision down
ward of the tariff, so as to gain re-
lief from the speculative combines. the
Republican party yielded to the popu-
,ar demand and inserted in its Ma
tional platform n promise TO revise the
tariff, as everybody understood, down
ward. In pursuance of this under
standing the Presidential candidate,
Mr., Taft, made express and explicit
PROMISES that the tariff should be re-
visad downward, he having no ques
lion whatever but that this was the
true meaning of the platform. Heed
less of this, and defiant of the public
viii. the stand .patters in Congress pro
cccded to pass the bunko tariff law,
which revised upward in place of
downward. The people were incensed,
and last fall visited vengeance upon
the party that was responsible for this
breach Of faith,
Stubborn against the reception of
the lesson thus inculcated, the stand
zatters arc now fighting the Canadian
reciprocity agreement. oblivious of the
public demand that il should be rati
Ged. President Taft understands the
will Of the people in this matter far
better, and is more honest and earnest
in responding TO il, than the stand
pat majority in the present Congress,
a majority that will be very largely
reduced through its own stiff-necked
recalcitrancy.
The San Francisco Chronicle dis
cusscs this situation under the cap
ton, "Thc Republican Brcak.up," and
it holds that no one can foretell
the political cleavage that will appear
two years hence. We believe that TO
be exactly truc. The people of this
country arc firing OF the Republican
machine. The stand-pat leaders of
that party refuse to listen TO the pub
lie voice; they decline to yield any
thing from their maleficent determi.
nation TO have things their own way,
no matter what the people want.
With respect to the economic ques.
tions that are pressing on the people
today, they occupy precisely the same
standpoint before the popular judg-
ment and the determination of the
peoples minds today that the slave
power and It's representatives occupied
in Buchanan S time. It is reversal
of status surely to see the Republi.
can stand-pat machine men repeat his
tory in this way, they occupying now
the end Of the beam formerly occupied
by the Democrats in this inability to
sense the convictions of the people.
Every thoughtful person conversant
with the situation must necessarily see
that the present party alIgnmenis are
absolutely misrepresentation. There are
protection Democrats, free trade Re
publicans; and 1T is almost impossible
10 get in Congress any division that
will altogether represent party lines.
This was demonstrated time after time
in the passage of the bunl<o tariff law,
when Mr.. Aldrich was always able to
obtain Democratic votes when he
needed them on any proposition before
the Senate. Likewise, Speaker Can
non has always been able to rally to
his support enough Democrats TO
carry his points, except on the main
revolt. The political transition is npon
u.s. and it is well for all to prepare for
vital changes to come
RUSSIAN JUDGING" ON CHINA.