Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-09-15
Trying to Get Away From Tariff.

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President Taft's personal press
bureau, of which Private Secretary
| Hilles is the head and tail, has start
ed campaign designed to divert the
attention Of the people from the tar
III issue and particularly that part
| of the tariff issue which has to dc
with Mr.. Taft's vetoes of the revi-
/ sion downward measures which
! were placed before him by the spe-
| cial session of congress.
The first evidence of this attempt
| to chloroform the highly taxed mil
| lions into forgetfulness of the presi-
! dents broken promise was made ap-
/ parent when the White house public
/ ity bureau flooded the country with
/ glowing accounts of the Taft admin
| istration's GLORIOUS achievement" in
gaining the signatures of France and
I England TO peace treaties. So far no
| body has been able to understand
why there was a pressing necessity
for this government TO enter peace
pacts with nations with which we
enjoy the friendliest terms, nor has
anyone figured it out how a peace
treaty with these nations is going TO
| loosen the grip of the food and cloth
ing trusts on the people Of this coun-
try.
Moreover, the senate has refused
to ratify the treaties, which led the
presidents press agents to announce
that Mr.. Taft would take the peace
issue squarely to the people during
his trip into the west" Consequent
&. - Nv %
that in some Of those places where
the people would much prefer to hear
an explanation OF why be went back
on his word on the tariff issue, he
will treat them to a nice speech
about peace.
The people having failed to work
them selves into a very high pitch of
enthusiasm over the prospect of hear
ing the president vent his views on
peace, the publicity bureau took an
other tack and now 1t is announced
that Mr.. Taft Will discuss the divorce
question when he invades the west.
The fact that a good many ministers
have seen fit to condemn the Aston
Force wedding in Newport has led
the energetic young men working I'M
der the direction of Mr.. Hilles to
think that perhaps Mr.. Taft can side
track the tariff question by breaking
into the newspapers with a few re-
marks on the divorce problem
When Mr. Taft reaches Iowa he
will find the farmers out there a great
deal more curious about his expla-
nation of his veto of the free list
bill than in any comment he may
have to make Of the marriage Of a
couple of New York's four hundred.
When he gets into Kansas he will
discover that the people there will
be much more interested in his &C
count of why he saw 1T to block the
effort to get cheaper clothing than in
any remedy he may suggest for the
problem of what to do with men
like Colonel Aston when they take 1t
into their heads to get married. Sim
ilarly. the people Of the northwest
will keenly appreciate It II he win
give them q satisfactory excuse for
his failure to do after election what
he promised TO do before election,
whereas IT is doubtful whether any
amount of comment on the curious
habits of Newport's elite win excite
them.
Mr. Taft made the real issues that
he must face on his trip and his press
agents cannot change them He has
parted with the tariff revisionists and
taken his stand with the high pro-
tectionists and what the people will
want to know Is why he did these
things. They won't be beguiled into
apathy toward his delay-in tariff re-
form by accepting John Jacob Aston
as a substitute issue.