Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-09-03


 ''e'''ocfats are engaged in occuna- tiolls of every kind. denend nnon all "oi'S ol business for their livelihood snare in every interest and enter- prise of the country. It may safely Ut taken tor granted that Democrats are nof going to destroy themselves economics
 1hese uncomfortable predictions come both from the old line RepublY- cans and from those Republicans of the new departure who are seeking 'o hulid up third party of their own. from Republieans of the old line fhese forecasts of disaster were to De expected. They have long been their stock in trade. But they were 1 hardly to have been expected from those who had cut themselves loose from the older connections which were ooldiE working to make new things out of old. And, yet the predictions of the leaders of the new party are as alarming as the predictions of the Veriest standpatter There is the stimulating breath of hope in every part Of the platform of the new par ty except that which touches the tariff and the trusts.
 Tn fact, there is this very singu- lar feature about the platform of the new party; it has two sides and two tones. It speaks warm sympathy with practically every project of social betterment to which men and women of broad sympathies are now turning with generous purposes, and on that side it is refreshing to read. But that is not the part of the platform that reads like program. It is a proclamation of sympathy rather than tEe leaders of the party would fain sometime move. The program lies elsewhere, where the tariff is spoken of and the trusts. In that portion of the document there is an air ol business and a very definite indica- tion of what is intended to be done, and by what means.
 Tt may be interpreted in the light of some interesting things Mr. Roose- velt has recently said:
 MT Roosevelt declares his devoted adherence to the principle of protec- ton. He declares that he is not trou- amount of money is taken out of the pocket of the general taxpayers and pat into the pocket of particular classes of protected manufacturers, but that his concern is that so little Of this money gets into the pockets of ;he employees. I have searched his program very thoroughly for an indi- cation of what he expects to do in or der to see to it that larger propor- .ion of this prize money gets into the pay envelope and l have found only one suggestion.
 '"There is plank in the program which speaks of establishing mini mum or living wages for woman workers and I suppose that We may assume that the principle is not ill the long run meant to be confined to Woraen only Perhaps we are justi- fled in assuming that the third par ty looks forward to the general es- tablishment hy law of minimum wage. It is very likely, l take it for granted, that if minimum wage were established by law the great ma jority of employers would take oc- oasion to bring their wage scale as nearly as might be down to the level of that minimum, and it would be very awkward for the workingman to resist that process successfully because it would be dangerous to strike against the authority of the Federal government
 Moreover, most of his employers at any rate, practically all of the most powerful of his employers would be wards and proteses of that very government which is the master oi us all. The government is to set up a combination whose duty it will not be to check or defeat it, but merely to regulate it under rules which it is itself to frame and devel- op. So that the chief employers Will have this tremendous authority De- i hind them. What they do they WIZ have the license of the Federal gov ernment to do, including the right te pay the wages approved by the gov ernment.