Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1912-10-04
DESIGNED TO MIsLEAD
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM CONSIST
EMIT WITH PARTY's HISTORY.
Especially Weak 10 the Tariff Plank
Which Promises No Relief From
Present Extortion-Aldrich
Policy Favored.

There is one guiding principle which
readers of the Republican platform
must keep in mind If they would esti'
mate that document at its real value.
That principle 10 that every statement
and promise in the platform must %
Judged in the light Of the history ana
character of the party which made IT,
II any utterance will bear two con-
structions the one which 10 In harmony
with the past of the party 10 the one
to be believed. Where there 10 vague
ness and uncertainty in the language
the wise critic will inquire what abuse
characteristic Of the party the Ian
guage cloaks.
The authority and integrity OF the
courts has been to Republican law or
ficers q beautiful abstraction. To car
ry this policy further, the platform
makers propose federal trade COM
mission which they frankly state 10
to supplant the courts in dealing with
certain great questions. While the
language 10 not clear, this commission
IL evidently the Roosevelt-Perkins
court of big business, q rich mans
court. to advise the combines how near
they may come to criminal conspiracy
without going to Jail. 1t is to assume
tho functions Of lord chancellor and
keep the corporations conscience.
Next in order comes the treatment
of the tariff Specifically. this 10 .
stronger declaration in favor OF down.
ward revision than was in the plank
of 1908, but left to the Interpretation
Of Republican congress and president
and there 10 no likelihood that any
real relief from tariff oppression would
ever be provided under 1t.
1t says some duties are too high. II
does not say the duties on steel and
wool are too high. The Interpretation
Of 1t must be in the light Of the Payne
Aldrich bill and the Taft veto Of gen.
uine tariff revision measures. Tho
tariff commission is approved, but one
will search in vain for any approval
Of the efforts Of that body to separate
the cost of the wool on Sleeps back
from the cost of the rest Of the sheep.
Scientific revision of the tariff 10
called for and this comes from . party
whose idea Of scientific tariff making
has always been to call In the men
and interests to be benefited and ask
them how much they think they ought
to have.
The financial policy announced in
the platform seems to point to the
Aldrich banking and currency bill. It
closes with q bid for the farmer vote
by holding out the prospect Of some
method by which farmers may borrow
money easily and cheaply. Tho Amor
ican farmer, who has for . long while
been paying mortgages, not making
them, will know how to estimate this
paragraph 1T its real value.
The platform discusses various 9TH
or matters. Some Of them are not In
dispute and others have no standing
as political issues. In closing, the
platform challenges criticism Of the
administrations Of Mckinley. Rooss-
welt and Taft. The Mckinley admin
istration is rather remote for criticism
in this campaign, though 1t IL open
to effective attack. As to the others,
Roosevelt's alliance with the trusts
and Taft's opposition to genuine tariff
reform are sufhcient to condemn both
administrations-st. Louis Republic.