Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-11-04
FILENE ANSWERS
Mr.. WANAMAKER
Noted Boston Merchant Appeals
to Business Men With
Logic For Wilson
STABILITY WHAT We NEED.
Full Measure Of Prosperity Cannot Be
Realized Until Country 10 Satisfied
With Genuine Tariff Reform.

Realized Until Country 10 Sationod
With Genuine Tariff Reform.
Edward A. Frilene 10 president Of Ea-
ward A. Filene & Son. Boston. Mass. one
Of the largest retail dry goods stores OF
the country He IL former president OF
the Boston chamber Of commerce. men,
Der Of the National Council Of Commerce,
| National Civic federation, National News
paper league. Cleveland chamber Of CON-
merce and a member Of score Of clubs
and other organisations: 10 the author Of
many articles on business, civic, labor and
industrial relations
TO the Merchants and Business Men
Of the United States:
John Wanamaker's appeal to you In
the New York Herald of Oct. 4. calling
for continent wide rally to the sup
port Of Mr.. Taft on the part of the
merchants and business men Of the
country. has no doubt received your
serious attention. 1t has seemed to
me that those of us In business who
believe Mr.. Wanamaker's position ia
mistaken should make known our 20
sitiOns aud the reasOns for our firm
belief that the business Of the country
|
Governor Wilson to the presidency.
There Is every reason to believe that
we are Oh the eve Of abundant pros
perity. and In my opinion one thing
likely to prevent the setting in Of such
Il period would he the reelection Of
President Taft and the one thing that
would make prosperity most certain
would be the election of Governor vii.
son. This opinion ia based upon my
belief that for the business world MOTH
Ing else is so important as stability.
Stability is impossible with Mr.. Taft
as president; there has been no feeling
Of stability during his administration.
1t is not that the president is a dis
turber Of conditions or that be IL not
sufficiently careful Of the business In
terests Of the country. The absence
of any feeling of stability during the
Taft administration has been and Is
due to a widespread belief that there
are certain reforms which the great
body of people want and that the gen.
eral feeling of unrest will not material
ly lessen until these reforms are &C.
complished.
President Taft's reelection would
not create any feeling of assurance
that there would be satisfactory So
luton of the tariff question. BY sat
isfactory solution | mean removal of
unjust and unnecessary taxation.
Entirely apart from his veto of tar
iff legislation the mere fact that the
president signed the Payne-Aldrich tar
ilf bill and later declared that it was
the best tariff bill ever written. has
made it impossible for the public to
have any considerable confidence that
they may expect real relief from him.
Eooseveit's Record.
Upon this matter Mr.. R0osevelt's rec
ord is not much better than that of
Mr. Taft. nor is hts present position on
the tariff much more promising than
that OF the president. The agitation
for reform BEGAN while President Nc
Kmley was still in office and had then
reached such proportions that the coun-
try In general approved of the ad'
vanced position which Mckinley took
in his Buffalo speech. 1t increased
steadily during the seven and Il half
years in which Roosevelt was pres-
dent. but he made no attempt to give
the people any relief from tariff eXac-
tons. He does not now offer any def
mite tariff program. These things lead
me to believe that his election now.
like the reelection of Taft. would mean
four years more of tariff agitation.
With Wilson elected one may reason
ably expect satisfactory solution of
the tariff question His expressions
on this matter show Il full conception
of the country wide demand for tar
if reform. a thorough knowledge of
the ways In which tariff laws are made
| and determination to secure as
promptly as possible the much needed
legislation. At the same time Cover
nor Wilson has shown that he rerOg-
niZes as fact the intimate relation
which tariff has been made to have tn
the structure of business In this cOun-
/ try and that he would keep this fact
| in mind in handling tariff legislation.
Governor Wilson's election would
mean aid would be taken by the coun-
try ut large to mean that we would
have very early in his administration
a revision Of the tariff which would
give the country the relief it is de
handing aud which at the same time
would be made carefully and with a
view to preventing business disturb
ance.
Until this IL done. or at least until
the country feels sure that 1t Ia to be
done. there cannot be that stability
which IL so necessary to the fullest
development Of an era of prosperity.
Truth About Prosperity.
Certainly the facts do not warrant
Mr.. Wanamaker's conclusion that u
Republican administration insures pros
perity and that the periods Of trade de
preston which the country has seer
from time to time have been due t.
Democratic tariff revision. Mr.. Wana
makers appeal Ia based largely on thu
theory that Democratic tariff revision
was responsible for the hard times OF
$685. In the face Of the facts no au
thority, however eminent, can reason
ably ask that We accept the theory.
Now. according to facts. the panic
which was commonly known rs thai
Of 1893 might very properly have beer
known as that Of 1890 or 1891, because
1t was under the Mckinley tariff bill
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