The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-14
Ringing Answer Made in Reply to Questions Put by
 the New York World
PARTY HAS KEPT ITS
 PLEDGE TO PEOPLE
Interview and Illustrations Occupy Entire Front Page of Editorial Section in Sunday Issue-Ex-
 tracts From His Reply

Washington, May 13.-CSpecial) )-Under a Washington date line the New York
 World of Sunday devotes the entire
 front page of it's editorial section to oscar ". Underwood. It's six column caption in large type reads thus:
 Underwood tells The World how the
 democratic House has kept promise to
 lower tariff burden and cost of living. T
 The page is illustrated with a three
 column cartoon in which tariff wall
 protects Castle Privilege Conspicuous
 In the picture is great vulture labeled,
 Cost of Living" In an upper corner Is
 an excellent half-tone of Mr. Underwood.
 Featured as part of the head just above
 the date line is this condensation:
 Good reasons for giving government
 to democrtss.
 Some of Mir. Underwoods reasons
 why the democratic party should have
 the job of running the government are
 these:
 While the democratic majority in the
 House IS only 6s, the farmers free list bill passed with majority of 127; the wool bill of last session with 120. and
 this session 9S majority; the cotton bill by 112 majority; metal bill by 101 ma
 jority, and the excise bill by majority
 of PIP.
 "The fact that every tariff measure
 except one which has thus far been presented to the Sixty-second Congress has passed the House of Representatives by more than the democratic majority prompts and justifes the following in- ferences:
 q. That the revision of the tariff downward to a revenue basis in the in-
 terest of the consumer Is pre-eminently
 the issue before the people,
 70 That the democratic majority In
 the House has during the Sixty-second Congress met the responsibilities of tar if revision intrusted to them by the election of 1910
 8. That by wise, courageous and ef- ficient work the democratic majority has held its own forces intact and won to its assistance republican representa- tlves, who appreciate the necessities and demands of the people to tighten the present excessive tax burdens and to reduce the high cost of living.
 A. That the political situation points
 unmistakably to tariff revision as the issue this year between the two great political parties"
 Here is how the staff correspondent starts off:
 The World asked Oscar w. Underwood l chairman of the House ways and means committee and floor leader of the demo cratic House, why the democratic party
 should be given the job of running the government, seeing that the republican party Is now running 1t. This set of questions or communication was given to him:
 "When man comes to you and asks for job, you ask him, What can yor do?
 "The applicant, being anxious for the job and the wages and prestige that SC with it. will promise almost anything Therefore he announces that he probably is the best man in the United States foI anything in your particular line of busi- ness.
 Then you ask him: "'Well. what has been your experi-
 ence and how would you handle this par ticular department if l should put you in charger
 Tt is the reply to this question that de- cides your own mind as to whether you shall put him to work. Now why not apply this simile to the situation between the republican and the democratic parties?
 Not as between MT. Roosevelt and Mir Taft not as among MT. Underwood, Mir Clark, MT. Wilson, MT. Harmon and Mir Bryan, but as between the republican party and the democratic party "The republican party Is in power and the democratic party is asking for the job of running the government. Why should the democratic party have the job-now held by the republican party -of running the goyernment?'' "ThH was put up to MT. Underwood, and | it was put up to him, especially because he has been doing things and. inferen- tially. must have been thinking abou; | them"
 | And then comes the answers-by Oscar 1 w Underwood;
 You ask me why the 1emocratic party | should be returned to power. To answer | hriefy, 1t is apparent to all that the re- tlican party in recent years has not given a satisfactory administration of public affairs. They have more than | doubled the expenses of running the gov ernment since the Cleveland administra- | tion. They have failed to keep their pledges to tue people to revise and re- lduce the custom taxes. and they are sc badly divided by internal dssensions that , they are not capable of united action or any of the great Legislative questions thai now present themselves to the country. "The democratic party has been out O power for many years: when the Sixty second Congress was elected democrati, majority was returned. The principa