The Washington times., 1912-03-17
c. 0. P. TO COMBAT
CLARK WITH LIST
/. OF HIS REMARKS
Utterances Show Speaker
Has Changed Position on
Tariff Several Times.

The Republican campaign machine
has prepared woa pom which it intends
to use on Champ Clark in due time to
the detriment, as II believes, of his
Presidential aspirations.
This weapon which will be fired at
the time deemed most opportune is
essentially simple. 1t consists in nothing
more or less than collection of some
of the remarks which Speaker Clark
has made in recent years as they are
found in the Congressional Record.
These remarks apply chiefly to tariff.
Republican leaders have gathered to-
gether an assemblage of utterances by
the Speaker OH the tariff which show
that in the time he has been in Con-
gress he has been on several different
sides of the tariff question.
Spoke AS Free Trader.
These utterances show that Mr.. Clark
has spoken out as n free trader pure
and undefled, as a tariff reformer. as
a supporter of tariff for revenue, and 8
one upholdipg the doctrine of tariff
equal to the difference in the cost of
production abroad and at home.
. Outside OF tariff, the collection of ut
terances of Mr.. Clark which have been
gathered into unfccling Republican |
hands, disclose that he spoke at one
time for cutting the army in two, for
abolition of the Diplomatic Corps and
even for the abolition of the Civil Ser
vice Commission.
Just why the shot in the Republican
locker has never been fired is q good
deal of mystery. 1t appears that about
the time Mr. Clark was looming up for
the office of Speaker more than a year
ago the Republican machine leaders,
TI. Al
campaign went to work and made
careful examination of the utterances of
Mr.. Clark In the Congressional Record
That was at the time when Mr.. Clark
began to loom up a 5 Presidential pos
sibilty. The material was gathered
but IL was not used.
! 1t found its way into a few hands,
but was carefully preserved. Just why
is not explained, but the circumstances
. point strongly to the belief that the Re-
publican leaders, who are at the same
time standpat tariff supporters, are
waiting to see whether Mr.. Clark gets
the Democratic Presidential nomination
at Baltimore.
II he is nominated, then it may be de-
pended on the utterances which the Re
/ publican leaders have carefully treas
ured up will be utilized.
Slated for Nomination.
. In this connection it is an interesting
TACT that the prevailing belief among the
publican Congressional campaign, and
{ the Presidential campaign if Mr, Taft is
tnominated that Mr.. Clark is slated for
the Democratic nomination and that he
can be defeated.
The story of the collection of Clark ut
terances and what those utterances are
leaked out today. 1t was further
! Clark, getting wind of what the Repub-
licans had up their sleeve, had been 60
/ ing into the Record and digging up
Nsome of the things Mr.. Clark in his
years in the House has said.
! Whether the material thus dug up
! will hurt the Speaker in his contest
: for nomination is matter of opinion
! and conjecture 1t Is quite likely. in
friends to do n lot of explaining.
The utterances attributed to Speaker
Clark are contained in about dozen
paragraphs. They are found scattered
through the Record for the last sixteen
or seventeen years
A Few of the Utterances.
Without giving all the utterances
which the Republican leaders have
gathered, it is sufficient to. set forth a
few as follows:
II am free trader and l glory in
the fact"
Il am a free trader from the sole
of my feet to the crown of my head"
III l had my way today, sir, would
tear them (the custom houses) all down
from turret to foundation stone for
from the beginning they have been
nothing but denS of robbers"
In a speech in 1891, Mr.. Clark is quot
ed as uphoding the tariff reformers
and saying the tariff reformer and the
free trader are headed for the same
point.
In making the motion TO recommit
the Payne tariff bill April 9, 1909 MI.
Clark asked for amendments reducing
the duties carried by the bill to revenue
rates"
In connection with the same demand
for amendment of the Payne tariff bill
in the motion 10 recommit, he demand
ed amendment so that duties shall not
exceed the difference i'm the cost of
labor in America and abroad"
March i, 1907, Mr.. Clark said:
~ am not in favor of free trade all
along the line in the condition in which
we find ourselves. We have got to
raise about $3OO,O0OOOO out of this bill
whether we want to or not. So a man
would be very unwise to be jabbering
about free trade under those condl-
tions."
1t was in a speech March 25 1897,
that Mr.. Clark, speaking for reform in
running the Government made sugges-
ions to the Republicans as follows:
SCut down the army one-half. Abol-
ish the Diplomatic Corps. 1t never was
useful and sometimes it has not been
even ornamental Then, too, you might
with great advantage abolish your Civil
Service Commission and save all the
money that it costs the people"
60
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