The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-08-01
TAFT AND THE TARIFF.


promised a revision of the tariff.
The country at large believed re-
vision meant a reduction Of tariff
duties. There is no doubt whatso-
ever that in the popular minds the
term revision in the platform meant
reduction. There are those who
claim that the platform of 1908 did
not bind the Republican party to a
downward revision and that every
plank of that platform has been hon
estly redeemed Now the fact is
that Mr.. Taft is observant enough
to know that the country was at
the time of his election demanding
a revision of the tariff which they
took as a matter of course to be a
downward revision. In his cam
paign speeches Mr.. Taft spoke OF re-
vision as meaning a reduction. If
any one doubts this let him read the
the country prior to his election.
To believe that so many honorable
newspapers would thus misrepresent
SO uniformly presidential candidate
without containing a single state
ment of contradiction from the can
didate himself is to believe a fairy
story. Grant it for sake OF argyll
ment that Mr.. Taft did not interpret
revision is reduction, he surely must
have been aware of the fact that great
daily papers were thus reporting him.
Why did he not correct this misrep-
resentation of his position. From
whatever viewpoint we study the
iniquitous Payne-Aldrich tariff bill
we are justified in the just state
ment that Mr.. Taft stands convicted
before the bar of incontrovertible
facts of a betrayal of the trust OF
the American people reposed in him
four years ago. In his Winona
speech he defended the Payne-Al-
drich tariff law declaring it the best
ever. Yes it is the best ever for
the protected interests that prey up
on the masses but the worst ever
for the great majority of American
people. There is no doubt that the
Payne-Aldrich bill has erected the
highest tariff wall ever known in the
history of our country and yet Mr..
Taft knew that the American people
wanted the tariff wall lowered so
that living would not be so high and
SO the favor seeking classes could
not enrich themselves at the expense
of the masses. AS particular in
stance just consider the sugar sched-
ule in this statesman like(?) Payne
Alurich bill. The sugar schedule is
determined by the notorious, we
aimed to say the noxious Dutch
standard test In plain terms
which the uninstructed in the great
mysteries of tariff legislation may
understand this scientific CD test
provides that the only sugar that can
come in with very little if any tariff
duty is the kind of sugar that the
people would not consume until it
goes into the hands of the Sugar
Trust for refining. This provision
does not protect the cane and beet
sugar farmers but it robs the Amer
lean people of about fifty million
dollars year and cheats the Ameri-
can government out of millions of
revenue every year that passes. If
you do not believe these statements
true get the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill
and read it and then study the
question of the amount and kind of
sugar consumed by the American
people and the price they pay for
the same and you will know for
yourself.
1t is we'll that Mr.. Aldrich decided
that advancing age necessitated his
retirement into private life but the
voluntary retirement of Mr.. Aldrich
VAL not clear the skirts of Mr.. Taft
for helping to foist on the American
people the most iniquitous, unjust
favoring tariff bill in
of the country. And
MO Roosevelt himself has had a.
)undant opportunity to give the
satient American public relief from
Excessive. tariff duties and for this s
reason cA has no right to bring
Mr. TaQJ to task about the matter. ;
The deHlocracytunder the leadership
If Woodrow Wilson is destined to s
,rin&3he needed relief to the masses {
If &fhericaR people and to lead our
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