The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-05

,ney pledge the people to carry ont. But even if they could and even if they were sincere the old party platforms are in error on tariff policy. The Democratic platform declares for free trade, but free trade is wrong and ruinous The Republican platform permits extortion, but tariff extortion is robbery by law. The Progressive party is for honest protection, and honest protection is right and condi- ton of American prosperity.
 A tariff high enough to give Amer can producers the American market when they make honest goods and sell them at-honest prices, but low enough that when they sell dishonest goods at dishonest prices foreign competition can corrects both evils; tariff high enough to enable American producers to pay our workingmen American. wages and so arranged that the work ingmen will get such. wages;N Ia busi- ness tariff whose changes will be so made as to .reassure business instead of disturbing it--this is the tariff and the method ofrits making in which the Progressive party believes, for which it does battle and which it proposes to write into the laws of the land
 The Payne-Aldrich tariff laws must be revised immediately in accordance 10 these principles. At the same time a genuine, permanent, nonpartisan tar fir commission must be fixed in the law as firmly as the interstate com merce commission.
 Child Labor.
 These are samples of the reforms in the laws of business that we intend to put on the nations statute books. But there are other questions as important and pressing that we mean to answer by sound and humane laws. Child la bor in factories, mills, mines and sweatshops must be ended throughout the republic Such labor is a crime against childhood because 1t prevents the growth of normal manhood and womanhood. It is crime against the nation because it prevents the growth of host of children into strong, pa triotic and intelligent citizens.
 Only the nation can stop this indus trial vice. The states cannot stop it. The states never stopped any natfonaI wrong, and child labor is a national wrong. eTo leave 1t to the state alone is unjust to business. for if some states stop it and other states do not business men of the former are at a disadvan- tage with the business men of the lat ter, because they must sell in the same market goods madeiby manhood labor at manhood wages in competition with goods made by childhood labor at child hood wages.
 Toward women the Progressive party proclaims thes ci1ivalry of the state. We propose to protect women wage earners by suitable laws an example of which is the minimum wage for women workersa wage which shall be high enough to at least buy cloth ing. food and shelter for the woman tOilef.
 SThes care of the aged is one of the most perplexing problems of modern life. How is the workingman with less than $500 year and with earn ing power waning as his own years advance to provide for aged parents or other relatives in addition to fur nishing food, shelter and clothing for his wife and children? What is to be- come of the family of the laboring man whose strength has been sapped byS excessive toll and who has been thrown upon the industrial scrap heapi 1t is questions like these we must an ! swer if we are to justify free institu- tions. They are questions to which the masses of people are chained as to a body of death.
 Votes For Women.
 We Progressives mean that America i shall answer them. The Progressive ! party is the helping hand to those ] whom a vicious industrialism has | maimed and crippled We are for the l conservation of our natural resources I but even more we are for the conserva l tion of human life Our forests water i power and minerals are valuable and l must be saved from the spoilers, bui i men, women and children are mort 1 valuable and they, too, must be savef 4. from the spoilers.
 Because women as much as men ar' q part of our economic and social ihs women as much as men should have the voting power to solve all economi' l and social problems. Votes for womel are theirs as matter of natural righ alone; votes for women should bt theirs as matter of political wisdom also. As wage earners they should help to solve the labor problem, a' property owners they should help t solve the tax problem, as wives ant mothers they should help to solve al