The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-07-03

VI A6l Co0D ACdVla5 ~ w
appropriate the money for the return
when Congress deemed that necessary.
This is the man who advocated FEEDER.
al incorporation for the increase of
power at Washington and the tighten.
ing Of legal burdens on the corpora
tons; the man who authorized the
absorption Of the Tennessee Coal &
Iron Co. by the tSeel Trust; the man
who, by many such drastic acts, and
by u~nnumbered words has sought to
batter down u statutory and consti-
%tutional safeguards.
"He who runs may read the dan
ger Of the country ruled by such a
man.
"Unquestionably we have been
wrong in assuming that a tradition
against a third term constitutes a
sufficient safeguard against unscrupu-
lous ambition for unlimited power.
| We need a definite constitutional lin.
itation which shall prevent imperial
istic souls from forcing personal con-
t%inuation in Office for long periods or
for life and the personal selection of
a successor in Office. And the con-
stitutional provision should limit to
a single term.
"In this great country which boasts
Of a wealth Of one hundred and thir.
ty billion as against eighty billion
for Great Britain and Ireland; sixty
five billion for France and sixty billion
for Germany, all r conscious that
too large a part Of wealth has
been secured by a small percentage of
u population and that the cost of
living rises faster than the average
income.
"The principal cause Of all this is
to be found in the tariff statutes and
in the combinations restraining trade
and competition, created for the pur-
pose Of wringing from the public
every dollar which the tariff statutes
make possible.
"The average Of duties under the
tariff Of 1889 was eight and one-half
per cent. Now the average is SO per
cent.
Protected interests benefited by
two increases during the war, the first
to an average of 81 1-2 per cent, the
second to At per cent. That high
average, then excused only by the ex-
igencies Of the war is exceeded now,
as the average is nearly so per cent.
"The Republican party has thus
geared the machinery of government
to enrich the few at the expense of
the many.
IAN awakening of the people led
the Republican national convention
of 1903 by its platform to promise a
revision.
I'm vain did the people demand of
Congress the fulfllment of the Repub-
lican pledge, for the masters of that
party-the protected interests-insist-
ed upon the pound Of flesh nominated
in the bond.
"Mr. Taft said in a speech in 1908
that during the preceding ten years
nine-tenths of the combinations to
restrain trade had come into exis-
tence. During nearly all that ti1le the
Republican party was in control of
every Northern, Eastern and Western
state. -a. s.
"The reason for the encouraging in
activity Of the Republican officials is
plain. The tariff be%neficiaries were
and for many years had been con-
tributing to campaign funds Of the
party which in turn protected the
special privileges enjoyed by the do
nors. But competition prevented in
some instances the collection from
the people Of the full sun stipulated
in the tariff. To secure it all, tempt
ed the cupidity and stimulated the
ingenuity Of the beneficiaries. But
one way could be Characterization