Gloucester County Democrat., 1912-02-01
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
(By G. II. Tavenner.)

(By g. II. Tavenner.)
william Howard taft is the one best
bet in the Republican nomination
handicap.
At least this is tie way 1t looks to
me to-day, and ! lave tried to view
the situation, If possible, without pre-
judice.
I base my prediction on the theory
that Special Privilege as represented
by Aldrich, Penroie, Smoot, Lodge,
Crane, Guggenheim j. Pierpont Nor
gan, John ID. Rockefeller, Andrew
Carnegie, and the tariff trusts, still
dominate the Republican machine.
And it must never be forgotten that
the Republican ma.hine, and not the
Republican voters, rules national Re-
publican conventions and names presi-
Dental candidates.
The Republican machine it is .rde.
is badly damaged, but / think, how
ever, it is still powerful enough, back
ed as it is by the Millions of Special
Privilege, to eontrol one more natl m
al convention After that it will go
on the scrap heap, and men freer of
corporate influences will be in control
of the party.
he Ouly uGuuCtiVH tldL Lie IcduCt
may draw from the foregoing is that
Mr.. Taft Is to be Nominated, not be-
cause the people desire his renomina-
ton, but because the Big interests de-
sire his denomination; not because
Mr.. Taft has earned denomination
by representing the interests of the
common people of the country, but be-
cause he has earned denomination
by representing theinterests of Spec
ial Privilege.
There seems to be an increasing
talk about Roosevelt, but | do not
think the machine politicians will per-
nit his nomination. If Roosevelt
should be nominated, however, l be-
lieve he will be defeated. 1t was dur
ing his administration that the pres
ent abnormally high. cost of aiving
was piled up, largely because of the
system of excessive protection in
which Mr.. Roosevelt believes. Roose-
velt is an Aldrich-S SMOOTH 4Penrose Re-
publican on the tariff question, so far
as anyone knows But if he should
come out on the Progressive side of
the tariff issue, it would only make
him less desirable to the Republican
machine, and his nomination would
be even less probable than it is now.
Robert NJ. LaFollette, the one man
mentioned in connection with the Re-
publican nomination on whom the
people can put their finger on every
public question of the day, cannot be
nominated, in my opinion, the reason
being, only, that the people cannot
vote on presidential nominees.
Any day, of course, may bring de-
velopments to change the positions of.
the men on the political checker
board, but the above is the situation
as it appears to your correspondent
at this writing.
MIR. CANNON GETS INFORMATION
Uncle Joe Cannon, High Protection
Joe," wanted to know when the DEM
ocratic metal bill was before the
House, why such articles as sewing
machines had been placed on the free
list. Chairman Underwood, of the
Democratic Ways and Means commit
tee, courteously supplied the ex-
speaker with the desired information.
I'VE have placed these articles on
the free list for the benefit of the
American People" said EMr. Under
wood. 'The uncontested testimony
shows that sewing machines are being
sold to the rich and poor alike in this
country for from $23 to $45 a machine,
and yet are being laid down, freight
paid, in the Orient, for $8.75
1--WE are not ashamed to go to the
American people and say that when
an article is manufactured in this
country SO cheaply that it can COM
pete in all the markets of the world,
we are willing to place it on the free
list for the benefit of our own people. !"
The metal bill, which makes reduc-
tions on all metal goods averaging
35 per cent. and places on the free list
iron ore, nails, sewing machines, cash
registers and many other articles now
being sold by American manufactur-
ers cheaper to foreigners than home
consumers, passed the House by a
vote of 21O to 109.
A PROTECTED INDUSTRY.
Sixty-five per cent of the workers
in the United States Steel Corpora
tons plants at Pittsburgh earn less
than the actual cost of subsistence to
the average family, according to cal
culations made before the Stanley
steel trust investigating committee by
Louis D. Brandeis, the peoples law
yer.
THE average wage of 65 per cent.
of the employees in the steel plants
! at Pittsburgh. he said, SIS II IL
cents an hour The Associater Char
tiles of that city, by careful inyesti-
cation, has figured it out that the cost
of bare existence of family of hus-
band and wife and three children in
Pittsburgh is $768 a year. BY work
ing II hours day, S65 days year,
this SIS per cent. of the workers, at the
end of their years labor will have
earned just $1.50 less than this sum.
These horrible conditions are the
result of the use of the great power
and wealth of this trust to prevent its