The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-10-31
Noted Boston Merchant Appeals
to Business Men With
Logic for Wilson.
STABILITY WHAT We need
Full Measure Of Prosperity Cannot Be
Realized Until Country 10 Satisfied
With Genuine Tariff Reform.

county,, ~
the Boston chamber Of commerce. mem
Der Of the National Council OF Commerce.
National Civic federation. National News
paper league EaeVea" q, Ga'a score Of clubs
and other organizations: is the author OF
many articles on business, civic, labor ana
industrial relations.]
TO the Merchants and Business Men
of the United States:
John Wanamaker's appeal to you In
the New York Herald of Oct. 4, calling
for q continent wide rally to the sup
port of Mr.. Taft on the part or the
merchants and business men OF the
country, has no doubt received your
serious attention. 1t has seemed to
me that those of us in business VINO
believe Mr.. Wanamaker's position IS
mistaken should make known our po'
sitions and the reasons for our nrm
belief that the business Of the country
will be best served by the election OF
Governor Wilson to the presidency.
There is every reason to believe that
we are on the eve of abundant pros
perity, and in my opinion one th'ng
likely to prevent the setting IN OF
such a period would be the reelection
of President Taft and the one thing
that would make prosperity most GER
tain would be the election of Governor
Wilson. This opinion is based upon
my belief that for the business world
nothing else is so important as sta
bility.
Stability is impossible with Mr.. Taft
as president; there has been no feeling
of stability during his administration.
1t is not that the president is dis
turber of conditions or that he is not
sum GENTLY. careful of the business In
terests of the country. The absence
of any feeling of stability during the
Taft administration has been and is
due to a widespread belief that there
are certain reforms which the great
body of people want and that the gen.
eral feeling of unrest will not materf
ally lessen until these reforms are &C
complished.
President Taft's reelection would
not create any feeling Of assurance
that there would be satisfactory So
luton of the tariff question. BY sat
isfactory solution mean q removal OF
unjust and unnecessary taxation.
Entirely apart from his veto OF tar
III legislation the mere fact that the
president signed the Payne-Aldrich
tariff bill and later declared that It
was the best tariff bill ever written,
has made Il impossible for the public
to have any considerable confidence
that they may expect real relief from
him. .
aoosevslt's Record.
q UDoo this mAt1er : Mr. Rooeeveats
record 10 not much better than that
Of Mr.. Taft, nor 10 his present posi-
ton on the tariff much more promis'
ing than that Of the president. The
agitation for reform began while Pres
Nent Mckinley was still In ONCE and
had then reached such proportions
that the country in general approved
OF the advanced position Mckinley
took In his Buffalo speech. 1t IN
creased steadily during the seven and
a half years in which Roosevelt was
president, but he made no attempt to
give the people any relief from tarin
exactions. He does not now offer any
definite tariff program. These things
lead me to believe that his election
now, like the reelection of Taft, would
mean four years more of tarih agita-
ton. .e
With Wilson elected one may rea-
sonably expect a satisfactory solution
of the tariff question. His expires.
sions on this matter show full con.
ception of the country wide demand
for tariff reform, a thorough knowl.
edge Of the ways in which tariff laws
are made and a determination to &C.
cure as promptly as possible the much
needed legislation. At the same time
Governor Wilson has shown that he
recognizes as fact the intimate re-
lation which tariff has been made to
have to the structure of business in
this country and that he would keep
this fact in mind in handling tarin
legislation.
i Governor Wilson's election would
q mean and would be taken by the
country at large to mean that we
would have very early in his admin
istration a revision of the tariff which
would give the country the relief it 10
demanding and which at the same
time would be made carefully and
with a view to preventing business
disturbance.
Until this is done, or at least until
the country feels sure that 1t 10 to be
done, there cannot be that stability
Il which is SO necessary to the fullest
development of an era of prosperity.
si Truth About Prosperity.
Certainly the facts do not warrant
I, Mr.. Wanamaker's conclusion that
4 Republican administration insures:
prosperity and that the periods Of
trade depression which the country
has seen from time to time have been
4 due to Democratic. tariff revision.
I MI. Wanamaker's appeal 10 based.
8 largely on the theory that Demo
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