New-York tribune., 1912-08-17
TARIFF HYPoCRITEs.

4 vast volume of crocodile tears mas
Loen shed by Governor Wilson'S sup
norters in the last few days over the
failure of the President to relieve an
oppressed people from the burdens oi
taxation. How utterly insincere, now
over. were the Democratic efforts 10
enact tariff reduction laws, and now
protesuuc It is for them to blame the
President for refusing to play What
,hey- acknowledge would have been
smart politics for his own advantage
by sisning bills so imperfect that con
gress would never have dared To pass
them If there had been the sliShtesI
chance Of their reaching the statute
book. are clearly set forth in speciai
disnatch from its Washington CORE
snondent TO "rhe New York Times, a
journal which has been most severe
i'm its condemnation of Mr. TAFT FOR rls
tariff vetoes. and has declared that the
public would feel that the. position ct
The President was "an excuse Tor nut
seriously reducing the tariff" The dis-
uatch. under the head Tariff Legis;a-
"tion Failure Welcomed-Democrats
Would Lose Political Capital DID
These Bills Become Laws says:
From a political point Of view. the
Democrats are well pleased with TINS
outcome. Though they have appeared
to make every effort 20 e1cct iiIe
adoption of their measures and, to the
extent OF overriding two vetoes. nave
succeeded better than they did last
wear. their one great fear this session
has been that their bills would become
laws. On the eve OF election, the po-
litical effect would inevitably nave Oeeh
bad. and no possible good 10 the Dem
ocratic party could have resulted. A
financial boom in the summer IS out Oh
the question. so that there would De
nothing TO credit to the tariff revision.
on the other hand Republican en-
ploverS would very probably cut wages
and advance prices and throw the
blame on the Democratic policy. Fur
thermorc. with tariff bills enacted, the
tariff Question would cease TO be q
live issue, and the Democrats would
he stripped of their. sharpest weapon
for the coming campaign.
1t is commonly said, both by his
friends and his enemies, that Mr. TAFT
is poor politician. H. viii not. even
try to be a politician, but does his duty
as he sees It. regardless whether II IS
10 hurt himself or help his opponents.
Here cOnfesSedly were placed before
him some bills which could admirably
serve his purposes in this campaign.
They were so full Of faults that they
were certain If enacted TO have bad
effect on the country. disgust the vot-
ers with Democratic tariff revisers
and awaken widespread fears OF worse
things which they might do if placed
in complete power. Yet the very men
who most clearly realized this aud were
in terror lest he should be uhpatriotic
enough to beat them at their own game
of petty politics are loudest IN trying
10 awaken the resentment Of honest be-
levers in tariff reduction against bin
for not signing bills which were not
honest, which their trainers did not
want signed, and which. If they be-
came laws, would almost certainly by
their harmful effects have set back the
wurR Of honest and beneficial reduc-
ton, at the hands Of either party.
That lie the kind of politics the DEM
ocratic advocates Of tariff reform are
nlaying. They haven't the least real
interest in the welfare Of the people,
and cannot even make decent pre-
tence Of having. They know perfectly
well that they could secure substantial
reductions in week II they set about
il, instead Of devoting their ingenuity
10 framing bills deliberately designed
for the waste basket. Yet they think
the American people are such fools as
not to perceive their hypocrisy. or per-
ceiving, as TO think them worthy pub
lie servants, flt to be trusted with
great task involving the prosperity oil
the land.