The Washington herald., 1912-08-25

II
Democrats viii also go upon the
stump. Mr.. Roosevelt will also deliver
one or more speeches in Maine. not
with the expectation of accomplishing
results for himself, but to make the dis
ruption of the Republican party more
complete. - *
The fight in these States is the FIRST
real battle of the campaign Local is
sues viii naturally be ignored, and the
fight will be made upon national ques-
tions. The political managers appre-
ciate the moral effect which the result
of the elections will have upon the rest
of the country. and for the time being
will devote their energies to achieving
victory.
1t is already evident that the cam
paign will have many ramihcations. For
instance, political capital is to be made
out of the investigation which is now
being conducted by the New York
State Factory Commission into condi-
tons at large wire factory in Upper
New York.
This concern is one of the branches
of the Harvester Trust and Mr.. George
w. Perkins is s>one of its directors. The
inquiry into conditions in the factory
has developed the fact that women and
children are compelled to work from
ten to twelve hours day for almost
starvation wages. The contrast of this
treatment of employees with the high
humanitarian utterances Of the Roose-
welt platform-the vast difference be-
tween long hours and little pay with
professions of shorter hours for labor
and decent acknowledgements well
escape notice, and Mr.. Perkins will be
asked to explain how he can reconcile
his declarations with his actions. The
testimony given by many of the women
and young girls is pathetic, and when
circulated among the working people
ought to have considerable effect.
The principal issue, however, will be
the tariff An other questions will be
subsidiary.
1t is an interesting historical fact
that in the beginning of our history the
tariff was not a political football. The
first measures relating to the tariff
were referred to the Committee on Man.
ufactures on the ground that the rate
Of duty was a purely business matter
Our forefathers were wiser in their
day and generation than we are in ours.
1t is also an interesting fact that when
the tariff did become a political issue,
which it did in 1924, it never went back
again to its ancient position. 1t is still
further noteworthy fact that through
all the years during which it has been
discussed it has kept within the same
lines. The figures involved may be
larger, the interests concerned may be
greater, but the arguments remain the
same. There is little or nothing to be
added to-day to. the speech of Daniel
Webster against protection as a prin-
ciple or to the reasons advanced by
Henry Clay for protecting American in
dustries To show how tariff history
repeats itself one has only to note that
eighty years ago the Democrats de-
clared that protection was unconstitu-
tional, just as they incorporated the
same idea in their recent platform at
Baltimore.
The principal speech delivered by
Representative Underwood, apart from
his presentation of the record of the
Democratic House, deals with high tax
alton. Nearly all the rest of the Dem
ocratic literature is along the same line.
The issue is one which the Republican
party evidently welcomes, for it is also
active in emphasizing the great pros
perity which protection has brought to
this country through the development
of American industries. Stress is nat
urally being laid upon the growing
sentiment against continuance of the
free-trade policy in Great Britain, and
also upon the conditions which prevailed
in this country in the last Democratic
administration when the Wilson tariff
bill was enacted. The Republicans
must, however, counteract the prevail
ing impression that the tariff has, in
the past, been an important factor in
the creation of monopolistic corpora
tions. This country is not a free-tradc
nation, but no one who has observed
the trend of popular opinion can es-
cape the conclusion that in the minds of
the people there is a resentment against
the privileges enjoyed by special inter-
ests. This is the foundation of the
present revulsion of feeling regarding
the tariff, but there is always the pos
sibility that in seeking a remedy the
people will go to the other extreme
and invite widespread disaster through
the closing down of factories in every
State. The ideal solution would be to
make only the guilty suffer, but this is
not apparently possible II cou1d he ac-