Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-10-29
FILENE ANSWERS
Mr.. WANAMAkER
Noted Boston Merchant Appeals
to Business Men With
Logic for Wilson.
STABILITY WHAT We NEED
Full Measure OF Prosperity Cannot Be
Realized Until Country Is Satisfied
With Genuine Tariff. Reform.

Edward A. Flene is president of Ed
ward A. Filene & Son, Boston, Mass, one
OF the largest retail dry goods stores OF
the country. He Is a former president OF
Der of the National Council of Commerce
National Civic federation, National News
paper league. Cleveland chamber of COM
and other organizations; Is the author OF
many articles on business, civic, labor and
Industrial relations.l
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 continent wide rally to the sup
port of Mr.. Taft on the part OF the
merchants and business men CT the
country, has no doubt received your
serious attention. 1t has seemed to
me that those of us In business who
believe Mr.. Wanamaker's position is
mistaken should make known our po-
sitions and the reasons for our firm
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 thing
likely to prevent the setting in OF
such 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 a dis
turber of conditions or that he is not
sufficiently 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 materi-
ally lessen until these reforms are &C
complished
President Taft's reelection would
not create any feeling of assurance
that there would be a Satisfactory so
luton OF the tariff question. BY a sat.
isfactory solution l mean a removal OF
unjust and unnecessary taxation
Entirely apart from his veto of tar
If legislation the mere fact that the
president signed the Payne-Aldrich
tariff bill and later declared that il
was the best tariff bill ever written
has made 1t impossible for the public
to have any considerable confidence
that they may expect real relief from
him.
Roosevelt's Record.
Upon this matter Mr.. Roosevelt's
record is not much better than thai
of Mr. Taft, nor is his present posi-
ton on the tariff much more promis
ing than that of the president The
agitation for reform began while Pres
ident Mckinley was still in Office and
had then reached such proportion:
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 tc
give the people any relief from tariff
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 tariff agita
ton.
With Wilson elected one may rea
sonably expect satisfactory solution
of the tariff question. His expires
stons on this matter show a full con
ception of the country wide demand
for tariff reform, thorough knowl
are made and a determination to Sc
cure as promptly as possible the much
needed legislation. AT the same time
Governor Wilson has shown that he
recognizes as a fact the intimate re
lation which tariff has been made tt
have to the structure of business In
this country and that he wo, Id keeI
this fact in mind in handling tariff
legislation.
Governor Wilson's election would
mean and would be taken by the
country at large 20 mean chat we
would have very early in his admin
istration a revision of the tariff which
would give the country the relief 1t il
demanding and which at the same
time would be made carefully anC
with a view to preventing business
disturbance.
Until this is done, or at least until
the country feels sure that 1t is to be
cone, there cannot be that stability
which is so necessary to the fullest
development of an era of prosperity.
Truth About Prosperity.
Certainly the facts do lot warrant
Mr.. Wanamaker's conclusion that q
Republican administration insures
prosperity and that the periods o.
trade depression which the country
has seen from time to time have been
due to Democratic tariff revision
Mr.. wanamaker's appeal is based
largely on the theory that Demo
cratic tariff revision was respon
sible for the hard times oil
1898. In the face of the facts no au