New-York tribune., 1912-08-28
DANGEROUS.

Chairman MCCOmuS ouEul 10 SSt ""'
of his sickbed, if necessary. to head
off the loquaciousness Of the Demo
cratic candidate for NiCe-President'
Governor Thomas II. Marshall has al
ways had a weakness for talking ana
especially for saying things which
have, an epigrammatic semblance. To
give an appearance Of sententiousneSs
10 his speeches he is willing TO take
desperate chances, and his anxiety 10
drop remarks in which the public may
be persuaded to think there is some
piouant subtlety Is certain to get on
the nerves Of the Wilsonian circle OF
managers, who have been Insisting
that the Democratic candidate Tor
President cOnfne himself to the sort
of graceful inanities customarily aSso-
ciated with pink teas. The epigrain-
matte overSeasoning of Mr.. MarshalFs
speech Of acceptance must have caused
offence as a reflection on Governor
Wilson's desiccated and tasteless po-
litical fare. and now the ambitious
Indiana Governor is loose in Maine
giving vent to ideas which have been
ruled out as dangerously exciting
from the festal gatherings on the Sea
Girt lawn.
Mr.. Marshall is reported as saying at
Portland on Monday:
Mr.. Morgan and myself are, per-
haps. the two richest men In America,
but have never been enabled by
executive interference with the GRIM
NAL laws Of this country 10 make even
eighty cents. And vet. in my way and
at nv business. | have worked as hard
as Arr. Morgan ever did. Ny handicap
has been that I never had friend IN
the White House.
That is in the best style OF the
Indianapolis epigram maker. We do
not undertake to say what II means,
but it is evidently not Mr.. Marshars
fault If It hasn't some bite concealed
somewhere. Is II a variation on Gov
ernor Wilson'S discovery. when n can
didate for the Presidential nomination.
that 1.-THE great monopoly in this coun-
try is the money monopoly carefully
shaded down after nomination into an
explanation that conditions in Wall
Street seem 10 have given rise to the
suspicion that money trust
exists in or near that thoroughfare:
Certainty at Sea Girt having faded TO
mere suspicion" II is exceedingly
thoughtless on Mr.. Marshall's part 10
muss up the situation again with an
epigram and thus damage an under
standing with the money monopoly"
which had almost been repaired.
Here is another crystalline idea
| taken from the Portland speech:
I am in favor Of system OF taxa
tion which will compel the protected
| manufacturer TO sell the surplus at
/ home and the product abroad. This
will, for the first time in history, COM
| pei the foreigner to pay the tax.
AS to what that means all readers
may not agree, but it plainly means
something rough on the manufacturer
| Governor Marshall talks about pro,
= lection as II it were robbery, as
some Democrats are bold enough to
think it is. even when they are run
ming for Office. But Governor Wilson
is not OF that group. Since his nOmi
nation he has been insisting that nj
though protection may be in Itself O
robbery, the robbery must be tolerated
because dealing gingerly with 1t Is
/ essential TO the continued welfare OF
! business There isn't much in that
point Of view to inspire an eplgram-
matist like Mr. Marshall, bent on fore
ing the domestic manufacturer to sell
his product abroad and his surplus at
home. The fiery literary genius Of the
Vice Presidential candidate thus be-
comes a peril to the Canny Presiden-
tlal candidate Is the Wilson candi-
dacy TO be wrecked on the rock Of the
Marshall eplgram? If 1t isn't, Chair
man McCombs and the other suppress
Ors Of superfluOus campaign talk will
have to get to work.