The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-10-02
DEMOCRATIC REFORMS
RELATED BY CLARK
Speaker Of National House Also Elk
pressed Confidence in the Verdict
of the Voters in the Elec-
ton of 1916.

St. Joseph, Mo, Oct. 2.--Speaker
Champ Clark Of the National House OF
| Representatives in a speech at the Dem
ocratic state banquet here last night re-
viewed the legislative record of the Dem
ocratic party and expressed confidence
in the verdict of the voters in the cleo
tion of 1916. Speaker Clark said:
Two millions of voters, the present
political situation is entirely novel. At
every presidential election since 1896 the
Republicans have held the federal gov
eminent and the Democrats were fight
ing to wrest it from their iron grasp.
Now all this ehanged-and as We believe,
changed for the better,
For years those who love us not as
serted that Democrats were party of
negation, that we did not have sense
enough to legislate Unfortunately for
the country majority of the people
believed their iibberish for long, long
time. We wandered in the wilderness
as long as did Moses, but at last the
scales fell from the peoples eyes and
they concluded to entrust us with pow
er once more.
what happened? In two brief years
we placed ON the statute books more con-
structive legislation of the most high
ly beneficial character than the Repub
licans enacted in two decades--legisla-
ton so good that in addition to deme
cratic votes, nearly all the ProgressiVcs
and large majority of the regular Re-
publicans voted for our great construe-
tive measures.
1--WE passed the great tariff bill
the greatest ever placed upon the statute
books. IL contains many excellent /
changes from the Payne Smoot mon
strosity and it contains one new feature |
that would make it the best of all tariff
bills even if the rest OF il were as bad i
IS the last Republican tariff bill, which i
most emphatically it is not. That new
feature is the income tax. / make bold 1
10 predict that the income tax provis-
on never win be repealed, no matter i
what party gets hold Of the law making
bower.
ut is said the Underwood tariff bill
loes not bring in as much revenue as the
PAYNE Aldrich. Smoot bill. We who made
he Underwood bill knew when we made
{ that the revenues from revenue taxes
yeuld not be as large under our bill as
Inder the old Republican bill. We drew
t so on purpose; that was one of the
MS sought. Also knowing that the
government would need about as much
money as usual, we made up by the in
ONE tax feature the loss in tariff taxes.
Republican orators assert that the
Underwood tariff bin even including the I
ncome tax feature didn OF bring in
nough revenue 10 conduct the govern
lent-which is absolutely untrue. Ey-
rybody knows that there Is a difficult Z
y in the revenue and that the difficulty |
as caused aud still is being caused by :
be European war. Ia
"We had for more than half a century {
financial system of shreds and patches !
it'll a currency system almost devoid r
t elasticity. r
"For a generation our Republican b
lends had been tinkering with IL. Al e
avs promising but never accepting cur 0
'ney reform. The Democrats with the
.sistance OF patriotic Progrcssivcs and i,
striotic contingent Of Republicans D
aced on the statute books the national n
serve bank act which is now praised n
: all business men. q
Eve passed an antitrust Law which a.
nds to promote legitimate business and 3
ush iliegitimate bushes. Under the al
" law trusts are being dissolved and &
e rc-arranging their business on u
Ultimate basis. To-
The people seem 20 have absolute a
nfdence IN the pilot OF the ship Of q
ate-Woodrow Wilson-and are not q
,ely 20 drop him overheard in MIDI 4
can while the storm whips the waters "a
10 fury. he did HE duty. the Demo "
stie House did its duty, the Demo q
stie senate did it. duty. We submit il
AZ We deserve well 81 the Republie-- q
Of us. Having discharged our duty NJ
q been faithful to our tr1st-the peo- Ia
. vii assume that Ne VIII a. cur duty M
Z h. faithful even % tire end" al