The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-11-11
NO CAMPAIGN ISSUE LEFT.

NO CAMPAIGN ISSUE LEFT.
Zip! There goes another issue with
which the republicans were counting
on reaping plethoric political profits
next year.
1t really is getting serious.
Tie republicans spent a whole
year assembling material for plat
form in which preparedness was to
be the most important plank. With
guileless carelessness they neglected
t. put on night Waterman and one
morning were dismayed to find the
preparedness plank missing. One
that looked like it was found in
Woodrow Wilson's cellar later, but
it could not be identified positively
as the stolen property. A close
guard is now being maintained over
the plank, and the republicans do not
doubt that it will appear in the demo
cratic national platform.
The republicans were keenly dis
appointed over the loss of the pre-
paredness issue, but their situation
was by no means desperate. They
had the tariff left The tariff is al
ways good for a paramount issue
when business isn't the best ever.
The republicans began talking cheer
fully about the good they were go
ing to do the United States treasury
and the business of the country by
restoring the duties on sugar and
wool and revising the tariff upward
wherever such revision might be ne
cessitated by fiscal or commercial
needs. Just as it was no longer
worrying about the high cost of liv-
ing and that a little upward tariff
revisions might be popular, there
was another midnight disappearance,
and it was announced that the demo-
cratic administration would let the
duty stay on sugar, restore the duty
on wool and make any other tariff
changes that might be deemed ex-
pedient next winter. The democrat
ic tariff experts wished it distinctly
understood that they had not been
converted to the republican doctrine
of protection, but that such upward
revision as Nigh be undertaken
would be for revenue only.
Republican strategists were badly
peeved ever the unexpected loss Of
their first line of tariff trenches, but
they fastened to send new munitions
to the second line, known to be i'm
pregnable to direct democratic as
sault. Here was located the argu-
ment that the whole set of existing
schedules must prove too low after
the close of the war, due to certain
ty that the impoverished Europeans
must begin dumping goods on us at
prices far below our cost of produc-
tom With such a tremendous peril
threatening, it could easily be held
imperative that the republican party
be placed on guard, ready at any
time to make the tariff wall high
enough to keep out the flood of
cheap imports.
1t seems almost beyond belief, but
the latest news from the front is
that those canny democrats have de-
scended from Zeppelins in the night
and captured the trench which was
i4npregnable to frontal assault. 1t
is announced in Washington that
President Wilson and Secretary Red
field have had conference and
agreed that legislation must be
adopted next winter to prevent the
dumping of European goods in the
American market below the Ameri-
can cost of production. Protection
again? Not at all-at least not tar
if protection 1t is the administra-
ton idea that the selling Of foreign
goods in the American market below
the cost of production here shall be
described as unfair competition,
and penalized under the antitrust
laws. In behalf of this plan, how
ever humorous it may appear as a
means of whipping the tariff devils
around stump, it can be argued
that it might be made more effective
even than a high tariff for the air.
tight exclusion of flood of cheap
foreign wares.
Of course there will be some is
sues in the presidential and congress
sional campaign next year. There al
ways are. The resourceful republi-
cans will be able to dig up some
thing that they can paramount at a
pinch. When they get it dug no,
however, they should hide it away
carefully, see that an adequate
guard is on duty every evening, and
if possible, keep knowledge of its ex.
istence away from the democrats
until it is too late for congress to
pass law that will serve as an in
cendiary bomb for it's cremation. -
Sioux City Journal.