The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-10-17
"YOU CAN'T FOOL
ALL THE PEOPLE,

Senator Penrose, Republican "boss"
of the present Congress, has announc-
ed that at is not likely" there will be
any revision of the tariff or lowering
of the present tax schedules until af-
ter the next presidential election, or,
in other words, until new Congress
convenes in March, 1921.
This surprisingly frank statement
from the recognized Republican lead
err can only be accepted as a confess
sion of the inability of the Republi-
can majority in both houses of Con-
gress to deal with the intricate eco
nomic problems growing out Of the
war. This confession is in striking
contrast with the promises of the Re-
publcans just prior to the last con-
gressional election that if restored to
power in the legislative halls in
Washington they would prove their
fitness as reconstructionists.
Senator Penrose offers the existing
political and industrial chaos as an
excuse for his announced "do nothing"
policy. In his statement he refers on
ly to the tariff and revenue questions.
He might just as well have admitted
the whole truth-known to all men in
touch with the situation on Capitol
Hill-that the controlling majority in
Congress has no solution for any of
the economic difficulties now con-
fronting the country.
President Wilson proposed a pro-
gram of reconstruction for the Repub-
Leans at the opening of the present
special session, which session the Re-
publicans clamored for so they might
get to work." The President, whose
vision had forseen the unrest that
would be engendered if relief meas
ures were not forthcoming, pointed
out specifically what should be done.
Not so foolish as to suggest that
the entire tariff structure be made ov-
er, as Senator Penrose virtually pro-
posed in May, the President confined
his impost recommendations to essen
tials, such as the dyestuffs and chem
ical industries built up during the war.
He urged weapon of retaliation in
our tariff laws, Gin case other gov
ernments should enact legislation I'M
equal in its bearing on our products
as compared with the products of
other countries" He asked that ear
ly consideration be given to tax re-
vision, pointing out that many of the
minor taxes made necessary by the
pressing necessities of war time, par
ticularly the excuses upon various
manufacturers and the taxes upon re-
tail sales, could now be repealed. The
latter include the so-called luxury
taxes upon wearing apparel, etc. AL
though experience has shown that in
the main these taxes on retail sales
have proved more annoying than pro-
fitable, the Republicans have done
nothing to eliminate them, notwith-
standing that the Democrats were on
ly prevented from erasing these both
ersome taxes from the statute books
by Republican State filibuster in the
closing days of the last Congress.
Even the most sanguine Republic
cans have little hope that the present
session will witness any solution of
the railroad question. The President
for months called on the controlling
Republican majority in Congress to
draft the necessary Legislation that
would permit the transfer of the rail
roads from government control.
Nothing has been done that promises
concrete action before the special ses-
sion ends and the regular session be-
gins in December. And so it is with
the Presidents proposals regarding la
Dor and the other questions that the
Republicans in the campaign Of year
ago promised to quickly dispose Of.
Truly, Senator Penrose's statement
is confession both Of avoidance and
incapacity. The Pennsylvania STATES
man." with peculiar effrontery, now
seeks to hold out the hope to the coun-
try that if Republican President and
another Republican Congress are cleo
ted next year, all the existing vexing
problems will be solved. We COM
mend to Senator Penrose and his as
sociates the immortal words of Abra-
ham Lincoln:
"You may fool some Of the people
some of the time, but you can't fool
all of the people all of the time"