Evening star., 1924-03-26
Politics at Large
BY n. o. MESSENGER

IL Is reported in credible political
| circles that Senator Robert NJ.
La Toilette of Wisconsin has told
friends that in no circumstances will
| he accept nomination for the presi-
dency at the head Of third party
| ticket. He is said to be influenced
by two considerations in reaching
] this determinations:
, First, on account of his health.
which has been and is precarious. He
realizes. it is said. that he has not
the physique to go through such a
strenuous campaign as would neces-
| sarily involve his stumping the
country, leading an independent
ticket He feels that life is more
than political meat
| Second, 1t is reported, he appre-
hends that he would only pull down
! the republican temple, without bene-
/ fting himself; that the chances are
against his being elected; and, more
| over, he has never bolted. He is still,
| as he always has been, a republican,
although not of the kind of repub-
! licans who dominate the republican
party as at present organized and
| controlled.
/
port the credibility of this report as
to Senator La Follette's attitude. No
| doubt he was highly pleased at the
| showing he made in the North
| Dakota primaries, where his name
was placed on the republican ticket
by "pasters" in spite of his protest.
| But North Dakota's vote in the
] electoral college is small Add to it
1 the sure vote of Wisconsin, the" prob
! able vote. of Minnesota and the pos
sible vote of South Dakota and Wash
dependent. he would sti1l have all the
phalanx of conservative states, east,
west, north and south, against him,
shot through here and there with
radicals radicals but yet Ineffective to
And after all, what would it avail
| him to only bring confusion to the
| party which has honored him
throughout the years in Wisconsin?
| x x r
| Whether Senator La Toilette has
his face set against leading a third
| party or not, plans are under way
| for the organization of one, under
the auspices of the farmer-labor
party of Minnesota A call was sent
| out yesterday for the calling of a
| national convention in st. Paul June
! II to nominate candidates for Presi-
dent and Vice President Various
groups of progressive and radical
| elements are to participate in the
convention.
The democratic national committee
! is planning to stage an object lesson
on the effects of the republican tar
| if law on the cost Of women's ap-
parel and foodstuffs. Through ex-
hibits of clothing and foodstuffs, plac-
| arded with the tariff tolls on each ar
ticle, women of the various states
| will demonstrate the democratic the
ory that the Fordney- McCumber tar
iff bill is the chief cause of the pres
ent high cost of living.
Accepting the tariff as one of the
main issues of the forthcoming presi-
Dental election and one in which
women particularly should be inter
ested. the committee claims, mas
much as $4,000, 100000 a year is spent
a pamphlet on The Tariff as a Tax on
. Women" This pamphlet is to form
the basis of study and discussion in
more than 1000 towns and cities by
democratic women s cIuDS.
X x x
1--WE place before American house
wives the astounding fact that the
Fordney- McCumber tariff costs the
people of this country $4,000. 100000 a
year in excessive prices of the things
they buy" said Mrs. Emily Newell
Blair, vice chairman of the demo-
cratic national committee. "Of this
sum only s5oo.ooo,Oo0 goes into the
United States Treasury as tariff reve-
nue.; the other $3.50. 900. 900 goes into
| the pockets of specially protected
manufacturers. The profiteers get
| S711 cents of every dollar; the gov
ernment gets only 1914 cents of every
dollar the tariff extorts.
The woman who buys a 81 pair of
silk stockings pays sI20 into the
pockets of the tariff barons. On her
| wooden dress, weighing three and a
| half pounds. she has paid tariff toll
of 1921. On sher unlined American
kid gloves, for which she paid 81, she
has paid tariff of 50. For each
pound of sugar, for which she is now
paying 8 cents, an exorbitant price,
she includes cents tariff; on cream
cry butter she pays a tariff of cents
a pound. If she buys an aluminium
pot, pan or kettle for her kitchen,
costing 81, she has contributed in the
cost price $1.45 in the tariff toll.
These facts are perfectly under
standable to the American housewife.
They explain to her why the income
of $50 per week of pre-war days has
week now. To the sugar barons
alone the American housewife paid
S42,000,000 last year"
Then the statement goes on to at
tack the republican stronghold of
argument that high tariff keeps up
high wages and high costs for farm
products.
THE fallacy urged upon working
people and farmers that high tariff
keeps up high wages and high costs
for farm products is clearly shown in
the item of sugar, in which the beet
grower and the sugar field worker
are both underpaid, regardless of the
high sugar tariff, because the excess
price goes into the pocket of the beet
sugar trust factory owner. In the
beet sugar industry thousands Of
children are employed from the time
they can toddle into the fields
"Our democratic women's clubs are
asking women to discuss and think
over these tariff figures and facts
and then to govern themselves in
the forthcoming elections in accord
ance with whether they stand for
the party of high tariff or the party
of tariff for revenue only. Only in
party organizations can women gen
orally influence the repeal of the
high tariff and substitute for it a
tariff which will lower the cost Of