Milford chronicle., 1928-09-28
THE VITAL ISSUE OF THIS
CAMPAIGN

Y the evidently concerted action Of
l the Democratic orators, from the
= presidential candidate down, in put
f. ting the strategic soft pedal on the
: tariff issue. 1t is generally agreed
that the next Congress, to be elected
in November, will do some revising
of the tariff. 1t will be one of the
most important matters, vitality
touching the countrys industry and
business at every point, to come
before that body and the next Pres
ident, who recommends its legisla-
tive procedure and has the power of
veto. And yet the Democratic
stump speeches glide gently over
the subject, endeavoring to fix the
attention of the East on prohibition
and of the West on farm relief. For
when they discuss the tariff they
always get into trouble.
Chairman Raskob, with his fatal
facility for laundering, as evidenc-
ed by his acrobatic performance
with the equalization fee, provided
an exception during the last week
to the Democratic taboOers of the
tariff. He took Mr.. Hoover to task
for his supposed allusion at New
ark to Governor Smiths acceptance
speech defense of Democratic tariff
policies. Mr.. Hoover merely COM
mented on recent Democratic refer
ences to the Underwood Tariff Law
as an ideal measure. Mr.. Raskob
hurriedly and heatedly replied that
Governor Smith did not intend to
hold up the Underwood bill as a
model. These were Mr.. Smiths
words:
The Democratic Party does
not and under my leadership
will not advocate any sudden or
drastic revolution in our Geo.
nomic system which would
cause business upheaval and
popular distress. This principle
was recognized as far back as
the passage of the Underwood
Tariff Bill.
This is a sufficiently plain in
dorsement of the Underwood bill,
which caused enough business up
heaval and popular distress" until
wartime conditions fortunately Off
set it's capacity for further harm.
Mr.. Smith felt it necessary to say
something about the tariff in his
address of acceptance, but his ref
erence to the subject could not
have been more unfortunate. How
ever, if Mr.. Raskob will refrain
from making any more bad breaks,
it is certain that his brother Dem
ocrats will cooperate in RELOCATING
discussion of the tariff to the back
as far as possible. There's
a reason.
The Democratic Party, despite its
allusion to the validity of
the protective principle in its Hous-
ton platform, knows that every ref
erence it makes to the tariff will be
construed in the light of its rec
ord. And that record is very bad.
It cannot reply to Republican argu-
ments on the tariff without cmpha-
sizing the belated nature of it's own
to the protective prin-
conversion it can be call
ed. And as Mr.. Hoover has said:
1 am sure the American peo-
pie would rather intrust the
perfection of the tariff to the
consistent friends of the tariff
than to our opponents, who
have always reduced our tar
ifs, who voted against our
present protection to the work.
er and the farmer and whose
whole economic theory for gen.
erations has been the destruc-
ton of the protective principle.
What have been the personal at
itudes of the two presidential can
lidates regarding protection? In
he 1924 and 1926 campaigns Mr..
Hoover toured the West for the
Republican ticket and in numerous
peeches showed what the protec- II
i've tariff does for the farmer. The
ariff was his most frequent text.
n 1922 Mr.. Smith denounced the
xisting protective tariff law as IAN
utrage on the American people and
betrayal of their interests" The
ocular Democratic clap-trap, of
curse, but Mr.. Smith did not dis
ain to use it for his purposes.
Tariff bills originate in the House
Jays and Means Committee. Ogden
i. Mills, Undersecretary of the
reasury, recently examined the
ecord of the ten present Democrat
members of the committee and
,und them to be, with a single ex-
option, 'low-tariff men," Naturally,
nee they are Democrats. III
Let no Republican voter be de- III
lived by Democratic tactics into
linking that the tariff is not
lie of the most vital issues this
,ar. None is more important, un-
SIS the continuance of the coun-
US industrial and commercial