Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-24
The Political Mill
BY C. Could Lincoln.

The congressional forum has closed
for the Summer. Party politics must be
discussed by Republicans and Demo-
Gratis outside the Senate and House
chambers until after the Fall campaign
is over and done. But the members OF
the House are a forenanoed lot. 1hey
succeed in having placed In the con-
gresSional Record, under leave 70
print" speeches which they nave not
found time to deliver during the Ses-
sions OF the House. They are Speecnes
intended for use particularly IN tnelr
own home States, or even throughout tne
country, during the campaign. In the
Senate there Is no leave 10 print OF
extension of remarks" A senator mas
to make all these speeches on the IlooI
of the Senate while his colleagues mo
something else to do. That's one Oh tne
reasons the sessions OF the senate take
so much time. To get things across 10
their constituents, via the CongresslonaI
Record, the republication OF tner
speeches in pamphlet form ana the
thanking privilege, the Senator'S must
deliver those speeches on the moor
y x x x
So the Congressional Record has Kept
on appearing, although congress gun
back on July g. Each volume OF tne
Record-called the appenolA--cdIiieS
scores of speeches by members Oh tne
House. All of them are for Distribution,
nne wav or another, and for publication
in the permanent record. Representa-
tive VIII r. Wood OF Indiana, chairman
of the Republican Congressional Gam
paign Committee, has one In the latest
ISSUE of the Record which Is fu1l Oh pep
and ginger, and designed 10 give Gne
Democratic critics or Smoot-HaWley
tariff bill something TO squlrm over.
Mr. Wood carries The war nhto eLe
Democratic camp. He makes no apology
for the Republican tar1n law, Dut seeks
to show up the Democrats as antl-pro-
tectionists despite the claims maze our-
ing the Smith campaign IN 1898 tHaC
they were not aVerSe to the principe oA
the protective tariff and that business
had nothing to worry about II they
came into power. Mr.. Wood does not
mince his words in his remarks about
the Democrats. He insists that the at
titude OF the majority of the Democrats
toward the taritI, as shown by the de-
bates in Congress and out, is distinctly
against the protective tariff. Says Mr..
Wood:
1.-The greatest political deception, ana
the most deliberate, ever sought TO be
the subtle but persistent attempt on the
part of spokesman of the Democratic
party in the last presidential campaign
to convince the voters that they had
been won over to the Republican prin-
ciple OF protection, or at least that they
would not disturb its application, the
benefits being so apparent, II the Demo-
cratic party should be returned to
power. The greatest outstanding fact
- hot the
two parties as we bring this session OF
Congress to a close, and enter upon the
congressional campaign of 1890, is that
the Democratic party stands where 1t
has always stood, as opposed to the Re-
publican party, OIL the tariff question
though covertly and with secret misgiv-
ings, and that the Republican party
stands where it has always stood, openly
and confidently.
Their platform at Houston was very
cunningly devised. 1t fooled many edi-
torial and headline writer's into an
nouncing that the Democratic party had
come over to the Republican position on
protection, overlooking the fact that the
Democratic platform writer's had not
failed to embody and bury in its smbig-
uous phrases and among It's weasel
words a declaration that they favored
duties that would permit effective COM
petition. Every business man knows
what effective competition is on the
part of q competitor that has some form
of advantage-such as cheaper rents,
cheaper clerk hire, or cheaper goods as
a result of quantity buying. 1t even
tually puts him out of business. just as
the cheaply produced products of Eu-
rope, in unrestricted competition with
our products would paralyze our indus
tries.
1T is evident that all the old props
and fittings used in the debate on
the tariff bill to alright doubtful men,
bers and their constituents are going
to be trotted out in the Great Demo-
cratic Poad Show of the 1880 Con-
gressionai Campaign.
They will tell us in one breath that
the farm tariff will be ineffective. and
in the next add every farm rate in
full to the price of the food we put
on our dinner tables.
They will tell us one day there is
no prosperity and the rcxt that the
Hawley-Smoot bill will Restroy pros
perity.
They will tell us, while calling it
the Grundy bill, that it will close the
manufacturing plants of the country,
including, as matter of course, we
would naturally suppose, Mr.. Grundy's
manufacturing plant"
Mr.. Wood apparently has cast aside
the friendly fellowship of the House
in discussing his Democratic colleagues
in this address, which is now published
in the Record for the first time. What
he says is doubtless calculated to stir
the Democrats to white heat But
that is part of the political game. The
campaign is on and there are signs 1t
will be waged bitterly. The Democrats
have been beating TATTOO on the tariff
bill for weeks and months. They will
soon be on the road telling the farm
ers and the workers in factories that
all their ills come from the Republican
tariff. 1t certainly sounds like the
year 1922.
The political situation in Pennsyl-
vania, due to the fact that supporters
of Francis Skunk Brown, candidate for
the Republican nomination for Cover
nor, but defeated by Clifford Pinchot,
are contesting Mr.. Pinchot's nomina-
ton continues ABOUT as clear as mud.
The Brown people are trying to have
the vote in Luzerne County thrown
out. If they were successful, Brown
would be in the lead by small ma
jority. The State Supreme Court will
not decide the matter for some time,
and Mr.. Pinchot has decided to pre-
empt" the independent ticket field so as
to be ready for any emergency. If
the courts rule him out, he will then
be in position to run as an inde-
pendent, as he has promised to do,
making it a three-cornered race be-
tween himself, Brown and the Demo-
cratic nominee, John NJ. Hemphill.
The Liberal party, the vets who sought
the Republican gubernatorial nomina
ton with former Representative Phil
lips as their candidate, will either put
candidate in the field or support
Hemphill.
Pinchot has invited all the other sue