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The Common.
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IMPORTANCE OP THEORY
Tho situation at Washington emphasizes the
fact that a theory is, after all, absolutely neces
sary If wo aro going to make any progress in
tho discussion of public questions. Somo say
that a thing may ho theoretically good and yet
bad in practice. That is tho objection which
tho advocates of tho high tariff make to argu
ments attacking tho protectivo principle, but
that is a fallacy. That which Is theoretically
good can not bo bad in practice, for if a thing
wero bad in practico, it could not be good in
theory. Tho trouble is that people sometimes
want to do things inconsistent with any prin
ciple which thoy dare to advance or any argu
ment that thoy dare to present. Tho tariff dis
cussions glvo many illustrations of this. Some
of tho democrats oppose tho principle of pro
tection but seek to invoko that principle for the
benoflt of a fow protected Intorosts in their dis
tricts, whilo many republicans on the other hand
ardently champion tho principle of protection
but aro anxious to paVt from it when they come
to tho schedules which especially burden their
constituents. Tho result is that the speeches
and votes of protectionist democrats are used
to prove tho insincerity of tho democratic party
in demanding tariff reform, and tho speecheB
and votes. of tho tariff reform republican bring
confusion Into tho republican ranks.
Our senators and members of congress ought
to believe either in a revenue tariff or in a pro
tective tariff. If they believe in a revenue tariff
thoy ought to apply the principle to industries
in their own districts as well as to industries
in other districts; and so republicans, if they
expect to remain republicans ought to stand for
tho protectivo principle and stand for it when
tho burden falls upon their own district as when
their own district receives special benefit from
it. Thero can bo no moral or legal justification
for the framing of a bill upon the theory that
a majority of the membors of congress will get
what thoy want and then pass tho bill without
regard to the protests of tho minority.
If tho revenue theory is adopted, a just tariff
law can be drawn, for then tho schedules will
be so made as to collect the necessary revenue,
and the bill will stop when tho necessary rev
enue is secured, but when the protective prin
ciple is adopted the question of revenue Is lost
sight of and the schedules may bo so fixed as
to impose a heavy burden without collecting the
necessary revenue, and the protectionists never
know when to stop.
The arguments in favor of a revenue tariff
are unanswerable, and it would not take long
to bring a majority of the voters to the support
of this position if we had newspapers to bring
tho arguments to the attention of the voters,
but with a large majority of the rapers in tho
contested states supporting the favor-seeking
corporations, it is difllcult to get the facts known.
"SPOTTED PROTECTIONISTS"
Senator Elkins has invented a new phraso
which is likely to bo used quite frequently in
tho next campaign. Ho applies the name "spot
ted protectionists" to those who want a high
tariff on things sold by their constituents and a
low tariff on things bought by their constituents.
His criticism is entirely justified a man who
wants protection must give protection. It can
not be on-sided. The "spotted protectionist"' Is
as Inconsistent as the "spotted tariff reformer "
Tho spots are, as in tho case of deer, a sign of
youth. They will come off after a whilo ' A
man must bo all protection or all reformer ho
can not bo half and half.
PLATFORM PLEDGES
A Texas paper takes exception to Mr. Bryan'e
speech before, the legislature of that state urging
She legislature to carry out tho pledges oftnfe
Itasrtys UPn WhCh tU members were VTo'a
"The Texas democratic platform is .always
Jung together in a,few hours on a hot summer
day by a handful of perspiring politicianswork
ing in hot haste, without any responsib lity to
the pqople for their acts, and three days af to?
tho convention not one man in one thousand
In tho state could even recall the nersonnS f n?
ono-half 'of its membership Its repS? to the
convention is always adopted with a whoop as
.a malter of course. Does Mr. Bryan sertoiwiS
contend that the actual potential ' lawUki? if
Texas should be intrusted to this Zonymou
responsible and hasty bunch of menV and tw
the constitutional functions of the Texas ecHa
turn should ho nl ,, vl; ltJAUS . ieSi3ia-
g that tho ieAsConU S2 &
soem sT Wei 'in" ?"" Cr mittee? "
Boom so. well, In this, as In many things, ho
goes too far. Texas demands more of conscien
tious personal service from her legislative ser
vants than does Mr. Bryan. Each member of
tho legislature is selected because of gome sup
posed personal fitness on his part, and takes
an oath to perform his duty, not as Mr. Bryan
or somo one else sees it, but as he himself per
ceives It. Tho conscientious discharge of this
duty In a conscientious manner often has been
all that has saved the state from headlong and
precipitate measures, born, too often, amidst
noiso, confusion and perfervid oratory, and
launched by men having little concern with tho
consequences except as their candidacies for
ofllce may be affected."
This Is not so much a criticism of Mr. Bryan
as it is a denunciation of the doctrine that plat
forms are binding upon those who secure office
upon them. There are just two theories of rep
resentative government) the democratic theory
is that the representative is in duty bound to
give expression to the wishes of his constituents,
and the other is that the representative is free
to do as he pleases regardless of the wishes of
his constituents. The paper above referred to
seems to take the latter position, or, at least, it
insists that the representative is free to interpret
as he pleases the wishes of his constituents. If
this theory is correct, then we ought to have no
platforms at all, for a platform that is not
obeyed simply assists the representative in per
petrating a fraud upon his constituents.
In the case at bar, that is, In the matter before
the Texas legislature when Mr. Bryan spoke, the
platform promised legislation making bank de
positors secure. The governor and a large ma
jority of the house of representatives have tried
to fulfill this platform pledge, but a bare ma
jority of the senate opposed the measure. The
large financial Interests are fighting all and every
kind of protection to depositors, and the papers
that take their cue from the financial interests
are praising the Texas senators as a1 group of
patriots because they refuse to listen to the
"demagogues" who are attempting to protect
tho rights of depositors.
- However, this seems to be a necessary part
of the work of reform. This sifting goes on
continuously and the people' gradually find out
their friends and punish their enemies. Texas
will not be an exception. It is a democratic
state and the people will sooner or later have
democracy crystallzed into Jaw even if to do so
they have to bury a few of their misrepre-sentatives.
BUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS RE
SPONSIBLE The Des Moines (Iowa) Register and Leader,
a republican paper, says:
"There has never been any intention on the
part of Senator Aldrich to have tariff revision
excepting in name. And in this he is backed
by Speaker Cannon, the monopolists, and the
honest reactionaries, joining in a formidable
alliance, which, in spite of the efforts of tho
insurgent forces, and in tho face of the presi
dent's repeated demands, may be able to carry
the day."
Did not the Register and Leader know prior
to election that Aldrich and Cannon did not
intend to revise the tariff in the public interest?
The tariff barons provided campaign funds for
the republican party, controlled the republican
national convention, dominate the senate and
the house, all through the agency of the fepub
lican party, yet republican papers like the Des
-Moines Register and Leader seek to make them
selves and th.eir readers believe that two indi
viduals Aldrich -and Cannon by name are re
sponsible! 'Will well meaning republican editors ever get
.their oyes opened?
"BUT!"
"Bur raP.y .becoming the most popular
word in Washington "I am 'a protectionist,
BUT I want free lumber for my constituents. I
am a tariff reformer BUT my people insist upon
protection on iron ore, etc., etc." , BUT wait
until they get home and seewhat their constit
uents really think. . - - H-ll
"UNEQUIVOCALLY"
The republican national platform of last-year
promised "unequivocally" that the tariff would
bo revised" at a session of congress to be called
"immediately" after inauguration. This was in
response to tho urgent demand of the peoDle
for a reduction of the tariff. While this
promise was in itself so equivocal that it ought
not to have deceived anyone, it was seized upon
by western republicans as a concession to ?ie
reform element in the party. When Mr, Taft'l
'" VOLUME , NUMBER 20
attention was called to the fact that the word
"revise" did not necessarily mean "reduce," hq
declared that his party stood for an "honest"
revision and announced that the revision would
"probably" be downward. We now have the:
interpretation which his party leaders have
placed upon the word "revise."
The Payne bill, as reported from the commit
tee RAISED the average 1.66 per cent, while
the senate bill raised the rate 1.7 per cent. Does
President Taft stand for this glaring repudiation
of his platform and of his promises? What
explanation will he give a deluded public? Will
he excuse himself by saying that he has no in
fluence with congress? Did he not lead tho
voters to believe that he would be able to carry
out his platform? What is a platform for if it
does not "bind those elected upon it? The re
publican platform could be used as positive
proof against the republican party in a suit
brought for obtaining votes under false pre
tense If the republicans contemplated an in
crease in the tariff instead of a reduction why
did they promise "unequivocally?" If they in
tended to make the taxes heavier instead of
lowering them why did they take the pains to
promise to do It "immediately?" The "grand
old party" has been guilty of a great deal of
unfairness and double-dealing, but It has never
before attempted so open, so transparent and so
conscienceless a swindle as it perpetrated last
fall when it masqueraded as a tariff reform
party and gathered votes from the -west while
it sold the tariff schedules to the protected in
terests in return for campaign funds.
The Commoner ventures to predict that it
will be many years before the word "unequivo
cally" Ends it way into another republican plat
form and still longer before the words "un
equivocally" and "immediately" will be woven
into the same sentence. It ought to be a long
while, too, before the voters can be trapped as
they were last fall by high-sounding promises.
The republican record was sufficient to condemn
the party, and that record is being made more
odious day by day.
"MADE IN THE HOUR OF THEIR FRIGHT"
Speaking in the senate, May 24, Senator Hey
burn made a speech on the tariff, and Jn that
speech he made a confession. The story is told
in the following extracts from an Associated
Press report:
"A clash between Senators Heyburn and
, Clapp followed the former's assertion that tho
promise of tariff revision was made by a few
republicans at the Chicago convention 'in the
hour of their fright.' Senator Clapp asked if
the Idaho senator did not want to withdraw
that statement. 'No, I am not afraid of ghosts,
wherever I meet them,' replied Mr. Heyburn.
'The people knew the republican party could
be trusted to do the right thing although in
advertently a bad promise crept into the plat
form.' "
'
,
"THEM'S AS AIN'T IDIOTS TURNS
OFF THE TAP"
The true remedy against our trusts is
, to seek out the cause of a trust and to
remove that cause. This is a perfectly
simple and natural remedy, and lies close
4 at hand. It applies to public matters the
same rule of wisdom which men apply in
their own affairs as to health, business,
and every private transaction in the
world. If typhoid fever or some other,
epidemic is sweeping over your commu
nity and you find that it results from
sewerage or some other physical cause,
you will remove the cause and not rely
solely upon the skill and remedies of
medical practitioners. Some visitors
who were being shown over a pauper
lunatic asylum inquired' of their guide,
what method was employed to discover
when the inmates-were sufficiently re
covered to leave. ?
"Well," replied he, "you see, it's this
way. We have a big trough of water and
we turns on the tap. We leave it run-
ning, and tells 'em to bail out the water
trou hP" Until they've emPtied the
"How does that prove.it?" asked one
of the visitors.
ain't idiots turns off the tap." -From
The Tariff and the Trusts' by Frank
lin Pierce, published by.MacMillan Co.
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