JOLT 30, 1909
15
The Commoner.
faring man, though a republican,
need not be deceived, and we are
glad to noto that many prominent
and wideawake republicans are not.
For a complete analysis of this most
important subject, every American
citizen, interested in his country's
welfaTe, should read The Commoner
educational series, now running in
Bryan's Commoner, one of the best
weekly newspapers published, and
costing but $1.00 a yeaT. "Subscribe,
read and pass it around," should be
advocated by democrats everywhere.
Best wishes for The Commoner and
the common people, for whom it
labors.
farmers and other labor aro the
victims. I have a hope for a better
future but not yet. When farmers and
other labor learns what is due them
they will inherit their own. Does not
corporate greed show us that freo
trade is now the paramount issue. We
will have to draw a direct lino be
tween protected interests and inter
ests that are not protected. Wo must
do this as the price of our rights as
freemen, not slaves, is eternal vigilance.
THE DUTIES ON HIDES
3D. G. Short, Sheldon, Mo. I am
glad to havo granted me the privilege
of expressing some views in regard
to the change of front of some of
our representatives that wo have al
ways thought to be democrats. As
the situation now presents itself I
can't understand it. I have always
understood that when a man made
the race for an office he was bound
by the platform that was written for
their guidance; the platform is sup
posed to express the desires of the
people who believe in the principles
it advocates. When an official vio
lates this trust he is assuming a
power that does not beldng to him.
No man holding an office in the con
gress of tho United States has the
right to assume a power that- is con
trary to the will of his people and
to use it in a way that they may
think is injurious to them. I can't
conceive why any official that is a
democrat and is now serving as such
In the congress of the United States
who has the temerity to think that
they have become so much a power
in the democratic party that they
can cast aside the platform of that
party and use their influence and
vote contrary to what his constitu
ents fqel are an .injury to them, It is
, possible that we may be mistaken,
but we reserve the right to correct
our mistakes. Furthermore if a
platform is not binding why need we
have a platform? Why not place
absolute power in the hands of our
officials without any restrictions
whatever. This would be authorized
despotism if they see fit to use their
power in that way. When Senator
Stone voted for a duty on iron ore
he used a privilege that is granted
.to every United States senator, the
right to express his views Dy vote;
but in this case he repudiated our
platform contrary to the wishes of
the people that made him a senator.
If he can explain to our satisfaction
we will want to know what kind of
democrats we are. Mr. Stone said
in reply to Mr. Bryan's criticism of
his- vote that he thought he under
stood the situation better than Mr.
Bryan. Perhaps he does. Perhaps he
understands the situation better
than his constituents, but this we
know, that a tariff of twenty-five
cents a ton on. iron ore is not going
to cheapen the price of our farm im
plements and farm machinery. We
also know that we buy hundreds of
millions of dollars worth annually.
We do this, without being beneficed
by any protective laws; we are abso
lutely without protection, If protec
tion is such a good thing for a few
to -give justice to all why, not make
protection1 general. The farmers1 can
be protected only by the government
giving us a bounty, an ad valorem
bounty on everything we produce
equal to the indirect bounty given
to all protected industries. In case
our government should . give . us a
bounty of such protective qualities
what would be the result? The result
would bo a sudden rise on all manu
factured products or a sudden decline
in the price of all farm products and
tho farmers would be clamoring
for more bounty. This is conclusive
proof that protection is not protec-
To the Editor of the Evening Post.
Sir: In all the discussions about
the duty on "hides," I have never
seen an intimation of the fact that
hidea or skins weichinfc twenty-five
pounds or less in the raw state or can
twelve pounds or less in the dried
are free under the present tariff
act.
JThe hides which are dutiable un
der paragraph 437 of the present
DIngloy tariff act are the "hides of
cattle," and the word "cattle" has
been defined by the board of general
appraisers and accepted by the treas
ury department to include animals of
the bovine species only, so that the
only hides that are dutiable aro cat
tle and buffalo hides weighing over
twenty-five pounds in the raw or
green state, and over twelve poundB
in tho dried. Calf skins, goat skins,
horse and ass skins, and in fact all
other skins, are free. Hides and
skins, except sheep skins with tho
wool on, have been on the freo list
ever since 1872. The tariff act of
1894 did not even make this excep
tion, as wool was free under that
act, but put all hides and skins with
out exception on the free list.
Tho- present Dingley act put skins
on tho free list in the following lan
guage (par. 664):
"Skins of all kinds, raw (except
sheep skins with the wool on) and
hides not specially provided for in
this act."
After the passage of the Dingley
act July 24, 1897, tho treasury de
partment Instructed collectors. to as
sess a duty of 15 per cent oh raw
calf skins, evidently construing the
paragraph putting a duty on "hides
of cattle" to include calf skins.
The importers of calf skins pro
tested against this, and claimed that
there was a trade distinction between
"hides" and "skins" and that as
skins were on the freo list, all such
articles as were known in trade and
commerce as skins were entitled to
be admitted free of duty. After
many hearings had before the board
of general .appraisers, and a great
deal of testimony taken on both sides
it was decided by them that the hides
were dutiable under the Dingley
tariff as "hides of cattle" were only
such hides of the bovine species as
weighed more than twenty-five
pounds in the raw state,- and over
twelve pounds in the dried, and that
all other hides and skins were free,
except sheep skins with the wool on,
and these rulings were eventually
acquiesced in and accepted by the
treasury department In September,
1898,. since which time only such
hides as those above named have
been dutiable.
It seems incongruous that a duty
should be put dn hides only over a
Certain weight, lvuf the tariff act Js
full of inconsistencies. This makes
cost of boots and shoes to the labor
ing man higher, as he -is the one that
wears the boots and shoes that are
made out of "hides of cattle."
New York. W. J. GlBbUW.
campaign pretensions to adopt a
policy long advocated by tho Nobras
kan, and yet when tho voters havo
had a chanco to elect tho real po
litical leader of tho nation to an
offico that was his by right of con
structive statesmanship thoy havo
cast him aside. Thoy havo heeded
and honored his adversaries who de
nounced him as a "dangerous dream
er," or oven aB an "anarchist," and
who, as soon as thoy took offico,
grasped for salvation at his "danger
ous" and "anarchistic" policies.
Nothing fiioro picturesquo than a
Taft somersault can bo imagined,
and yet tho genial president has
turned a completo and perfect somer
sault on tho income and corporation
tax questions. In his speech of ac
ceptance at Cincinnati tho republi-
candldato strongly dissented
from that plank of the democratic
platform favoring a constitutional
amendment for an incomo tax. It
was his belief that no such amend
ment was needed. As president,
however, he proclaims his belief
that a constitutional amendment is
the only way out of tho difficulty.
But that is not all. He has adopted
the democratic plan of taxing tho
corporations, and only yesterday,
with tho aid of his Blackstone cabi
net, ho prepared the amendment,
providing for an excise on all cor
porations whoso net income is more
than $5,000 a year.
President Taft, with his custbm
ary frankness, has admitted his mis
takes, and, like Roosevelt, has found
firm footing on the democratic plat
form. It will not have escaped no
tice, however, that ho has betrayed
himself Into many inconsistencies.
He announced his purpose of letting
the tariff bill take its "course with
out anv Axecutivo intorferenco. Al
though ho could have made revision
downward cortain, ho refused to
speak tho necessary word, pleading
that it was not tho part of tho presi
dent to coerce tho legislative branch
of tho government. As soon, how
ever, as Aldrich and his cohorts
found themselves faco to fate with
defeat they appealod to Taft, and ho
promptly took action which doomed
tho Incomo tax amondmont of Bailey
and doforred tho settlement of tho
question for several years, at least.
Ho stepped into tho breach at tho
Aldrich behest, although ho ha'd
ignored tho prayers and expostula
tions of tho progressives. Denver
News.
DEATJI OP WILLIAM BROWN
Tho Chicago Record-Herald says:
"William Brown, formerly chief
counsel for tho Chicago & Alton
Railway, died at Jacksonville, 111.,
yesterday at tho ago .of 70 years.
Ho was a graduate of Illinois College
and of Missouri University, and was
admitted to the bar in Jacksonville
in 1861. Ho was ono of tho solici
tors for tho Wabash railroad and
became a member of the law firm
of Beckwith & Brown, Chicago, in
1887. Ho was city attorney in Jack
sonville for a time, stato's attorney
for tho first judicial circuit In 1872,
and state senator in 1872-74. Ho
was a leader in the democratic ranks
and was chairman of tho democratic
state central committee from 1874
to 1876. William J. Bryan studied
law in his offico at Jacksonville, and
in a speech recently delivered in
Jacksonville said that never in his
career had ho met a man with a
greater logal mind. Tho decedent
was tho father of William Browh,
Jr., of Chicago, who was a candidate
for superior court judge on tho dem
ocratic ticket at tho recent election."
Former Mayor F. W. Brown of Lin
coln, Neb., is also a son.
COIVI Bl M ATIOIM
T
OFFERS
STEALING DEMOCRATIC IDEAS
The people rejected Bryan as their
leader, but Roosevelt and Taft have
accepted him. Year after year the
wnrR have seen the presidents of
tion, it is robbery and through it the ' the United States repudiate their
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