lr
28
The Commoner
VOL. 16, NO. 2
President Wilson Explains Support
of Tariff Board
Following is an Associated Press
report, dated Washington, D. C, Jan.
20: President Wilson today sent a
letter to Chairman Kltchln, of tho
house ways and means committee, ex
plaining why ho had withdrawn his
opposition to a turiff commission and
now was urging the creation of such
u body by congress. IIo wrote frank
ly that he hud changed his mind be
cause "all the circumstances of the
world had changed."
Declaring that ho had "no thought
Whatever of a change In attitude to
ward tho so-called protection ques
tion," tho President said the pro
posed commission would have noth
ing to do with theories of policy, but
wpuld bo charged only with tho duty
of seeking facts to guide congress in
legislation.
In another lottor to Mr. Kltchln
last Monday ho had sot forth fully
his idoas of what u tariff commission
should be and urged that the ways
and means committee consider the
matter immediately. He favored a
non-partisan export organization.
War Hus Caused Changes
"I have changed my mind," said
today's lotter, "because all tho cir
cumstances of tho world havo
changed, and it seems to mo In view
of tho extraordinary and far reach
ing changes which tho European war
has brought about it is absolutely
necessary that wo should have a com
petent instrument of inquiry along
the whole lino of the many questions
which affect our foreign commerce.
"I have had in this change of mind
no thought whatever of a change of
attltudo towards tho so-called pro
tection question. That is neither
hero nor there. A commission such
na I havo suggested would havo noth
ing to do with theories of policy.
They would deal only with facts,
and tho facts which they would seek
ought to be the actual facts of in-
SERVIGE AND SATISFACTION
THE MIDWEST LIFE will be ten
years old on May 1, 1916. During this
entiro period it has nor been sued by
a policyholder. This indicates that it
has not only given good service to its
policyholders, but also satisfactory
service. It has sold them satisfaction
as well as insurance.
THE MIDWEST LIFE now deals
with thousands of individual policy
holders each year. It aims to bo of
real service to them. Modern busi
ness is built upon tho basis of many
sales to the same person; upon fair
ness; upon the belief that each party
is beneilted by the transaction. Be
f com a policyholder in this company.
Sample policies and premium rates
furnished on request.
TheMxdwestLife
of LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
A STOCK COMPANY SELLING
, HTEED COST LIFE INSURANCE
dustry of the conditions of econ
omic exchange prevailing in the
world so that legislation of every
kind that touched these matters
might be guided by the circum
stances disclosed in its inquiries.
"I dare say you feel as I do, that
it would bo folly at this time, or un
til all the altered conditions clearly
are understood, to attempt to deal
with problems of foreign commerce
by legislation, and yet, having dealt
directly and clearly with the whole
question of unfair competition with
in our own borders, it Is clear that
as soon as we know the facts we
ought to deal with the unfair meth
ods of competition as between our
own nation and others. This is only
ono of the many things we probably
would wish to deal with. The other
matters I have attempted to indicate
in my previous letter to you. I am
glad to supplement that letter by
this explicit statement of the consid
erations which have been most influ
ential with me.
Conditions Foreshadowed
"You will remember that in my
last message to congress I foreshad
owed just the conditions which were
operating in my mind in this mat
ter. The passage to which I refer
was this: 'Many conditions about
which we have repeatedly exchanged
views are being altered from decade
to decade, it is evident under our
very eyes, and are likely to change
even more rapidly and more radical
ly in tho days immediately ahead of
us, when peace has returned to the
world and the nations of Europe once
more take up their tasks of com
merce and industry with the energy
of those who must bestir themselves
to build anew. Just what these
changes will be no one can certainly
foresee or confidently predict. There
are no calculable, because no stable,
elements in the problem. The most
we can do is to make certain that we
have the necessary instrumentalities
of information constantly at our ser
vice so that we may be sure that we
know exactly what we are dealing
with when we come to act, if it
should be necessary to act at all. We
must first certainly know what it is
that we are seeking to adapt our
selves to. I may ask the privilege of
addressing you more at length on
this important matter a little later
in the season.'
"I need hardly say that I appre
ciate very fully the motives by which
you are yourself actuated, and it is,
therefore, with the greater confidence
that I lay the whole matter time
fully before you. Congress has so
much to do at the present time that
t is clearly impossible that it should
be able to collect all the data which
such a commission would gather, and
I reel that it would presently find
such a commission indispensable to
i J118.,161161, sent t0 Mr- Kltchln
last Monday, the President said:
President's Other Letter
"I am convinced, as I suppose ev
ery dsinterested person mm 11
that it would be a mistake to provide
for such a board with the idea of
serving any particular theory of fis
cal policy. What we would need
would be, above all things else a
?tid aS mUCh as Psible from any
strong prepossession in favnr
of any political policy and capable of
It?V the whole economic sUu
ation of the country with disnasinn
ate and iiiBinfAMnj uiapassion-
imiuQ" ?:i "r,toeu. scrutiny. I
the field of its inquiry and its ac
tivities should be."
He outlined in detail his plans for
the work of such a board, including
the collection of tariff figures, inves
tigation of the output of products at
home and abroad, of the workings of
commercial treaties and preferential
agreements of unfair methods of
competition, of dumping and of sci
entific methods of creating new in
dustries and building up old ones.
believe we could obtain such a board
Vl?JTt & were ena-
, 1W ltJ quue ciear to
me what
MR. BRYAN
(Michael Monahan in the Phoenix.)
It is now clear to all savo those
who will not see, that Mr. Bryan's
act In resigning the portfolio of state
was a timely, well-advised and pow
erful demonstration which has great
ly availed to keep us out of this for
eign war. "
This inestimable service not alone
to our country but to humanity at
large, may well compensate Mr. Bry
an for the abuse of a section of the
press and the depreciation of the fat
headed. He has been long inured to
the one and he is wise enough to
lightly regard the other: for neither
interested malice nor public inepti
tude will have the smallest weight
in determining the final judgment of
the nation upon the course he. pur
sued. I am not a blind follower of Mr.
Bryan, and with certain pet theories
of his as to prohibition, for exam
ple I find myself In radical disagree
ment. But I rate him the foremost
exponent of true democracy in our
country today the greatest living
personal force in holding this republic
to its just traditions.
And so regarding the man, I think
his resignation was the biggest act
of his career, as it was assuredly the
bravest in view of the obloquy sure
to be encountered. It signalized the
bold intuitive genius of the man
and that absolute devotion to prin
ciple which has illumined his entire
public life. The attempt of his en
emies to show a petty or unwortliv
motive for it has reacted with dis
grace upon their own heads.
He saw the war tide rising and
threatening to carry the administra
tion with it. He measured the pow
erful influences that were seeking to
push us into the abyss of war. He
estimated the clamor of a stupid or
sinister press pretending to voice the
sentiment of the whole people. He
knew that the conventions of office
held him to a certain subordination
as well as silence. He realized that
he must meet this great public dan
ger in the open as a free man, with
out party or official trammels. He
acted accordingly, and perhaps we
shall never fully know how -much
reason we have to be glad of his de
cision, i think there is one person
m .T,y realizes itthe Pres
ident of the United States!
Mr Bryan flung himself into the
breach with characteristic yet saga
cious daring, and instant.lv. aowni
organized tho counter-revolution
against war, that has dashed he
hopes and foiled the plans of the
ingoes It was a brilliant, a master
ly, an incomparable piece of work
showing Bryan the patriot and the'
tactician at his best; and as a public
service I believe it can not well be
over-estimated. But let your Pagin
ation take a bird's-eye view of the
immense slaughter-pit of Europe and
then reflect how near we were to
bringing the same fate" .upoTouS
Always hated bv the press of New
York, which has failed to write b?m
down in twenty years of perverse aSd
outrageouS depreciation, sounding the
full gamut from caricature to calum
ny, the rancor of these honest 5
is scarcely torrdea?Lte TlS
and the "Times," for exampVare
almost Sadistic in their freshly ex
acerbated spleen against their old"
enemy; they clearly extract a volupt
uous pleasure from it; nay, they will
never have done showing the ugly
sore and squirting the pus at their
readers I The meanness, the malice
the littleness of the exhibition go to
prove that American journalism has
not bettered remarkably in character
since it was stigmatized by Dickens
according to its just deserts.
Mr. Bryan can afford to be mag
nanimous, to smile on these embit
tered pressmen nay, even to pity
them. For indeed some of these pens
of privilege merely write the thoughts
of their employers, and the writers
themselves hold very different views.
The glory of having done much to
avert the horrors of war from this
country by an act of supreme courage
and patriotism, will doubtless recon
cile Mr. Bryan to these minor irrita
tions. And the deep praise of a grate
ful nation, of which no malice can
deprive him, may well drown in his
ear the insect chorus of the malig
nant press.
AS MENACE TO DEMOCRACY
Dr. Harry A. Garfield, president of
Williams college, speaking in the
Mount Morris Baptist church at Fifth
avenue and 126th street, Brooklyn,
said:
"Our army and navy ought to be
well organized and equipped and
economically maintained, but we
ought not to have a larger military
establishment than we need to police
our country and defend our shores.
To base our building program upon
that of other nations is to put our
selves in the vicious circle of naval
competition and to commit ourselves
to a policy dictated by Europe and
absurdly inapplicable from a political
point of view to our needs.
"Democracies have' Waged great
wars," Dr. Garfield continued, "but
they have done it wastef ully and have
succeeded only when they have
evolved themselves for the time being
into something not democratic. The
departure advocated by the -enthusiasts
for a big army and navy is not
for a season, but permanently. If
this is to be done, it is folly to at
tempt longer to maintain our demo
cratic institutions. If necessity dic
tates that we enter into competition
with European states in the mainten
ance of great army and navy estab
lishments, wisdom demands that we
adopt as permanent machinery of
government that which under our
constitution was Intended for emer
gencies only, in other words, that we
put our liberties in commission and
clothe our President with autocratic
powers and surround him with expert
military advisers.
"Political parties are preparing now
to make capital out of conditions that
need mending. Fears and prejudices
are being played upon to put through
programs involving vast expenditures.
It is the part of wisdom, of true
patriotism, to look before we leap.
Preparedness in every department of
civic and social life is our present
need. That is our first line of de
fense. Military preparedness is our
second."
Don't Wear A Trus
n J?i"?Mi?iST.,Jli RbW Brii and pinch. . .
5'J iirUrA0,p4?s are different from the truss, being d
alinni. SPDl,,,.cators made self-adhesive to prevent 9
iin?K3ps'. bucklef or springs attached. Simple
Home -treatment. tajH l-sf u Vital -kupiMhi.
i,ideay ,rJ?.m work. Hundreds of mrn testlmo
Mais from thosojwatf. Awvfed Si Midtl and 6nsd Mi.
DO This NOW!
Saw Ymts ! Suffwkii
Write today for F R E E
Trial planus and Illus
trated book os rupture.
Learn how to close the
hernial opening as na
ture Intended. So tho
rupture eaa't come down.
No charge for It, now or
evert nothing to return.
Plaaae Laboratories.
Block 187 8t, Louis. Mo.
IRlALOFPLAMO
