Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 91, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1910 — TRANSPARENT DISHON .. ESTY. . ■ [ARTICLE]

TRANSPARENT DISHON .. ESTY. . ■

Why not have the Hon. Albert Jerry Beveridge and the Hon. James Eli Watson arrange a series of joint debates on the Aldrich-Taft tariff law?

Did the Republican editors at their recent state meeting endorse the Payne-Aldrich-Taft tariff law or did they not? There seems to be a great mystery about what actually was done and the public is entitled to know the truth.

Every time Mr. Taft attempts to harmonize the fighting factions of his party he starts a new conflagration. But then it is pretty hard for a member of one crowd to convince the other crowd that he has no sinister \ purpose.

It is said that at a recent meeting of leading Republicans the Hon. Charles S. Hernly, former state chairman, told his brethern that they could solve the problem of indorsing both Taft and Beveridge in their state platform by praising Taft end of the document for approving the tariff bill and by praising Beveridge at the other end for voting against it. Mir. Hernly has a keen humor and thoroughly understands the difficulties that beset his party in Indiana.

Is it not rather remarkable that the esteemed leaders of the Prohibition party an 1 the equally esteemed leaders of the AntiSaloon League—also Prohibitionists—should engage in much ifnseemly quarreling? * .Certainly the mere handling of the financial loaves and fishes —to say nothing about the flesh-pots of Egypt—can have no connection with this most distressing affair. In the meantime the honest rank and file of the two interested organizations must be in a frame of mind.

The Providence (R. I.) Journal, an independent paper, which has heretofore supported Republican candidates, has got its eyes open at last. It says that “when the American has to pay more than the Englishman for American products it is clear to the dullest intelligence that he is paying a disproportionate share of the profit, and that it is the monopoly of the American market which permits such shameless extortion.” This is precisely what everybody is thinking now-a-days. And it should be remembered that this “monopoly of the American market" has been brought about by Republican tariff legislation.

The eleven Democratic congressmen from Indiana have proved by their acts that they can be trusted to stand firmly for the interests of the people and against all forms of grabs, and grafts intended to benefit the trusts and other special interests. When it was proposed the other day by a member from Mississippi to offer a substitute ship subsidy bill—less objectionable in some respect than the One now pending but fully as offensive upon principle—every Democrat from Indiana immediately went On record against the proposition. When these faithful representatives face their constituents next fall they will not have to make any sort of an apology for the simple reason that they have walked in the straight, old-fashioned Democratic road.

The rank dishonesty of the Beveridge campaign has not at any time been in doubt, but it becomes plainer every day. As the Beveridge crowd is in the saddle and will ( it is said) give

Erection to the Republican campaign this year, the public should understand now that the plan is to talk “tariff commission.” The hope of the Beveridgeites is that the Republican voters of all factions can be hoodwinked by that cry into forgetting what particular theory they hold as to the tariff. By shouting “tariff commission” instead of tariff reform the standpatters are notified that they are not threatened, while it is expected that the people will be deceived into believing that through a “commission” all of the evils of the tariff are to be corrected. If a commission is created it will be a “protection” commission, will be controlled by the trusts and will “study” the tariff question for a few years and in the end will probably not find out —or at least will not report —the facts that the people have known and complained about for a long time. In the meantime the ordinary citizen will be fleeced of his last penny by the protected trusts and monopolies. Genuine reform of the tariff will never come through either of the Republican factions. If the people want relief they can get it by voting the Democratic ticket—and they can get it in no other way. t