Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1907 — Political Comment [ARTICLE]

Political Comment

Tariff Revision#. Unless all signs fail. fned)ingU*y tariff ,14 of 18117—will reinni’n in force longer than the famous Walker tariff of 184(1. The leaders of the party in -power have- no Intention of rcrhmjg the tariff during the coining session of Congress. Should unforeseen cirminstaiioes not force them to change their purposes; the present law will survive till after the presidential election in TIKIS'. This will make it eleven years old. The Walker tariff remained in ojKTation eleven years. It is quite improbable that Congress wilt undertake a revision before the autumn of 1900, and the work of drafting, amending and debating a tariff hill is so slow and complicated >that the hill could not become a law before jsome time in 1910. These facts will not nffoH the tuvs»ent demand for tariff changes, coming from ntfß of all parties. The Denu)crats, of course, demand tintt the law not because the Republicans passed it. hut because of their hostility to 'he protection theory. That is the duty of the opposition—to point out defects in tire policies of the party in j*ower. Enough Republicans agree with the Democrats on the need of revision, even tbougie they differ as to the methikls, to make it morally certain that some changes will be made within two ’or three years. ' ——- The Wilson-Uornum tariff, which preceded th*fe Dingley law*, was biassed iii 1894, aud the McKinley law.-went through Congress only four years earlier, in IS9O. The tariff that preceded the McKinley act was passed in 188 k, and it superseded a law enacted in 18755. In the twenty-two years before Hie jireswtt law Congress passed -four general tariff acts, which hail an average life of a little moreTlian five years. --Youth’s Companion.

Tlie “Real” Prosperity. At the present time one cannot but pause and marvel at the unparalleled prosperity which now hovers over this progressive nation. Every industry throughout the country is flourishing as never before, and a "full dinner pail" confronts every tradesman and laborer who is willing to toil. From East to West and from Noth to South comes the demand for men; harvest time is at hand and some industries may suffer for lack of help. There is no excuse for a single idler in the United States under present conditions, neither has, there been for some years past—but just now the field of opportunity is broader and better than ever. And the end is not yet; advancement is certain where confidence is so pronounced and general. The country is without a serf or a slave, and. with plenty of work 4 at good wages should inspire evone with a desire, from a political standpoint, to leave well enough alone. Just now there is a dearth of political talk, but nevertheless it is well to remember that invariably times are good while the Republican party hold in. And who would care to, or can truthfully deny it? Let's have no thought of going hack to the dark period of a few years ago.—Wyoming Press.

When the Day of Reckoning Comes. We are on the eve of a presidential election. It will be fought by the Democratic party, from present appearances, in large part on the tariff issue. It will be charged that under Republican protection American,lpanufactiires are sold more cheaply abroad than they are to the domestic consumer. The report of the Federal Commissioner of Corporations on the Standard Oil will be used as a campaign document against the Republican party. Every vulnerable industrial combination which the people are now assailing in their ill-considered assaults on wealth will be pilloried as one of the products of the Republican protective tariff. And yet there are Republican newspapers that, on the eve of a presidential campaign which will be the most hotly contested of any in recent experience, are unmindful of their party's critical sit-* uation. What will they say when the day of reckoning comes, and when, amid the crash of our prosperity, the frenzied voters go to the polls to “vote the rascals out," and to Jump from the frying-pau into the fire?—Leslie’s Weekly.

“Not Deilrable." Would tariff revision make an Increased demand for labor? Would more mills be started, more mines be opened or more wages be paid through its results? Would tha revision proI»sed be cxpectad to add tojJ lo prosperity we are now and have been enjoying. or to take from it? These are some of the very pertinent and practical questions asked by Senator Foraker of Ohio in the course of an address. The senior Senator of Ohio may represent some purposes which the voters of Michigan would not approve, hot his question suggests a position In the matter of. tariff tinkering which Mich-. igan does approve. That tariff revision such as would meet the requirements of the most aggressive advocates of such be accompanied again with just such results as have always In the past accompanied it is a Reasonable answer to Senator Foraker’s questions And that is why it is not now desirable.—Reed City (Mich.) Clarion. London has 300 dubs, with a Membership of 280,000.