| Show THE ISSUE DEFINED SPEECHES OF PRESIDENT ROOSE AND SPEAKER CANNON alike in the address of lotif cation and in the response thereto the predominance of the tariff ques t on a D st natly zed the two speeches delivered at ter bay on the of july 1904 first by speaker cannon as chairman of the committee appointed by the re publican national convention to notify theodore roosebelt roo of his nomination tor president of the united states and second the speech of president roosevelt giving notice of his accept arce of that nom nation have set tied the question as to what Is the dominant issue in this years cam laign if any doubt remained con berning the chief issue almost the only issue which divides the two great parties in the civic battle of 1904 such doubt has been completely removed the tariff Is the issue it has been made the issue by the pla n words alike of the authorized spokes man of the republican party and of the candidate chosen by the anani action of the republican party in his address of notification speak er cannon devoted his attention to the tariff more largely than to all other subjects combined after dwell ing briefly upon the splendid history of the republican party in its rela tion to the shaping of events and pol iches mr cannon said under the lead of the republican party for over forty years the united states from being a third class pow er among the nations has become in every respect first the people rule the people ruling it is necessary that they should be competent to rule competency requires not only patriot ism but material well being aduca alon and statecraft the people under the lead of the republican party wrote upon the stat ute books revenue laws levying taxes upon the products of foreign countries seeking our maikels which realen dished our treasury but were so ad austed as to encourage our people in developing diversifying and maintain ing our industries at the same time protecting our citizens laboring in pro against the competitor com of tor eign labor under this policy our man product to day Is one third of the product of the civilized world and our people receive almost double the pay for their labor that similar labor receives elsewhere in the world thereby enabling us to bear the bur den of citizenship liberal compensation for labor makes liberal customers for our prod acts under this policy of protection our home markets afford all our people a better market than has any other people on earth and this too een if we did not sell any of our products broad in addition to this we have come to be the greatest ex porting nation in the world for the year ending the of june 1904 our exports to foreign countries were valued at 1400 ot which were products of the fac tory the world tell in our debt last tear an increase of 75 oer the preceding year this policy of protection has al ways been opposed by the opponents of the republican party and is op posed by them to day in their last national platform adopted at st louis they denounce protection as robbery they never have been given power but they proceeded by word and act to destroy the policy of pro their platform Is as silent as the grave touching the gold standard and our currency system their chos en leader after his nomination hav ing been as silent as the sphinx to that atme sent his telegram saying in substance that the gold standard Is established and that he will govern himself accordingly if he should be elected later on in his speech mr cannon returned to the subject uppermost in ils mind as follows correct revenue laws protection or tree trade the gold standard and our currency system all depend upon he sentiment of the majority of our people as voiced at the ballot box A majority may change our revenue laws a majority may change our cur laws a majority may de stroy the gold standard and establish the silver standard or in lieu of el ther or both make the treasury nofe non interest bearing and ir redeem able the sole standard of value sir let us turn from the region of doubt and double dealing the debat able land to the region of assured the republican party stands tor protection it stands for the gold standard and our currency system all these dwell in legislation enacted under the lead of the republican par ty and against the most determined opposition of the democratic party including its leader and candidate these being our policies and having been most useful to the country we have confidence in and love them it it be necessary from time to time that they should be strengthened here and controlled there the republican party stands ready with loving competent hands to apply the proper remedy I 1 say remedy being policies we will not willingly subject them to their enemies for slow starvation an the one hand or to sudden destruction on the other since the republican party was restored to power in 1897 under the lead of mckinley our country has prospered in production and in corn as it has never prospered be fore in wealth we stand first among all the nations not less plain and positive on the subject of vital importance of the protective tariff as an issue was pres jaent roosevelt in reply he did not hesitate to declare himself in bar labny with tin proposition that protection is and must continue to be the settled permanent policy of the re an party when he said we have enacted a tariff law un der which the past few years the country has attained a height of material well being never before reached wages are higher than ever before that whenever the need arises t era should be a readjustment of the tariff schedules is undoubted but such changes can with safety be made only by those whose demotion to the principle of a protective tariff Is be ond question for otherwise the changes bould amo int not to read but to repeal the read ut ment when made must maintain and not destroy the protective prin ciple to the farmer the merchant the this Is vital but perhaps no other man Is so much in te rested as the wage worl er in the maintenance of our present economic system both as regards the finances and the tariff the standard of living of our wage worl era is higher than that of any other country and it can not so remain unless we have a pro tariff which shall always keep as a minimum a rate of duty chent to cover the different e between the labor cost here and abroad those who like our opponents denounce protection as a robbery thereby ex commit themselves to the proposition that it they were to re vise the tariff no heed would be paid to the necessity of meeting this dif ference between the standards of alv ing for wage workers here and in other countries and therefore on this point their antagonism to our position is fundamental here again we ask that their promises and ours be judged by what has been done in the immediate past we that sober and sensible men compare the workings of the present tariff law and the conditions which obtain under it with the workings of the preceding tariff law of 1894 and the conditions which that tariff of 1894 helped to bring about the fundamental difference in the STILL CHASING HIMSELF attitudes of the two parties on the subject of protection Is herein stated with great force the republican par ty stands committed to the doctrine that only through the operation of the protective policy is it possible to maintain the american standard of living while he democratic party caring nothing tor the american standard of living but intent now as always upon cheapening and degraa ing american labor brazenly antano cizes protection both as to principle and pol cy by denouncing it as rob bery of the many for the benefit of the few no matter it protection does maintain high wages and a high standard of living being robbery of course protection must go that Is the democratic attitude upon the general subject of reel probity president roosevelt said we believe in reciprocity with for eign nations on the terms outlined in president mckinley s last speech which urged the extension of our tor eign markets by reciprocal agree meats whenever they could be made without injury to american industry and labor by this rule there can be no reel probity in products which compete with american industry and labor it Is a safe rule it Is the only alcan rule as laid down by the na dional republican convention of 1904 it was what president mckinley meant at buffalo in 1901 it Is what president roosevelt means now it Is also what the republican party means all the time |
