-But President Taft turned square ly away from the pledges of himself and party and became, not only the chief sponsor for a new tariff bill that increased rates higher than ever, but vetoed every Congression al act to lower tariff rates. The answer returned by American voters, to the course of the President, was ven in November, 1910, by electing to Congress a majority of his political opponents, and from pre: sent indications, his opponent for the Presidency will be elected November next. The for merchant who deals with the American merchant has experienced that the American tariff is highly prohibitive, and the Democratic contention, that it should be changed to a tariff for -revenue, and incidental protection) to the labourer and manufacturer, is the more reasonable. It is also contended by the Democratic party, that a tariff enacted in the interest of the people would destroy the power of corporations and of trusts
courts on the law restraining trade. more effectually than decisions of] In the presidential campaign abet to begin, Governor Wilson, who i orator and a keen debater, will doubtless arraign President Taft on' his tariff record, and large majority of American voters favour the reduction of the tariff. The Governor has the trump card, and his record on the tariff has been consistent.
It is familiar American history! that when Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, were presidents, their policy was to grant tariff reductions to all commerce carried in American ships, and under that po-
Navigation, every United States merchant liner crossing the Atlantic could be convoyed by a flotilla of men-of-war and torpedo destroyers Not a single merchant ship, flying' the United States flag, entered the port of London last year Panama Canal.
If Governor Wilson should be el-ceted he will be inaugurated as President on March 4, 1913, and before the expiration of the first term of his presidency the Panama Canal will have been completed. The cut-Ling of that great waterway will present commercial problems i and directly bearing on th lopment of the future domestic eign business of the United States. The President will exercise 'a most material influence in strengthening the position of his government in the commerce of the world and its trend. There must be a radi cal change in freight charges throughout the United States, and an increase in the number of shipbuilding plants, Take the example of freight on lumber: at present a cargo of lumber can be shipped from an American Atlantic port to England, a distance of thirty-five hundred miles, at a cost from twelve to fifteen conte per hundred-weight, including handling st both ends, but if the same lumber be brought from the Pacific Coast to the Atlan+ tic it would cost eighty-five cents, and thus the difference between occan and rates appears by a rule of simple arithmetic. Now if this same cargo of lumber should be shipped by way of the Panama Canal, from the Pacific Coast, the cost would be about twenty cents delivered on th Atlantic Const, and it could be shipped back inland towards the Mississippi centre for sixteen cents more. Evidently the Canal, ar a shipping route, will benefit alike the trade of the inland cities as well as those near the At-antic and Par'fic oceans.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.