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I ?i-. 1 g?,' " PROTECTION OF PROFITS, ] THE INIQUITOUS POLICY OF THE REPUBLICANS FOR HALF A CENTURY i The One Question Eternally Present is the Most Effective, the Most Efficient and the Fairest Way of Equalizing tho Rurrlono nF To\/n+! tlit? UUIUDUO Ul I aAaLIUli Mr. Underwood Would Have the Question Solved with the Determination to do the Right, Safe and Reasonable Thing Speech Before the New York Southern Society Dec. 16, 1911 The kaleidoscope of political issues must and will continually change with the changing conditions of our Republic, but there is one question that was ' with us in the beginning and will be in the end, and that is the most effective, efficient and fairest way of equalizing the burdens of taxation that are levied by 1 the National Government. Of all the great powers that were yielded to the Federal Government by the States when they adopted the Constitution of our country, the one indispensable to the administration of public affairs is the right to levy and collect taxes. Without the exercise of that power we could i not maintain an army and navy; we could not establish the courts of the land; < the government would fail to perform its function if the power to tax were taken away from it. The power to tax carries with it the power to destroy, and it is, therefore, a most dangerous governmental power as well as a most necessary one. There is a very clear and marked distinction between the position of the : two great political parties of America as to how power to tax should be exercised in the levying of revenue at the custom houses. Republicans Have Always Stood for Protection. The Republican party has maintained the doctrine that taxes should not only be levied for the purpose of revenue, but also for the purpose of protecting the home manufacturer from foreign competition. Of necessity protection from competition carries with it a guarantee of profits. In the last Republican platform this position of the party was distinctly recognized when they declared that they were not only in favor of the protection of the difference in COSt at home and ahrrmrl hut slcr. o A _ ? ? ??vMk u ivojuiiaui^ yi uuu iu rvmcrican maustnes. I Democratic Party for Tariff for Revenue Only. The Democratic party favors the policy of raising its taxes at the custom house by a tariff that is levied for revenue only, which clearly excludes the idea of protecting the manufacturer's profits. In my opinion, the dividing 1 line between the positions of the two great parties on this question is very clear and easily ascertained in theory. Where the tariff rates balance the ] difference in cost at home and abroad, including an allowance for the difference in freight rates, the tariff must be competitive, and from that point , downward to the lowest tariff that can be levied it will continue to be com petitive to a greater or less extent. Where competition is not interfered with by levying the tax above the highest competitive point, the profits of the 1 manufacturer are not protected. On the other hand, when the duties levied at the custom house equalizes the difference in cost at home and abroad and in addition thereto they are high enough to allow the American manufacturer to make a profit before his competitor can enter the field, we have invaded , the domain of the protection of profits. Some men assert that the protection of reasonable profits to the home manufacturer should be commended instead ! of being condemned, but in my judgment, the protection of any profit must of necessity have a tendency to destroy competition and create monopoly, I whether the profit protected is reasonable or unreasonable. Unfairness of Protection. You should bear in mind that to establish a business in a foreign country . requires a vast outlay both in time and capital. Should the foreign manufacturer attempt to establish himself in this country he must advertise his goods, establish selling agencies and points of distribution before he can sue- , cessfully conduct his business. After he has done so, if the home producer is protected by a law ^iat not only equals the difference in cost at home and abroad, but also protects a. reasonable or unreasonable profit, it is only neces sary for him to drop his prices slightly below the point that tjjr* .aw has ' ^pMPi^orbercotne' a%EankruptTkcause*fte tf&HTa''img and not a profit if he continued to compete. The foreign competi^f having retired, the home proikicer could raise his prices to any level that home competition would allow him and it is not probable that the foreigner who had already been driven out of the country would again return no matter how inviting the field as long as the law remained on the Statute Books that would enable his competitor to again put him out of business. Iniquity of the Protection of Profits. Thirty or forty years ago when we had numbers of small manufacturers, when there was honest competition without an attempt being made to restrict trade and the home market was more than able to consume the production of our mills and factories, the danger and the injury to the consumer of the country was not so great or apparent as it is today when the control of many great industries has been concentrated in the hands of a few men or a few corporations, because domestic competition was prohibited. When we cease to have competition at home and the law prohibits competition from afernad hv nrntertintr nrnfits. there is no relief for the consumer excent to crv out for government regulation. To my mind, there is no more reason or justice in the government attempting to protect the profits of the manufacturers and producers of this country than there would be to protect the profits of the merchant or the lawyer, the banker or the farmer, or the wages of the laboring man. In almost every line of industry in the United States we have as great natural resources to develop as that of any country in the world. It is admitted by all that our machinery and methods of doing business are in advance of the other nations. By reason of the efficient use of American machinery by American labor, in most of the manufactures of this country, the labor cost per unit of production is no greater here than abroad. It is admitted, of course, that the actual wage of the American laborer is in excess of European countries, but as to most articles we manufacture the labor cost in this country is not more than double the labor cost abroad. When we consider that the average ad valorem rate of duty levied at the custom house on manufactures of cotton goods is 53% of the value of the article imported and the total labor cost of the production of cotton goods in this country is only 21% of the factory value of the product, that the difference in labor cost at home and abroad is only about as one is to two and that ten or eleven per cent of the value of the product levied at the custom house would equal the difference in the labor wage, it is apparent that our present tariff laws exceed the point where they equalize the difference in cost at home and abroad, and we realize how far they have entered into the domain of protecting profits for the home manufacturer. This is not only true of the manufacture of cotton goods, but of almost every schedule in the tariff bill. To protect profits of necessity means to protect inefficiency. It does not stimulate industry because a manufacturer standing behind a tariff wall that is protecting his profits is not driven to develop his business along the lines of greatest efficiency and greatest economy. Wool, Iron and Steel Industries. This is clearlv illustrated in a comparison of the wool and the iron and steel industries. Wool has had a specific duty that when worked out to an ad valorem basis amounts to a tax of about 90% of the average value of all woolen goods imported into the United States, and the duties imposed have remained practically unchanged for forty years. During that time the wool industry has made comparatively little progress in cheapening the cost of its product and improving its business methods. On the other hand, in the iron and steel industry the tariff rate has been cut every time a tariff bill has been written. Forty years ago the tax on steel rails amounted to $17.50 a ton, today it amounts to $3.92. Forty years ago the tax on pig iron was $13.60 a ton, today it is $2.50. The same is true of most of the other articles in the iron and steel schedule, and yet the iron and steel industry has not languished; it has not been destroyed and it has not gone to the wall. It is the most compact, virile, fighting force of all the industries of America today. It has long ago expanded its productive capacity beyond the power of the American people to consume its output and is today facing out towards the markets of the world, battling for a part of the trade of foreign lands where it must meet free competition or as is often the case, pay adverse tariff rates to enter the industrial fields of its competitor. Duty of Our Government?Genuine Tariff Reduction to a Revenue Producing Basis Only. Which course is the wiser for our government to take? The one that demands the protection of profits, the continued policy of hot-house growth for our industries? The stagnation of development that follows where competition ceases, or on the other hand, the gradual and insistent reduction of our tariff laws to a basis where the American manufacturer must meet honest competition, where he must develop his business along the best and most economic lines, where when he fights at home to control his market he is forging the way in the economic development of his business to extend his trade in the markets of the world. In my judgment, the future growth of our great industries lies beyond the seas. A just equalization of the burdens of taxation and honest competition, in my judgment, are economic truths; they are not permitted today by the laws of our country, we must face toward them and not away from them. What I have said docs not mean that I am in favor of going to free trade conditions cr of being so radical in our legislation as to injure legitimate business, but I do mean that the period of exclusion has passed and the era of honest competition is here. Let us approach the solution of the problem involved with the determination to do what is right, what is safe and what is reasonable. Birmingham News I Supports Underwood In many quarters there has arisen a demand that Oscar \V. Underwood be "< named the standard bearer of the Demo- ti cratic party in the campaign that will 01 be waged for the presidency in 1912. w It is the earnest hope of The Binning- S ham News that this may come about, tr Should the banner be entrusted to the sc keeping of Oscar W. Underwood, The cz Birmingham News thoroughly believes a( that by him it will be carried to glo- p< rious victory, and that it will never be ai stained by compromise with wrong or bi sullied by collusion with privilege.?The oi Birmingham News, Thursday, November b< 23, 1911. D A NATIONAL REPU1 WITI T Jc nrnVo VJ v crrpatPQf i r>1 ^ HUV.1 ?. to ' ? ? authority on the tariff in the House of Representatives, or, for that matter, in 11 Congress. fc "What do you think of Underwood?" a: I asked Senator Bailey. p( "Underwood," said Bailey, "is the only cr man in cither house of Congress who in could be locked in a hermetically sealed fr room for a week and emerge from it ai with a perfectly good tariff bill." bi Underwood is the strongest example w in modern times of a thoroughly modest fu man getting a reputation without going n< after it. Politics is a noisy game; you li have to have a trumpet and a bugle in B WHY I AM FOR OSCA (1) Because he is the strongest all- cl round man in the field; r< (2) Because he is old enough to have 11 learned a great deal, and young enough 111 to learn more; (3) Because he is a constructive, j1, practical statesman; (4) Because he fathered the Farmers' Free List Bill, which was an im- ^ mense stride toward free trade, and a measure that would have been magically beneficial to our over-taxed people; ST (5) Because he proposed and put tf a v. ? a ? c ? r LilJUUJJll <X UldMll I C1UI 111 U1 111 the infamous woolen tariff; and also a sweeping reduction in the cotton goods n; schedule; c: (6) Because he had the manhood to C defy the Birmingham Board of Trade, le when it tried to intimidate him as to in tariff reduction; sc (7) Because he has introduced a bill Ii to cut the steel and iron schedule g] from 30 to 50 per cent; (8) Because he had the courage to n; oppose the Sherwood pension grab, ai which the shirkers and skulkers, and S deserters, and bounty-jumpers demand. ^hamp Clark voted for the grab: w Bryan has not had the pluck to say a pi word against it, nor has Wlodrow v; ' "flggafiM," ul ^fiu i> JI the spunk to tell the people tha^ll this o talk about the initiative, referendum g *1 recall, in national politics, is d tommy-rot. Everybody should know tl that the Constitution of the United 1 States would have to be radically 1 UNDERWOOD AS In Mf. Underwood's candidacy the t South for the first time in 60 years t comes forward with a man with a rea- i: son?a man with a valid claim on c Democracy for signal recognition. If a unselfish devotion, high performance, \ Nation-wide breadth of view, and rare g qualities for leadership entitle a man g to sympathy and support in his aspir- \ ations, the nomination of Mr. Under- c wood would be a testimonial logically f bestowed. F The Southern Democracy never c wants, in or out of Congress^ for t powerful champions of party politics, c men who come in for honorable men- r tion when the Presidential year rolls 1 round, but in Mr. Underwood's case i A SOUTHERNER I Oscar W. Underwood of Alabama is J unquestionably of presidential size. His < leadership of the Democratic majority 1 on the floor of the House has never been ] excelled for skill, force and definite di- i rection. It is a respectful hearing from ] all over the country which Senator I Bankhead of the same State will have ] in naming him for the Democratic nom- 1 ination. Has the time come when it is expe- ] dient for the Democracy to nominate a j Southerner living in the South for the presidency? It has not been thought so < since the civil war. It has not even : been thought expedient to give the South 1 second place on the ticket. The nearest < approach to this was the naming on the WIDE APPEAL OF UND! That Representative Oscar W. Underwood is rapidly crowding to the wall all other aspirants for the Democratic presidential nomination, is ,fche information that comes from sources close to the Alabama leader to-day. In fact, it is now a subject of open gossip about the House that New York State is veer- 1 ing toward the Alabama member and that Clark, Wilson and Harmon are los- < incr crround in the chief pivotal State of 1 the Union. i A member of the New York delega- 1 tion in the House, who is not person- i ally an advocate of the candidacy of i Mr. Underwood, admitted in confidence i to-day" that the trend of sentiment in New York city and New York State now favors the Alabama leader. From Representative Henry D. Clayton, of O'SHAUNESSY BOC Mr. O'ShaunessUs declaration followed the Underwood demonstration in the House. Mr. C'Shaunessy said: "I believe Mr. Underwood is the right man for the presidency. He has wonderful executive ability, as shown by his j [ management of the House at this ses-1 'he South and the Presidency This constant reference to an alleged lead line" when it comes to the selecon of a candidate for the presidency, is ut of place. It is a peculiar fact that e hear more of it right here in the outh than anywhere else in the coun y. We are getting to be painfully df-conscious about this supposed politiil bar sinister. Not only that, but we 1 :t on the assumption that it would be olitically inexpedient for us to support ty man who is Southern born and 1 red. It is folly of the worst kind and 1 nly serves to keep alive the dying em- 1 irs of sectionalism.?Shrcueport Times, : ecember, 1911. ( ( : : rATION : I0UT SEEKING IT! 1 rder to make anybody hear your name. { : is a rule to which there is no excep- ' r\r% fhof T r\( AVAAnf T T r% rl a ?-? ?/% r\ A 1 uii tiiai x ui liviti vvuuu. lie sat back there quietly in Congress : ir sixteen years doing splendid work 1 id never getting his name into the pa- ( rs. Finally the crash came, the Demo- ( ats carried the House, and from sheer ^ lerit and nothing else the quiet man om Alabama was made floor leader id put in charge of the party's tariff 11. And he so acquitted himself that ithin a month he became a national ?ure, and now he is quite likely to be Dminated for President.?Charles Wils Thompson, in The Sunday Herald, ' oston, October 22, 1911. i i ' 1 R UNDERWOOD j langcd, before the present system of ; *presentative government and legisla- , on could be changed for direct law- } laking. When, do you suppose, we could elect Congress that would give the people le opportunity to vote away the pre)gatives of Congress? When, do you suppose, there would : 34 States ready to adopt the new rstem? When, do you suppose, would the nail States be willing to surrender leir equality, in the Federal Govern- t lent ? * When Wilson and Bryan prate of a . ational initiative, referendum and reill, they make themselves demagogues. ' 1 t-i nitViAr nf tViom f#?11 tic Knur O J ror-t UI1 vimv* v/A kiiviii kvii w j iiv n JL/11 vv.w gislation can be applied, nationally, i such a manner as to preserve the ivereign equality of the small States? f either of them can, I should be i lad to publish their plan. < It will be time enough to talk about < ational Direct legislation and the recall i Fter we shall have tried it, in the J tates. 1 (10) Lastly, I am for Oscar Underood because his record, public and I rivate* is unstained; his character elt- 1 ated and spotless; his leadership suppressed. 'Hi?1 Joesft^toSJTTo'TO^ ogy jo win popular applau%e; and he oesnT cater to wealth and power, as lie standpatters of both parties do.? lorn Watson, in The Jeffersonian, "homson, Ga., January 25, 1912. A CANDIDATE here is added a genius for organizaion and command not often observable, n party leaders of his section. For andor compels a good word in acknowledgment of what he did in the ray of harmonizing and knitting together the warring elements of his larty in the House. Not in twenty ears has there been in Democratic ouncils a leader who proved successul in uniting all shades of opinion and >resenting a solid front on practically very issue that came to a vote. For hat reason, if for no other, Mr. Unlerwood's availability would seem to nerit careful consideration at the lands of the Democratic party.?Washngton Post, October 3, 1911. ON THE TICKET Parker ticket in 1904 of Henry G. Davis ?f West Virginia. But that is essen:ially a Northern State. Carlisle of Kentucky had a few votes for President n the conventions of 1SS4 and 1892; Blackburn of Kentucky and Tillman of South Carolina in 1896; Williams of Mississippi in 1904. But they were merely complimentary. Yet the war is over. A Southern Democrat and a former Confederate soldier is Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by appointment of a Republican President. The day may not be so far off when the last traces of the sectional line will be obliterated in American politics.?The New I York World, October 24, 1911. ERWOOD'S CANDIDACY Alabama, also, comes confirmation of the fact that the Underwood boomers are receiving most encouraging reports from New York. These reports go so far as to say that if the South will keep Representative Underwood's name before the convention, New York State may be counted on to fall into line after the second or third ballot. If the South can get over the ancient obsession that a Southern man cannot lie nominated for President and if the South will keep the name of Underwood before the convention, for a few ballots, there are many wise political observers in Washington and New York who are confident that the New York delegation will swing into line for Underwood.? Washington correspondence of the Noshville Tennesseean, December 31, 1911. IMS UNDERWOOD sion, and except for his residence so far r* .? T r 1 . 1 _ A 1. . * _ boutn, l icci xnai ne is in every way suitable for the place. I believe the Democrats could not nominate a more acceptable candidate."?Representative O'Shaunessy, of Rhode Island, in The Providence Journal, August, 1911. UNDERWOOD SOUNI VIEWS ON RECIP MERCHANT M RECIPROCITY i (In the U. S. House of Representatives, 1 April 21, 1911.) Our agricultural implements supply r the farmers' wants beyond the seas, c Our boots and shoes are worn by peo- 2 pie who speak many foreign languages jand who tread the highways of the j Occident and the Orient. The looms of t our factories clothe the people of dis- t tant lands. The freight of our foreign x rivals is carried to market on American [ rails, drawn by American engines, across s chasms spanned by American-built ^ bridges. [Applause.] The harvests of t Dur farmers feed the toiling masses of ^ Europe. We would be the unrivaled t masters of production and industry in f every land where free competition can t oe obtained if we would but strike off [ :he shackles that bind us to the dead c ind unnecessary economic system main- v :ained by the Republican Party, that , creates false standards and wasteful ] conditions at home. [Applause on the ^ Democratic ?iHe 1 < ANTI-TRU5T LEGISLATION (In Speech Before Pennsylvania Society of New York, Dec. 9, 1911.) "Is it not proper for all of us, irrespective of party, to insist that the :ime has come for us to join together c in putting an end to this profitless agi- c tation and proposals for tinkering with c the (Sherman) law? As the necessity * arises, we can from time to time enforce . the act, without fear or favor, but with- 1 out any disposition to get political cap- J ital out of what we may be called upon to do. Let our pilot be experience and c accurate knowledge and high resolve, 1 and not party expediency or misdi- j rected energy, whether proceeding from ood or bad motives, and above all this J let us not proceed upon a crude guess." c ] AMERICAN MERCHANT \ MARINE < < (In the U. S. House of Representa- \ tives, Feb. 26, 1910.) ( It is clear that there are no treaties i :hat stand in our way to prevent us from f enacting a discriminating tariff duty \ UNDERWOOD THE MAN I OF THE HOUR But Mr. Underwood's rise in public favor has not been spectacular. His is not the kind of popularity that will Tf J* A ...jJ?i.. u.... 1 xt uamicu duuucmy uui lis dawning was rather the awakening of recognition than the discovery of a new star. Mr. Underwood and his ability had been there all the time, but they had not been called into action. Opportunity revealed the man and the leader. His leadership and his qualifies* are his party, but his usefulness to the party , and to th^people will not be destroyed. He is hanging no hopes on the reward that may come to him from the party. * * * * * * 1 Mr. Underwood's public record is unusual for its clean brilliancy. It stands without a flaw. Critics may search it through and through and Mr. Underwood's smile would never waver. His party record is just as clear. His private life is without a blemish. He is peculiarly fitted by nature and training for the leadership of men and the administration of executive functions. He comes of good stock, if that means anything in this people's republic. His education was thoroughly rounded. His character well poised. His training has been broad and wise. He is thoroughly practical. His academic education has been broadened by well directed experience and constant application to useful research.?Walter Harper in the Birmingham Age-Herald, January 7, 1912. L UNDERWOOD OVER AGAIN The rapid rise of Oscar W. Underwood in the discussion of Presidential possibilities is full of significance, and may well cause consternation in the Wilson, Clark and Harmon camps. As a distinctive Southerner, his boom especially is a menace to Wilson, who appealed strongly to the sentiment of that section, in which he was born and spent his early years. In the soundness of his Democracy, the statesmanlike judg ment and moderation he displays in j dealing with the issues of the hour, Mr. Underwood has no superior among his rivals. He avoids indorsing very questionable issues to which Wilson committed himself somewhat incontinently.?The Troy Press, New York, November 28, 1911. THE HAN TO WIN The Mobile Register declares that the relief of ninety millions of people from tax extortion is the issue, and the issue is personified in Oscar W. Underwood. What more "fitting, therefore, asks this paper, than that the man who is the personification of the issue should stand before the President who vetoed the bills drawn by Mr. Underwood seeking to give relief to the American people? What more fitting that the candidate should be Mr. Underwood, standing for tariff reduction as against Mr. Taft standing in defense of present tariff j laws? What more fitting for the Democratic party to nominate a man who can win?for this is the time Democracy can win. Powerful political leaders of thought and those journalistic exponents of Democracy throughout the country should take note of Mr. Underwood. They should investigate; and with party firm?with c^rtinn^l nr^iiidipp It. M a 1 L V 111 ill Mini >M.Vllu.n.. ^ - ~J ? eliminated, learn to know the man and the principles for which he stands. The 1 Southern press, especially, should rally with unhesitating vigor to support and use their influence for the man who has done more than any living Democrat to reunite Democracy, and who can, as a Southern Democrat in the White House, establish forever a reunited country.? Richmond Journal, reproduced in the Advertiser, Montgomery, Ala., January I 20, 1912. # D ON ALL PUBLIC Q ROCITY, ANTI-TRUS ARINE, PUBLIC SEF n favor of American ships. It was the )olicy of the fathers; it built up our < nerchant marine from a point where t was carrying 17 per cent of our com- 1 nerce to a point where it was carrying ; '0 per cent of American commerce in i period of seven years. It does not 1 dace additional burdens on the people; : t is not a policy of doubtful constitu- ; ionality; it is a policy that has been i ried and proven effective. It is a pol- i cy oy wnicft we can restore the Amer- J can flag to the seas and the American 1 hips to our commercial trade. It is a >olicy that will enable us to build up he export trade of the American peo>le. It is a policy that will enable us o find foreign markets for our surplus iroducts in agriculture and manufacure. It is a policy that will restore the lalance of commerce as well as trade to 1 )ur Nation. It is a policy that will J lltimately overcome the necessity of our ] >aying a foreign balance in gold to European nations and will bring pros- < >erity to all lines of industry. i < rONVICTIONS HORE POWERFUL THAN LOCAL PRESSURE j [In the U. S. House of Representatives, : April 21, 1911.) I Two years ago, when the proposition 1 rame before the House to cut the tariff ] m iron and steel products, in many ; :ases about half, I favored the proposi- ; ion because I thought it was just and ; air, but some of the protected interests n my district met and passed rcsoluions, and resolved that they would re)uke me if I voted to reduce the tax )n iron and steel. I voted to make the eduction [applause on the Democratic iide], but they did not turn me out of Congress [applause on the Democratic ( side], and they will not turn you out ' )f Congress if you stand true to the people you represent. [Applause on the Democratic side.] The distinguished gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Cannon], ivhen he addressed the House several ] lays ago, stated that the United States , Steel Corporation was in favor of this jill and asked if I did not know it, >r if that was not the reason why I iavored it As I then stated to the gentleman from Illinois, I was not iniormed as to the wishes of the United UNDERWOOD'S RISE NO SURPRISE TO THOSE WHO KNOW Hill For years Oscar Underwood has been "ecognized in his district as a man of narked ability.^ His broad knowledge }f the tariff displayed time and again )n the floor of Congress and in public 1 utterances on the stump; his far-reachng insight into large public questions rnder consideration in the national lawnaking body; his skill in debate; his romplete mastery of himself in times )f political turbulence on the floor of . wdLas. Jhis. ment long before he became Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee with a tremendous task to perform.?Birmingham Ledger, 1912. ALABAMA AND ITR. UNDERWOOD But the present leader of the House is not impulsive. In truth, that fact explains his leadership. He is a man of calculation. Had he not been, he could never have piloted his party through the difficulties of the extra session. His task then called for a calm vision and a single purpose. Had he been a spellbinder and a scatterer he would have wasted his opportunity. Were Mr. Underwood to set his heart on the White House and maneuver for a stay under that famous roof he would play hobs with all the reputation he has just acquired. His vision would become confused, and everything would go by the board. He could not serve two masters, and his work in the House has the first and highest claim on his attention. This does not mean that Mr. Underwood's name will, as the result of his reply to his House colleagues, disappear from the Presidential speculation. Of course, it will not. It is there to stay, with the other names now on many pens and tongues. The matter of the nominee is in the lap of fate, and we shall all have to wait for the decision.?The Washington Sunday Star, December, 1911. UNDERWOOD Even* public speech that Oscar \V. Underwood. Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, makes brings him closer to the people as a presidential possibility. What Congressman Longworth, a Republican, said of him at the dinner of the Pennsylvania Society in New York on Saturday night is coming to be generally felt by the public. "Not for many years," said Colonel Roosevelt's son-in-law, "has so forceful a personality come to the front of his party as the present leader of the House. Not in my time, certainly, and not, as I believe, in modern times, has the Democratic party developed a man possessing in so full degree the qualifications for real leadership as it has this year in the person of Oscar Underwood."?The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, N. J., December 11, 1911. SOUTH ELECTED CLEVELAND "It was due to the South that Grover Cleveland was nominated and elected," said Judge Parker. "It was due to the South that William J. Bryan was twice * J 1-1 _ _ ^1. _ c ?1_ nominated, ana m line manner me ouuin was responsible for the nomination of a New Yorker, who speaks to you now. I still believe that the South is the section of our country from which a presidential nominee could be chosen who could quell the voices of all the Democratic factions and heal all breaches. When the Democratic National Convention sees fit to nominate a Southerner, I believe that the Northern Democrats will supnort him with their ballots.? Judge Alton B. Parker, in The State, Columbia, S. C., January 25, 1912. luestioms ;t legislation '.vice, the tariff States Steel Corporation. As a matter of fact, I am interested in the iron and steel business myself. Everything I have in the world is in the iron and steel business except my home, but not with the United States Steel Corporation. My people are independent manufacturers. We meet the United States Steel Corporation every day of our existence in a competitive battle on the industrial fields of America. My peopleliave not asked me to vote for a protective tariff on iron and steel. PPOTPrTtnM'Q IWim TiTinc - .tv.Mvasvti KJ li 1 ly C/l 1 rl1 (In the U. S. House of Representatives, April 21, 1911.) The protected interests of this country know well that this bill will make a. break in the dike; that whenever theprotective tariff is removed and the Northern farmer stands out alone without pretense of protection to his products that he can no longer be counted Dn to stand in the ranks of the monopolistic interests of this country. That is why they are afraid of it. It is not so much what is in the bill, but they knowthat the death knell of the protection system will have sounded?that protection that means the protection of enormous profits and the creation of monopolies in this country?when the farmer understands and abandons the Republican Party to those alone who have fattened upon his hard-earned dollars. They are using, my friends, every effort in the districts on that side of the House and in your district, my fellowDemocrat and in my district to break the column. I have protected interests in my district, but I do not represent them. I represent the great mass of my :onstituency who want honest treatment and fair play. ... OSCAR UNDERWOOD The appearance of Oscar Underwood here last night, in advocacy of the Democratic principles he has done so much to advance, was an event not only highly gratifying to his party associates in Louisville, but of exceptional interest to the community in general. It is not often that a man returns to the scenes of his youth to speak with such authority, from so commandincr & position, won on his own merit. It has not been so long as the years ago?he is not yet 50?since Oscar Underwood was a schoolboy here; he comes back now the recognized and applauded leader of his party on the floor of the National House of Representatives, the head of the great committee which shapes the fiscal legislation of the country; a new chieftain of Democracy who has arisen at a crisis when the old party seemed all but leaderless. Bravo, Oscar Underwood! It is a bright day for Democrats when they are fortunate to find and quick to acclaim sis^i a leader^-?Louisville Courier-Jour- ^ nal, reprinte^ in Age-Herald, BinningSEETHING OF ALABAfIA'5 PR CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY Whoever was floor leader of the Democracy was good enough for Mr. Underwood during all the long years that party was in the minority, and day after day, whether that leader was Joseph W. Bailey, of Texas, John Sharp Williams* of Mississippi, or Champ Clark, of Missouri, the gentleman from Alabama was always at his leader's elbow, ready and eager to do anything he could to help. Other statesmen might try to black their party leader's eye, but Mr. Underwood was never known to extend anything but the helping hand.?George E. Miller, Staff Correspondent, in the Detroit News, October 24, 1911. ?* WHOri SHALL THE DEHOCRATS NOniNATE Congressman Underwood, as house leader of the Democrats and as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has measured up to the standard of true statesmanship. He has rendered incalculable service to the cause of honest tariff revision, the one great issue in the pending campaign, and by his splendid poise and mastery ?f affairs he has exalted his party's name in the minds of thinking Americans.?Atlanta Journal, January 7, 1912. UNDERWOOD AS A CANDIDATE If Oscar Underwood, when he was made Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had been as well known throughout the country as Champ Clark or Judson Harmon or Woodrow Wilson he would have gone into the Democratic convention far in the lead. He was at that', time, however, little known and this fact may give to the Speaker a part of the prestige that Mr. Underwood otherwise would have had. Mr. Underwood is well known now, however, and will be better known before the convention meets or the States elect delegates. Taking it for granted that he will conduct the tariff fight as well during the regular session as during the extra session, Mr. Underwood will be much stronger at the end of the regular session than he is now. If we judge by results we must conclude that no Democratic leader has ever had his forces so well in hand as My. Underwood had during- the last session.?The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla., October 24, 1911. AN EHINENT flAN "The destiny of the American nation, which I think is the most wonderful in the whole history of the world, is perfectly safe in the hands of such men as your Underwood. It is a pity that we cannot have more of his kind in Washington. He is one of the most eminent men that the South has produced, and I look with vast satisfaction upon the plans of his Alabama friends to give him their unanimous indorsement for that high office?the presidency.?Prof. Willis L. Moore, Chief of U. S. Weather Bureau, in the Birming, ham, Ala., Age-Herald, Octr^?- 11, 1911. y