Pledges Redeemed

Two of the platform pledges of democratie party have been redeemed. They promised to repeal the Sherman make shift and they have done it. They promised to wipe the federal election laws from the statute book and last week witnessed the fulfillment of that pledge. The third, the reform of the tariff, is also well under way. The re. demption of this pledge has been and is a herculean task. The framing of a tariff bill which would be satisfactory to all factions of the majority in congress has been attended with extraordinary difficulties. The tariff legislation of the past thirty years has been distinctively class legislation and consequently all protected interests have stood together as one man in opposthe new bill. They have been greatly assisted in their efforts by the industrial depression and the extraordinary perplexities growing out of it which have irritated the people beyond compare. The republican press, also, in its effojt to stampede congress has done everything possible to terrify the people by predicting unlimited business disasters. No such effort of aggregated capital was perhaps ever put forth to influence the national.legislature against the carrying out of the command of the people. Notwithstanding all these untoward circumstances, the Wilson bill was carried through the house of representatives with practically the entire democratie vote and is now in the hands of the senate finance committee. This committee is working upon the bill night and day and will at an early date report it to the senate. That the bill will pass the senate in much the form it now has is reasonably certain.