Enormous profits to the few; steadily increasing prices to the many; one-sided development of the country; factories growing like gourds and no ships of our own to carry the goods in; the country sacrificed to the city, the peace of God to the blare and the roar of the steel furnace. These ungrateful children of protection had grown until they threatened to crush us. And then the political enormity—the support given to a great number of over-high duties in order to secure in return the campaign funds and local influence of those who profited. These things stared us in the face on every side, and had become hateful to the people. It looked, in fact, as if they were coming to be about all there was of the protective system. There could be, and there was, no quarrel among honest men about the necessity of doing a fair housecleaning job. The method seemed as clear as the task. The definition of protection accepted by the majority in this country was a reasonable one. There is scarcely a doubt that every intelligent voter knew about what it was—that it included tariff for revenue and tariff for moderate protection, until such time as an essential industry was on its feet. Now the application of such a definition ought not to be—and would not be—puzzling, if it had not become tangled with the proposition of tariff for politics only. It requires, to be sure, a large amount of exact information, but such information is obtainable through experts. It requires, too, firm and consistent rating through all the schedules. The work obviously demands to be done by disinterested persons, those who have no object except to do an honest task. That this was the only way to get a satisfactory revision everybody knew. And in the face of this perfectly clear proposition, we got a bill perpetuating all of the old abuses and made in the same old way. This is not saying that there was not some very good tinkering in the bill of 1909. It should not be forgotten that hides and petroleum were made free, that the duties were lowered on rough lumber and print paper, and on coal and iron ore, that a temporary tariff commission was secured; but at no point did Congress or the President show a real understanding of the human cry that was at the heart of the movement which had driven them to undertake the revision. _There was a great human cause—easing the burden of our vast laboring class—knocking at the door of Congress, and it was not heeded—if, indeed, it was heard._ True, there was talk of an “ultimate consumer”—a kind of economic manikin introduced for convenience in demonstration. But that this ultimate consumer was a flesh and blood person there was no recognition.