The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1876-05-04
WHOLE NO. 95.

Confederacy raised its army in th face Of the
ali prevailing loyalty Of the Southern claim
interested population.
Ans'ger: The Court Of Claims is q re-
publican Institution its Judges are re-
puo1cans they hold Office tor life. Can
you not trust them? And must there not
ne some discretion somewhereP SIM
pose Brother McKinstry had lived in
South Carolina or Louisiana in 1861
he might have been an intense loyaiist
and violent abolitionist; and vet his
house. barns. fences, cattle, horses. and
every thing ne had might have been des-
troyed by United States troops. Would
he not, in that event, have u lust claim
against the United States for the value of
his propcrtyP Would any civilized gov
ernment on earth deny such a claim?
Mr.. McKinstry NAV reply. that a
Democratic administration conld reor-
ganize acourt and let inrebel claims toan
unilmlted extent and swamp the nation.
we do not believe it possible. 1t would
De an act OF party suicide, for the Demo-
cracy would know perfectly we'll that
the moment they did this they would
lose power forever; their party would
dissolve and disappear before >the breath
OF popular execration, Mr.. McKinstrv
may believe the Democrats of the north
to be enemies of the Union and sympath.
isers with rebellion, but he can scarcely
believe that they are all fools. What
| Democrat could be sent to Congress
from Minnesota who would commit
"hari-kari," " in that fashion? And what
is true OF Minnesota is true of the other
northern states.
| V. Mr.. Mckinstry then turns away
from the currency question and devotes
his attention to the ;ariff. He saws
MIR. Donnelly, in the above supposition.
leaves out very essential element Of the tariff
problem. He represents McKinstry & CO. as
having complete monopoly OF the business of
selling merchandise in Rice county, in which
case the results he depicts might reasonably be
anticipated. But who does not know that "a
soon as 1t was seen that McKinstry 4 Co. were
making agood thing in selling goods under
vious and aspiring capitalists to compete with
them ID the profits Of selling goods; stores
would spring upat every cross roads, prices
under the effect OF keen competition, would 20
down, profits would soon shrink to q reason-
able margin, and, finally, fall below, as the
good thing" invariably continues long after
theactual reality OF advantages has disappeared
and at last goods would come to be sold lower
in Rice county than in other sections of the
pared.
answer: Granted that all this is true.
and we would then ask Mr.. McKinstry
what benefit there is in a system which
creates temporary prosperity to be
followed by universal disaster (which in.
vites an extraordinary labor force from
Europe and then sets them loose as
tramps TO steal or beg; which fills the
land with poverty, decentralization and
crime with idle factories and crowded
prisons?
We have grown immensely as ma
, ton since 1856 and New York, our great
commercial metropolis has grown prop
oriionately, and yet to day real-estate is
. worth less in the city Of New York than
it was in 1861! This is the test of
growth and prosperity. What then has
, the high tariff yicldcdus?
. We have been for fifteen years on q
grand national drunk. We have filed
the country with false stimulants; II has
been wild with excitement and unnatural
. activity. Now the spree is over. Il il
/. bloated, demoralized, bleaE-eyed, weak
in the knees, ragged and penniless. Il
has got back to lower condition than it
started from and McKinstry says that
the drunk was development and the
spree progress.
vi. The tariff and resulting mechanical and
agricultural prosperity had stimulated manu-
featuring industry till there was al over pro.
duction Of goods, and now the prices OF fabrics
have declined to alower point than prevailed
on specie basis previous to the war.
4 AnsUer: Ifgoods are sold lower than
they were before the war il is because the
manufacturers are bankrupt. Mr.. Nc
Kinstry's low prices are based on sher.
ITS sales and starving workmen.
Would it not have been better to have
omitted the high-tariff-whiskey and let
the country grow to greatness after the
natural. gradual and old fashioned man.
ncr?
VII. The remedy does not lie in further re-.
dnction Of the tarif, as is proposed ~ the Con-
fedefafe Democratic House, for this would still
iurther dspress our manufacturing interests,
whle At the same time depriving our govern
ment Of the resources for paying its debts.
lSit possible to depress our manufact-
uring industries to lower point than
they have now reached? Milton says:
, And In the lowest deep lower deep,
Still threatening To devour me, opens wide.
t. which the bell suffer seems q heaven."
But it is impossible to conceive lower
dceD into which the manufacturers Of
thiscountry could fall. Mills costing .
million dollars have been sold Tor $780,
900; whole villages Of workmea aee.
on the brink Of starvation; Am@ n
goods are now sold ia Manchel
lower prices fhaa English goods. =
paying transportation across the
Talk about '.pzuper lalo!.
] English wages better tiaa no ~
D&nlR L4aboring men are now w01
tor hfty cents per day. f