St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-29
BLAINE EULoGIsED.
A Lot of People Talk About Some-
thing They Know Some
thing About.

"1ou understand that L, as Republican
oppose Mr.. Blaine and want to know on
what grounds, eh?' said f. j. Hodgson in
answer to an intimation by reporter that he
was Republican kicker. ayes, am op-
posed to him from head to foot, from center
to periphery, and how any farmer in the state
of Minnesota can vote for him is mystery
of mysteries. am sorry to find myself in
this relation to the Republican candidate for
the chief magistrate of the nation, but I
can't help it. Mr.. Blaine avows himself as
protectionist of the most advanced type,
and places himself before the people
squarely on the issue of a
high protection tariff as against
tariff for revenue only or tariff reform. 1
have been convinced for years that the agri-
robbed and plundered by this protective tar
culturalists of the west have been perpetually
if beyond the point of further endurance
How then can / consistly vote for the man
who in ali his recent speeches has claim ID
the votes of the people, not so much because
he is the Republican candidate, as because
he is the especial champion of this most in
iquitous and unjust high protective tariff {?
l can't and won't do it, and what surprises
me is that thousands upon thousands of men
in this state, who believe just as
l do, are going to vote directly
against their own principles, their own
convictions and their own interests.
Why, if Mr.. Blaine is so thoroughly in love
with high protective tariff, how much
higher may he not want to make the present
tariffs The grand larceny already being
perpetrated by the manufacturers of the east
ffa ctc Of fha
the protection of the strong arm of the gov
eminent, is about all we can stand. 1 can't
vote for any more, L would rather begin to
vote their hands out of our pockets. Why,
don't you know the present extraordinary
low price of wheat is largely caused by this
high tariff?
How is thata
Well, I'll tell you how. Do you suppose
that we can tax England, France or Ger
many on their exports, and they sit down
quietly and pay itsNo sir. They will retaliate. A
little while ago when the Germans shut down
on our pork, a universal howl went up from
Americans to retaliate. Yet here we. have
been for twenty years laying an enormous
tariff on their exports and shutting our eyes
to the fact that they would surely and terri
bly, retaliate upon US. Now we see that dur
ing the past few years England has spent
millions of pounds sterling in digging
canals, building railroads in India, and in
developing the growth of wheat there, and
facilitating its transportation. England is
determined not to buy a bushel more of
American wheat than she can possibly help.
1 would not, and you would not, if we were
Englishmen, buy pound of American -four
if we could help it. And so we see
the farmers of this country brought directly
int rr-1th tho of IND hn
work for eight cents a day and board and
lodge themselves besides. Mr.. Blaine talks
of protecting American laborers That is
taffy for the laborers, but its millions for the
manufacturers and death on farmers. If he
was really anxious on behalf of the laborers,
why does he advocate policy that reduces
the American farmer to a close competition
with the semi-barbarous Indian? Talk about
the pauper labor of Europe, The European
laborer's income is princely beside that of
the dirty and half naked Indian with whom
the farmer must get down and compete
Talk about our laborers competing with pau
per labor, states prison labor and aims house
labor. Under this unrighteous tariff the far
mer has got To get down much lower than
that and compete with eight cent day bar
barous labor. France, too, has made up her
mind TO "retaliate,'' and now proposes to
levy a tax of twenty-seven cents per bushel
on wheat, and have no doubt she will do it.
and so the markets for our farm produce are
one after another cut off and destroyed by
our wickedly stupid tariff laws.
How long, o! Lord, how long will the
farmers of Minnesota stand it. All honor to
the four noble Republican congressman from
Minnesota who defied the party whip, and
stood up manfully for the rights of their con-
stituents. Surely the people will show their
appreciation by returning them to the posts
they so gloriously honored. And don't you
forget that when the farmers suffer, the
cities suffer. All the money that comes to
this state, or substantially so, comes to pay
for farm produce. When the farmers have
no money to spend it is a cold day for your
merchants, even if the thermometer is 100
degrees in the shade.
Oh, know the protectionists pirate great
deal about the incidental benefits resulting
to the agriculturalists from a high tariff.
If they called 1t intnitesimal benefits, they
would be much nearer the mark. But
suppose they were right. Suppose the farm
ers did derive some incidental benefits.
Isn't it about time the thing was changed
around while and let the farmers take the
direct benefits for change, and let the man
ufacturers take theirs out in incidentals for a
whiles tell you, young man, the more you
ponder these things over in your gray matter,
the more you won't vote for Blaine.
Thanking Mr.. Hodgman for his stump
speech, the reporter HE'D him TO other fields
of news, wondering how the farmers relish
the idea of coming down to compete with