Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-12-19
DEMOCRATIC FREE TRADE

To the Editor of the Daily EARLE
Seeing an editorial in the Beacon Of the
18th inst, entitled, ave have tied ourselves,
said article being the ideas of the oracle o.
the Beacon on the tariff and free trade ques
ton. He boots at the Republicans for say.
ing that the Democratic party will favol
free trade. Now one of the first points il
declaring the opinions of every Democratic
state or county convention, is to endorse the
slime honored principles" of the party
Does the Beacon oracle know what those
time honored principles are' think not
and will tell him that one of them wa.
free trade. / being of Democratic descent
in 1874 painted banners for this same OLD
party, with the notices, ''free trade and
sailors rights also" "Polk, Dalles, and down
with the tariff of 49," and others of like
meaning. They carried that election, and
carried out their principles by passing the
low tariff of '46, and the result was that 3l4
of the iron works in Pennsylvania and Ohio
shut down, and many of them went to ruin
Wages went down until man could gel
only fifty cents per day and
board himself in that country
and the young or old man that wanted a suit
of ''store goods" clothing had TO pay about
three times as much as i can get like goods
for in Wichita. Wheat was about as low as
it is here to-day and cotton or wooden goods
from three to four times higher than they
are now. i bought suit of broad-cloth in
ls4s that cost NE when made up. six weeks
hard work at carriage painting. | could
get as good in Wichita to-day for about one
weeks work. But to come down TO modern
Democratic principles, three-fourths Of the
leaders of the party are in favor of putting
all raw material on the free list Lead Iron
ore, zink, coal, wool, etc.
Now how would sucl. free trade effect our
miners? With Mexico full of the finest coal
lead end zinc. and Peon labor that only
costs from eight and one-third TO twelve and
one-hslf cents per day! Could our Kansas
lead and zinc mines compete with such i'll
paid labor. answer no, no sir. And the
thousand of miners that delve in the ground
for the zinc, lead, coal and iron would have
to starve or go to producing the necessaries
of life and thus still farther Cutting the
farmers market and his best one
too, for il does not cost all it
is worth to sell it at home
Instead of shipping ii to Europe or Mexico
now raw materials on the free list is only a
stepping stone to carrying out their "time
honored principle of free trade, and it is
free trade with a vengeance for it hits right
on the poorest paid and hardest worked labor
in the country, and if you want to see the
banners, "Bloood or Bread" just pass such a
bill and in six months from that time they
will float from Maine to Florida, and from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. One of the
greatest causes for the present depression is
that the zinc, lead and iron masters are
afraid TO stock up and compete with those
that can get their stock mined with pauper
or peon labor, and as any one knows that all
such works have TO carry stocks months
ahead to be ready for all accidents and con-
tingencies. You can see they have good
reason for going slow, but to return to the
oracle, he has in fact adopted the Republic
can tariff principles and begs the question,
for he says the nation has apparently demon
strated that protection, although heresy, is
blessing and we could not possibly adopt
free trade if both Republican and Democratic
parties were in favor of it. But ! think he
has only given us some wholesome doctrine
to cover up his free trade proclivities. Now
the time-honored Democrats were not afraid
to faunt their free trade banners but the
modern Democrat pu.s it mild and soaps it
over SO it will slip easy by calling it "For
Revenue Only" while the same old wolf is
watching Mt every corner to get in few of
his best ticks against labor in favor of capi-
tol and to sink tho laborer down lower Till
be is in the condition they had the black
man few years since. And as the men
who run the Democratic party have no new
ideas only their time-honored principles as a
guide, we can only look at their precedents
and Judge of what they would do if they get
q chance. Therefore, l say, Mr.. Editor,
please keep it before the people and feel that
you are doing your duty to those that need
help. / know, although am old and some |
what infrm, that can make better living
at my trade now than could under the old |
Democratic "for revenue only free trade |
times" Yours, OLD VETERAN.
WIcHITA, Dec. 18th, "a.