The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-08-10
Supplement
Mankato Free Press.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
Hon. Robert Stratton's Address to
the Republicans on that Subject.

Hon. Robert Stratton's Address Il
the Republicans on that Subject.
The coy little headquarters of the Har
rison and Morton club was filed to over
flowing Tuesday evening on the occasion
of the address of Capt. Robt. Stratton, o
Minneapolis. The meeting was presided
over by Hon. E. P. Freeman. The Glee
club made its first appearance since its
reorganization, and opened the meeting
with happy piece, accompanied by
Miss Nellie Burt at the organ. Mr.
'Strstton was then introduced, and spoke
for an hour and half on the tariff CUES.
ton, with now and then a side sally
He is convincing and logical speaker
and often becomes eloquent when
aroused by his subject. He held the
closest attention throughout, and was
frequently and heartily spplauded. He
. said, in substance:
Whenever, in q community, there is o
person who asks you to forget his past
and only points TO the future, you can
take it for granted that he has something
IN his past that will not bear inspection.
So with parties. In the past history OF
the Republican party there is nothing to
be covered up. IL had a mighty moral
courage almost at the birth of the party.
II was that party that took the RESPONSE
bility of conducting the war against or
ganized Democracy. Then, after the
war, was required the moral courage OF
statesmanship, and the Republican par
ty settled for all time the question of Sc
cession. Eternal vigilance is the price
of freedom, and the Republicans must
maintain the American constitution as
the palladium OF the liberty of the coun-
try. The Republican party has not adj
vocated single great principle of which
it need not be proud. What the party g
past is, is written in the book where all
may read.
The Democrats demand the repeal of
the "war taxes" The Republican par
ty is the party of the people-the Amer
lean people. Charity should begin at
home, and our own people benefited be-
fore others. Everything that is pro-
-duced is the product of lalor and the
material Providence has given us. Nine
ty-two per cent. of the value of the aver
age article represents the labor put on
it. If you increase its price, 90 per cent.
goes to labor; and if you reduce the
price go per cent. must come from labor.
That nation that depends only upon the
product of the soil must become the
most ignorant and degraded of people.
The Democratic party claims that every
thing that is raised above what is actual
ly necessary to run the government is q
tax upon every person. 1t says We are
ridden to death with taxation. The tax
was taken off Of tea and coffee and they
were not cheapened, for the amount of
the tax was added at the place of export.
With the same reason that you are told
that you are taxed unjustly in what you
eat and wear, il can be said it is unjust
10 tax you for the support of fire de-
partment, churches, schools, ETC., if you
are not directly benefited by them. We
live for all around us and we get our full
share of prosperity in the general pros
perity about US. Democrats say the tar
iff fosters monopoly. Statistics show
that nineteen of every twenty of our
manufacturers have become insolyent.
The diffusion of wealth Is the greatest of
any country. These facts ought to settle
that Democratic proposition. The coun-
try must always be prepared for an
emergency, and ready to stand alone in
all OF its resources. Unless we do that
we are defenseless. ~ tsL
The Democratic theory OF exchange of
products among countries might be all
right were all men honest. This policy
would destroy part of the factories, or
labor must be made as cheap as in Eu-
rope. Then you have, not the milleni-
UNI, but the monopolists that You have
built ND in Europe. They are not phil
anthropists, and we will be at their mer-
y-the mercy of our foes.
Since June, ratification meetings have
en- held everywhere the British flag
8, and they are all Cleveland and
thurman notifications. The British press
all advocate the election of the Demo-
cratic ticket, for it will make money for
British manufacturers.
- The present administration was scored
for its cowardly foreign policy that had
covered before Britain. In little
trouble with little Mexico recently the
administration rose right up-and backed
down again. The British seized Isl
American vessels, and Mr.. Bayard SIM
ply begins to negotiate little. The ad-
ministration's cowardly course in the
fishery negotiations was showed up. The
speaker felt that there must be lot of
internal towards at the head of things in
Washington, or other action would have
been taken.
The speaker presented some labor sta
tistics of different countries of the world.
In America the average cost of skilled
labor is 46 per cent. greater than in these
other countries. -
The speaker proceeded to show the
sectionalism OF the Mills bill and the by
pocrisy of certain Democrats in their
free trade theory. He also ripped open
the administration on the pension veto
record, and made several telling points.
A vote of thanks was extended to Mr..
Stratton at the conclusion Of his speech.
After a song by the Glee club the meet
ing ended.