St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-09

ulOndl ClckeC OF Jne party eNcI ollicO. L
have always been opposed to a high pro-
tective tariff, but have been taking the
promises of my party for the last twelve
years to revise and reduce the war
taxes. When the Chicago convention
of 1888 put their tariff plank in their ma
tional platform, declaring that rather
than to surrender any part of the pro-
tective system they would favor the re-
peal of all internal revenue taxes,
| concluded it was useless to
hope for any relief from that
party; hence my only hope for change
in that system is to vote with a party
that advocates the principles which
believe to be right, When l came to
America first bought farm in Fond
du Lac county, Wisconsin, running in
debt for nearly the whole amount, and
paid for it in very few years. l sold
wheat in Fond du Lac in 1858 for Sl.5O
per bushel, and in 1856 sold my whole
wheat crop for Sl.75 per bushel. Oats,
corn, barley and all farm crops were
bringing good prices, and farmers were
all prospecting. l have owned thirty
different farms since | came to Amer
lea, always made money till within the
past fifteen years. Since that time my
farms have not paid the expense of run
ming them, and own as good farm of
100 acres as there is in Trempealeau
county, Wisconsin, and it will not sell
for as much as it would ten years
ago. l have asked my protectionist
friends the reason for the decline in
values of real estate, and they tell me
that farming is overdone, that there is
an overproduction of farm products,
and that the protective tariff will make
a home market. which will consume the
surplus farm produce and bring farm
values up again-fOrgetting, it seems,
that they have had protective tariff
for twenty-five years; during most of
which time, instead of bringing up farm
values, they have not only failed to hold
them up, but have allowed them to
gradually decline, until to-day the farm
ers of America are really worse off than
the so-called pauper labor of any land.
Now | would try and be patient with
our present state of affairs if all in
dustries were languishing, but [ live in
a lumber country and find that for
fence boards for which paid 81 per
thousand feet in 1876 l now haveto pay
SO per thousand for the same quality,
showing that there is some secret in
fluence at work to keep up the price OF
lumber, and as any one can see, at the
expense of the farmer; and in taking
general survey of the different indus
tries, find that all of them which are
protected are selling their goods at
profit, and the Western farmer, who is
unprotected, is selling his product at
loss, convincing me that it is the farm
ers of America who are contributing
their hard earned dollars to enable the
CARNEGIEs, the MCCoRMICKs, the KEEL
LEYs, the PULLNIANs, the SAwYERs
and a host of other millionaires of
America to roll in their vast wealth,
while the farmers are compelled to
mortgage their farms and finally to lose
them and become tenants of the
Eastern monopolists. Although an old
soldier myself, l am so well pleased
with the pluck and good common sense
of the president in vetoing the depend
ent pension bill and other equally
vicious legislation that l have been
compelled, against my will almost, to
admire the manly stand taken by Presi-
dent CLEVELAND; and although have
no word of censure against Gen. HAIR
RIsoN, whom / believe to be an honest,
capable man, have clear convictions of
duty which compel me to vote against
my own party candidate running on
platform and supported by party
pledged by its leaders to relieve the
burdens of the people by taking the tax
off of whisky and tobacco.