The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-01-20
THE FARMERS AND aoRovER's
HYPOCRISY.

Mr.. Cleveland felt the need of the |
CARTS crowd IN 1884 and solemnly as.
sured them that he was the embodiment
of Simon pure civil service reform; that
he was its godfather and special.cham-
pion, and that II they elected him Pres
ident his whole heart should be put In
TO thework approving his devotion TO
the principles so revered by Curtis and
Schnrz. How faithfully he has kept
those pledges and how we'll his ofIen-
sive pariisanship gulllotine has done it's
work was well illustrated by Senator
Hale tue other day IN the Senate. But
this is not all, and that lie not the only
pledge TO which he has proven false, as
thousands Of old veterans can bear Wit.
ness, Mr.. Cleveland has also always
professed great regard for tho farmers
Of the country. and solemnly asserted
that II was the purpose of his admins
tration to promote their welfare and
prosperity. even If all other interests
suffered. And many Democratic dem
agogue taking bis cue from Grover cries,
up with the farmer. down with monop-
olies"-meaning OF course, the manu-
featuring and commercial interests. as
well as railroad and other corporations
without whose works and internal I'M
proyements the products of the interior
and western states would scarcely be
worth producing.
Mr.. Cleveland doubtless feels that the
sensible portion of the Mugwumps can
not fail to detect the hypocritical viola
tions of his civil service reform pledges,
and realizes that he must lose their sup
port next fall, and in casting about in
other directions to make up the loss he
1 has seemed TO hit upon the farmers az
beng the most gullible and most easy TO
be deceived by his false professions.
Tha refnre does he issue his free-trade
! manifesto with the pompous declaration
that it is for the interests of the farmer
that they should be relieved Of the bur
dens of the tariff. In his advocacy o.
). free trade Grover doubtless had two
ideas in his mind. First, to please the
foreign manufacturer and secure from
them financial aid to keep the Democ
racv in power, and secondly, to secure
) the votes of American farmers by hood
| winking them into the belief that they
as class will be especially benefited b.
: reduction of the tariff. But in hi
r brutal advocacy of free wool, Mr.. Cleve
land put his foot into 1t and knocked
: over completely his plans for securing
r the support of the agriculturalists. No
4 only are the wool growers themselves
= considerable part of the farming com
a munity, but the grower of grain ant
1 other farm products are not so stupi'
q as Mr.. Cleveland. They realize as b.
a doubtless did not, that f wool q owin
a is destroyed in America the farmers en-
r gagged in that industry will be eompelle'
q to fall back on raising grain, whlcl
= would result in larger surplus ant
s lower prices. Thus it is plain that tn
O policy of free wool is not only blow a
f sheep husbandry itself but also at tn
entire farming interests OF the country
i None the less dangerous to the farme
# is a policy which would destroy tn
p profits of manufacturing in this country
s do away with the home market OF tn
v farmer and drive thousands of work
K men now engaged in various industrie
d to agricultural pursuits. The great bul
&c Gon h
= home market Do away with that by
" policy which would close up the manu-
factories and drive the operatives of tn
u the cities to getting their living out @
e the soil and the prosperous days of tn
v American farmer would be at an end
> Thanks to their intelligence, the farmer
are not likely TO be dazzled by Grover
n false pictures, and they will easily de
tect the hypocrisy by which he woul,
;. sacrifice their interests to secure hi
!, own ACKNOWLEDGMENT.