Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1890-12-18
SHALL WE BACK DOWN z
TSioux City Daily Times.l


Many straight republican newspapers,
which before the recent election looked
askance upon the policy of the Chicago
Tribune and the st. Paul Pioneer Press,
as newspapers calling themselves repub-
lican, and which from a glorious record
in the past have well earned that title,
were openly against the Mckinley bill,
pointing out its apparent defects with a
zeal hardly equalled by any democratic
newspaper, and not attempting to defend
it, arc now expressing doubt whether
it would not be well for the republican
party to recede from its former position,
to advocate or calmly allow tho repeal of
the Mckinley bill, and, in fact, to change
front on the question of protective
tariff.
1t is tho duty of every republican
newspaper to discuss this question, and
to discuss it squarely and fairly. 1t is
as much live issue to-day as 1t was be-
fore the election. In fact, it is an issue
of even more Importance now, for some
of the hope and faith which obtained
before the election is now gone in conse-
quencc of the result of that election.
Taking the Mckinley bill as the sole,
or at least the most prominent issue at
the recent election-this merely for the
sake of a fair argument-it is fact that
it was defeated at the polls.
Now, because it was defeated, shall
the republican party resignedly say,
''The people have declared it wrong and
dstasteful to them. We will abide by
the decision and drop it?" If we had no
knowledge of practical politics and po-
litical methods, the answer to this would
be the affirmative. But it is not easy to
make an about-face, nor, If one has been
sincere in his belief, is decision against
him apt to convince him of his error. 1t
would not be crcditable to him if he did
That majority Of the republican party
were in favor of the protective tariff pol
icy, of their party before the late election
needs no argument. That the result of
tho election has not changed their minds,
is equally true.
AS has been said above, we may ad-
nit, for the sake of a fair argument in
this case, that tho majority of votes in
this election meant majority plainly
against the Mckinley bill. But this is
fairer than the democrats have shown
themselves in any stage of the discussion.
They directed all their efforts toward
the groSSest Misrepresentation and the
boidest lying, with the object of deceiv-
ing the people into the belief that the
Mckinley bill was an Ubiquitous meas
ure. They enlisted the willing aid of the
importers, whose self-intereSt prompted
them to represent that the provisions of
the bill would increase the cost of neceS-
saries OF life to American consumers.
This was lie. They hired ''tin ped
dlers" in Ohio and in Michigan and in
certain localities in other states, to go
from farmhouse to farmhouse with an
! assortment of tinware, asking outrageous
prices for their bogus wares, and in
structed to tell the people that it was
the Mckinley bill which had increased
the price to such an astounding degree.
This was the wickedest, most bold and
impertinent kind of deception.
Democratic newspapers throughout
the land deliberately took the truth and
twisted it to make it appear a liar. No
such campaign of bold, presumptIve
i lying was ever before known In this or
| any other country. Such systematic
| and persistent plan could not be with
out avail. is it any wonder then, that
| the campaign of untruth has succeeded,
at least temporarily? 1t is we'll known
! that lie travels faster than the truth.
1t is the common habit to accept and be.
| lievc lie rather than to investigate and
| find ont the truth.
All the republican party asks now is a
| fair trial of the new tariff law, and it has
| right to ask that. There is no earthly
reason why the party should back down
| from its well considered position. That
the position was well considered is just
as sure as it is sure that the republi
can. party is the party of sincerity
The Mckinley bill, no matter what
may be its most Objectionable features,
was prepared with the object of giving
! tho people Il revised tariff. according tt
demand, on the protection lines of tho
/ republican party, which the people re-
stored to power in 1883 on this very is
sue. In every schedule OF the bill the
people most directly interested had Z
hand in framing it, farmers, mechanics
laboring men, labor societies, merchants
dealers, miners. shippers and manufac
! turers, were called before the commit
tees and their advice freely sought ant
! truly regarded. With such bill, it /,
but right and fair that reasonable
trial be accorded it.
III the republican party has made {
/ mistake in passing the Mckinley bill, a
/ what, at least, it conceived to be the de
| mand or the people, it is its duty as ;
| party to demand that the law be giyel
/ the trial which those people expected i
/ would have. 1t would make a greater
mistake to rccede from its position takeI
at the demand OF its friends, the people
/ and this is a mistake which the TIME:
does not believe the party will make
4 1t is u question between o specific policy
on the one hand, and policy OF vacilla
ton and meaningless catchWords on thu
i other hand. The latter position wonl,
be precisely the one occupied by til.
democratic party.
j When the grand old republican part!
esponses he ssprinciples" OF the demo
i cratic party, black will be white, fai
1 will be foul, and the truth viii indeed y
d liar.
SLAM keeps up with the procession
i She is to have IN electric railroad thirt,
miles long.