Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-09-18
Our Terrible Condition.

latiditlc leleSIdpnJ
From the advance proofs of "Col."
Tom Bowman's campaign speech for
the congressional race this fall we ex-
tract the following:
"The condition of the farmers of
western Iowa is much depressed. 1t is
true they are getting better prices for
their corn and other products than for
several years. But if they are disposed
to think in their simplicity that this
state of affairs is the natural reaction
from the condition growing out of four
years of Democratic rule, with frSs
trade threatening destruction to indus
try and mer ,sving home producers, they
are almigntily mistaken. We are told
thai protective tariff is a good thing
for the farmers, that it is the founda-
ton of home market. AS to this
desire to say that such is not the case
BY the great horn spoons, swear it on
my Bonded knee. l was given the NOM
ination to congress to tell the farmers
how downtrodden they are and how de-
pressed they ought to be. But they
Council Bluffs is also depressed. 1t
has been in this shape since last spring
Until then we were fixed to give the
country fellows when they came to
town one continuous round of gayety
and pleasure. The poor, oppressed,
tariff-taXed farmers were allowed to
contribute ninety-tive per cent of the
profits reaped by the gambling houses
l,,c 70 &c hn
city. The great American privilege of
walking in through the front door of
saloon and getting just as drunk on
Sunday as on any other day was also a
source of wealth which the puritanical
and sumptuary legislation of the Re-
publican party made it possible to
bring to an untimely and SorrOwful
end. 1t has deprived us of 49, 600 each
Sunday which would otherwise have
become medium of home collateral.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars each
year which jay outsiders contributed to
the gambling hells and saloons of Coun-
Gil Bluffs they now keep in their peck
cts. They are not even allowed to have
their fun and the business channels of
Council Bluffs are fast tOttering to a
fall. Gentlemen, our constitutional
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness is being ruthleSsly invaded
by the Republican party. without
gambling houses and open saloons on
Sunday the country and the Ninth dis
triCt especially is fast tending toward
the demnitiOn bOw-wOwS. What does
the price of corn amount to to the cana
ries of the country districts if they
can't have their little amusement when
they come to town? The depleted
commercial channels of Council Bluffs
mingle their tears with the tears of the
ninety-tive per cent of outsiders who
are now compelled to keep hundreds of
thousands of dollars in their pockets of
which they were formerly relieved by
the gamblers of Council Bluffs! Yes
relieved is good word. We Demo
Gratis call things by their right names
when we talk about the 'robber' tariff.
but in the fair lexicon of Council
Bluffs, outsiders were never robbed by
the gamblers-they were relieved.
Gentlemen, the tariff is tax, which
is added to the price of the commodity
Glass legislation is also playing hob
with us. | know of no class either I'M
der the stars and stripes or the imper-
ial flag of Great Britain that has suf
fered more from the effects of class
legislation than the farmer. But |
trust to be excused if | do not dwell on
these painful subjects. Council Bluffs
is depressed, the honest horny-handed
farmer is depressed, | am depressed.
So is the audience. Fellow-sufferers,
my name is Bowman, and don't you
for moment allow it to escape your
memory that / am reformer and ex-
pect to represent refOrmers in congress.
My friend, Pat Lacy, will now address
you on the great moral question, stud
poker and tariff reform for ever. "