The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-08-08
Friday, Aug. 8, 1890.
The Disaffection Spreads.

ters against the Mckinney prohloltory tarl1
bill now before congress, were published
the revolt in the republican party and news
papers has spread like wildfire. Senator
Plumb of Kansas last week gave the bill
and the system it attempts to establish, the
hardest blow it had received in Congress.
The Kansas Senator produced letter from
a merchant dong business in St. oseph,
Mo, and Atchison, Kas., stating that on an
inyoice of crockery he had paid that day
customs duty of SIG 40; that under the
pending bill the duty on the same invoice
would be S31.32 and under the Mckinley
bill $57.12.
What is here meant by the "pending
bill" is the bill before the Senate which is
the Mckinley bill as amended by the SEN
ate Committee.
The whole tendency of civilization, Mr..
Plumb said, was towards the reduction of
prices of all products of human labor. To
claim that the tariff had been the sole or
the main factor in the reduction of the
prices of manufactured goods was to ignore
all the forces of civilization. The American
people were entitled to have cheap goods if
competition could bring that about. When,
he asked, was the time coming when the
people of United States would get some
benefit from the establishment of home
industries? Just as fast as the point was
arrived at when lower prices might be
expected the manufacturers came TO Con-
gress and said that they wanted more duties
whereby that downward progress Of prices
might be arrested.
The people of the United States ought TO
have their Innings" some time, and he
thought that that time had come. The
article of chinaware, he went or 10 say was
to be found on the tables Of rich and poor,
SO that The high tax oil il had TO be borne
not Gin accordance with the ability of the
taxpayer to pay, but as practically per
capita tax. The man on his farm used as
much chlnaware as Vanderbilt in his palace.
The duty on chinaware was not tax on a
luxury, but on necessity of life.
The manufacturers had had from Con-
gress hitherto precisely what they asked
They had the tariff law now on the statute
book, put there by Republican Congress
on the report of Republican Tariff Com
mission, designed and calculated to be help
full to them and which gave them substan-
TALLY what they asked. And yet, so far
from their being satisfied, another bill fol
their benefit was to be put through, without
debate, if that could be brought about, on
the theory that the country was hungering
and thirsting for more tariff legislation.
The Senate, he continued, owed some
duty to the American people as we'll as to
the manufacturers. There was a point
where political sympathies ended and
where business interests began. The Dem
ocratic party had its fnll share of response
bility for the iniquities of the present tariff
law and of that which was now proposed
The Democrats of the House had had the
opportunity of correcting the errors and
wickedness of the Mckinley bill, bnt they
had sought to evade the responsibility oil
their votes, when by joining with the Re
publicans who were opposed to the bill they
might haye eliminated many of the errors.
He could see that game of battledore and
shuttlecock between free trade and protec-
ton constantly going on for political ad-
vantage on the one side and for personal
advantage on the other; and between the
two extremes The great body of the Ameri-
can people were being crushed and ground
And how has it come to pass that Mr.
Plumb, one of the leading republican Sem
ators, and one of the oldest and most inhu-
entail members of that body, speaks out in
this brave manner against the policy which
the men in power stoutly proclaim the
party's policy?
The Farmers Alliance alone embraces
over 100000 voters, and the National
Grange, the National Farmers League, the
Farmers Mutnal Benefit Association, the
Northwestern Alliance, the Patrons o
Husbandry and the National Colorec
Farmers Alliance, embracing fully 1000,
900 more, with the work of enlarging thei
numbers progressing rapidly in every sec
ton. 100000 of aroused farmers are be
hind the revolt. The leading republican
papers in Senator Plumb's State of Kan
sas, with the Topeka Capital at their heat
are against the conspiracy which is goins
on at the Capital against the people. Thes'
popular associations, Farmers Alliance
and other labor organizations aggregatin(
100000 voters have passed resolutions
embodying the sentiments expressed by Mr.
Plum. This is power which Congressmer
fear and feel more shan the party whip. II
the following Western States the organized
farmers hold the balance of power, and tc
those they are adding others: Illinois
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa
Kansas, Nebraska and possibly the two
Dakotas and Montana. with chance fol
controlling Ohio and Indiana and they are
certain TO control the Southern States o
Tennessee. the Carolinas and Alabama, with
a fair chance of controlling Arkansas and
Texas. IL Pennsylvania the Changers, the
old organization of farmers, has put itsel
on record as favoring Hastings and opposing
Delamater on the Republican side and as
favorino Pattison and opposiup Wallace or