Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1891-10-08
REPUBLICAN TRUTHS.
The Republics Golden Age.

Governor Campbell, in recent
speech ut sydney, o., among other
things said that tho period from 1916
I" 1861 was the golden age" Of this
repupiic. lnasmuch AS assertions OF
a somewhat similar character arc con-
stuntly being made by other Demo-
cratic orators as we'll as the Demo.
cratic press, II may not be out OF
place to see what truth there is in
them,
The country was then under the OPP
era ions OF revenue tariff largely
devised by Robert j. Walker, the
Democratic secretary OF tho treasury,
1t is true that u period OF great pros
perity continuing for period of three
or four years followed, but there was
IA combination OF eXtraneous inhu.
enoes that had not u little to do with
this prosperity.
Thus tho war with Mexico at that
time, by which 800, 900, 900 were dis
tributcd, exercised potent influence
In stimulating business. Again,
there was II European war which
created heavy demand for all the
surplus food products OF this country,
which, together with tho demand for
them created by tho famine In lro.
land, enhanced their prices to an OK
tent hatyieldedvery handsome returns
to the farmers Of this country, An.
other important factor was the discov-
cry OF gold in California, which re-
suited in the creation OF Il new wealth
ylat was sufficient In itself to inaugur.
ate period OF general prosperity,
II is not surprising that all those
influences should bring about good
times and they would have done 1t
under any economic system that might
have been In operation.
Their Influences ceased TO be felt
however, after u while, and thea the
people had an opportunity Tor testing
the effects OF tn revenue tariff. In
1881 President ilmore nd iressal u
message 10 congress In which he
stated that tho lOw rate Of duty had
greatly depres5 ID tho agricultural In
terests. and u year lalor ho said In an.
other message that competition with
foreign manufactured goods had
brCken down home manufacturers,
that thousands Of Industrious and hon
est men had been thrown out 0f ON.
ploymcnt and that profound doprcs-
tiou prevailed, Ho further declared
that the destruction OF our manutact'
urcrs left tic foreigners without com
petition IN our market nnd that tho
price OF urtlcles sent To America had
been raised IN consequence.
IN 1857 President Buchanan said In
u message to congress that he none
tary Interests OF tho country wore In
depiornblc condition, and that, dc
spite the country's groat natural ad-
vantages and in the midst Of unsur-
passed plenty In all the elements Of
national wealth, our manufactures
woro suspended, our pablo works
wero retarded, our private onter-
priscs Of different character were
abandoned, aud thousands OF useful
laborers were thrown out OF employ.
ment and reduced to want
Not II very pleasant picture this,
certainly and IL Is Democratic testi.
mOny as TO the effect OF a revenue
tariff. just why Governor Campbell
or any one else shuold iesl disposed TO
refer 10 1t rs tho golden age Of the
republic 1t IL difficult to see, History
shows it to have been anything but
that, outside OF the few years that fol-
lowed the adoption OF tho revenue
tariff, and events independent OF that
were responsible for that period OF
prosperity. Kansas City journal.