The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1892-05-13
SO BE 1T FOR DENNIS.

Li'AIoh ON1ON:-1Our QuOLaGlOn from the
South Dakota State Journal with comments
has aroused the old tariff ire of Dennis and
1T must haYe utterance or bust It is
strange that men with brains enough to
edit a paper do not possess penetration
enough to find the cause of the decline in
wheat. At the time when the "Hold your
Wheat" circular was issued by the Estate"
of st. Paul, it did look as if the farmers of
the Northwest were ''in it" for good prices
with a vengeance, and even such men as
Plllsbury stated "that every farmer in the
Northwest would get $1.0O Cor his wheat at
his home station, but it has been proved
that both he and the editor of the State
reckoned without their host, which in this
case was the Mckinley tariff. Last fall we
were told that the new tariff law had not
been in effect long enough to manifest all
its beauties and benevolent influences. All
of which was duly believed by all good re-
what is the sequel? Starvation and bread
the opportunity to earn it all over Europe
and the western farmer cannot get the
cost OF production for his wheat. Right
here l want to ask some good protection
list, how much would wheat be worth now
if the rest of the world had had a good
crop? A straight answer and no squirm-
ing. And what would have been the con-
sequences IN our business men and gener-
al welfare? Someone one who expects to
get the farmers votes owes us an answer
and explanation. Men of the west! let us
own up that we are not alone being hum
plugged, but ruined in the bargain by the
Internal tariff. The writer had a letter
from Europe not long ago containing the
statement that ten pounds of unbolted
rye flour was there worth fifty cents, near
ly as much as a western farmer can get for
a bushel Of wheat.
The chief export of that country is iron.
If the American farmer want some of that
iron he must pay ten cents per pound or
over for it. The iron workers there would
gladly give us 100 pounds of bar iron for
100 pounds of wheat. Why can we not
trade on those terms because that country
has an almost prohibitory tariff on our
''pauper wheat" II the United States has
a duty of from 200 to 400 per cent on their
iron. And who is benefited? The great
land lords in that country and the iron
barons III this. Some protectionist will
say, "We don't want their iron, we have
iron of our own. If those countries want
our wheat let them pay us gold for it,"
The merchants of Rapid City might just
as we'll get together and resolve, from this
day we will take neither farm or dairy
products for our goods. The fractional
currency we hud just after war was con-
venient and a desirable circulating medi-
uln we will receive that and nothing else
for our goods" What would be the con-
sequence? There is no fractional paper
money i'll the country. The people could
not get it and the merchants would not sell
their goods. What would the people think
of such idiocy? Yet we. as a nation, are
doing in substance the same thing. The
workingmen of other nations are DESTROYS
to work and produce such necessities as the
western farmer is suffering for the want
of, and they are also willing through their
dire necessity to give us a large amount of
their labor for our products which they are
starving for. But the artificial barrier
which both parties have set up forbids the
exchange on practical terms. So they
starye. And the western wheat producer
and the southern cotton planter and all
mercantile pursuits barely exists and gets
In debt deeper ever year. Why not tear
down this barrier, whose base is ignorance
of cause and effect, and whose summit is
prejudice? Yes, why not lear it down?
"What" you say. 'What good would it
do? Other nations would keep their tariff
against our product just the same" No;
they would, or could not. There is not a
throne or government On the other side
strong enough to withstand their hungry
laboring mems demand for cheaper food.
If we lead other nations must follow.
Why not tear it down? And let the
farmers once again get a dollar a bushel
for his wheat. When trade would revive.
industry start with a merry hum, the mil
lions of acres of Dakota soil waula then be
cultivated which now lies u]nproductive.
The crowded cities would be relieved be-
cause farming would pay. And 1 venture
to say that even the Unsuitable realestate
agent would grow fat without exercising
his a~bnormally developed faculties for
scheming. Yes, let us tear it down and
be prosperous and happy. We export
about $500, 100000 annually of merchan-
disc. We cannot get the gold because it is
not in existence. We must take kind, And
the idea that you can tax a people rich and
prosperous is pretty we'll exploded.
"Oh! but we must protect American la
Dor and American industry" That is
merely a sentiment, genslemen, a patriotic
if you wish, but nothing but a sentiment
without a shadow even. The American
farmer Cannot longer vote for an empty
sentiment. but we must nave a revenue
for the support of the government" Yes,
but as this communication is already too
long II! reserve that for another rainy day.
DENN1R.