Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-05-25
Extracts from the Speech Of Hon. Jerry
Simpson, in the House OF Repre-
sentatiVes April 8, 1892.

wrong. Either thing is right or it is
wrong. l learned my republicanism
when the republican party meant some
thing-when it stood for principle
when old William Lloyd Garrison and
Wendell Phillips said they would have
no compromise with wrong that slave
ry was IAN agreement with death and
covenant with hell" They refused to
compromise with wrong. That is the
time when l was republican. But
when the republican party became the
champion of special interests, when the
money power and the manufacturing
| class got control of it to use it as a We
hlcle through which to foster their spe-
cial interests left the republican par
ty, and to-day stand for absolute free
trade in every sense of the word.
Now, gentlemen, what is free trade 4?
Is it natural or an unnatural condi-
ton? Are not human beings so consti-
tuted that they must trade? No mat
ter how primitive the state of society.
men must trade. With the deyeIop-
ments of human progress, the inven-
lions OF machinery and the division of
labor, different classes and different
countries producing seperate and dis
tlnct articles, we must have a system
OF trade. In olden times this cropped
out because the settlements were along
public highways or water courses. by
means of which the people could COM
municate with one another. Trade is
natural condition. What do these
protectlonist gentlemen propose? To
project against trading, to prevent peo-
pie from trading with one another? Is
1t not obvious to every man that a pro-
tective tariff law has for its object to
prevent some one from trading with
some one else? 1t is evident that there
must be men in this country who wish
to trade with those in some other coun-
try or you would not pass law to pre-
vent this trading. Here, then, is a
country where men are prevented by
law from trading.
Mr.. Simpson. They first get pro-
tective tariff and prevent you from
trading for goods Of any kind by fining
you so cents on the dollar If you under
take to bring them in, the object being
to compel you to trade for their gold,
on which there is no tariff, and bring
the country to the single standard.
That is one of the efforts of the great
gold monopoly of the country. You
will be compelled, under this law, to
trade for this commodity which the
monopoly controls, gold, and that IS a
part OF the hard-money scheme which
has been worked in this country for 80
many years.
Mr.. Joseph D. Taylor. But if you
can raise the goods here out of your
own lands and make them by your own
labor. are we not in better condition
than to purchase them from abroad?
Mr.. Simpson. But it so happens that
this Is an agricultural country. 1t so
happens that we have very large agri-
cultural surplus here that must seek a
market somewhere because of the ina
blllty OF consumers in our own manu-
featuring districts to purchase what
they need. The Secretary of Agricul-
ture In his report year or so ago said
that If the consumers of wheat bread
had eaten but an ounce and three-quar-
tiers each more of wheat bread we would
have had no wheat for export. We
have no market here. The farmers
must of necessity seek a foreign mar
ket. Seeking that foreign market, they
must trade for goods in that country.
and as soon as they make that trade
YOU set your custom house officers upon
them and levy tribute of 50 cents on
every dollars worth that they trade
for. How does that benefit agriculture9
How does it benefit the agricultural la
borer of the country?
Why, Mr.. Chairman, we are driven
from the markets of the whole world.
1t is well known fact that there was
great failure of crops on the other side
of the Atlantic, nearly all over Europe
recently. Millions of people are dying
starving or about to die of starvation
at least they told us so when thew
wanted to get hundred thousand dol
lars or so for the purpose of hiring
some good republicans ship to carry
over cargo of flour to relieve them.
llauGhter] and yet, sir, because we can
not trade the products of our farms for
the products Of labor il foreign coun-
tries, we are restricted to the markets
OF this country by the tariff monopoly,
and although there is a demand for |
these products abroad they are sinking
lower and lower in price every day, I'M
til to-day they are away below the cost
OF production. How does this benefit |
the farmers Of America?
Why, the Western and the Southern
farmers have been driven into the cities |
and towns of manufacturing States for
their market where you promised the |
farmers you would build them an exclu |
siVe market. Weare obliged to 90 there:
there is no help for it, and to-day Kan
sas corn is selling in Massachusetts and |
Ohio, and driving out the very farmers
whom you promised protection and a |
home market, because you have confin-
ed US to this local market, and because
OF the inability of the laboring classes
to employ themselves in the production
OF wealth which they could and would |
exchange for the products of the farm
for these reasons we find the products
OF our farms thrown upon an ever cheap
ening market for want of consumption.
Mr.. Simpson mere starts to quote from
Gov. Fifer, but is interrupted:
Mr.. Henderson, of Illinois. Do you
not know that the governor repudiated
that publication the very next day after
1t was made?
Mr. Simnann haua