The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-11-25
THE BURNING ISSUES.

of the day.
The first skirmish on the Bland free
coinage bill took place in the house Of
representatives on the afternoon of
Tuesday, February 16 The house
spent hours in flibustering over the
measure. Anti-silver men desire to
hide the silver agitation behind the
meaningless discussion on the tariff is
sue, which they brazenly assert to be
OF most vital Importance at this time.
strongly suspect that their intention
is to direct the eyes of the country
away from the currency question. The
house is democratic by a large ma
jority. 1t can pass silver bill of the
most radica. character and throw the
burden of opposition to it on the re-
publican senate. The president will,
it is said, veto the Bland bill should it
pass both houses, and, as conse-
quence, the democrats are safe in pass
ing it so far as blame for its defeat
resting with them is concerned. They
proclaim that they prefer to be honest
(?) and will oppose it, so far as they
can, and, in order to throw dust in the
eyes of voters, insist on making the
tariff the issue. l. said, in starting
that the discussion of the tariff in the
house of representative was meaning
less and. SO far as the discussion is in
tended to affect the prosperity of the
nation, that is true. They do not bring
the tariff up because they mean to
benefit the country by an agitation on
the issue, and because they hope to
divert attention away from the cur
rency question, which will naturally
occupy large space before the public
eye, while silver is being talked over
in the house. Some Of the most astute
Il speak advisedly when I say that)
would allow the silver bill to go through
in the stiffness of the night, just as
Senator Sherman allowed the resump-
ton clause to go through in 1873, SO
that public attention would not be at
tracted toward it, and by that means
prevent discussion and education upon
the question of finance. They favor
kicking up dust on the tariff issue.
land and a few others know all about
the needs of the country, and that
the tariff is the only real is
sue before the people, or the
only question that is worthy of discus
sion. Nine-tenths of the thinking
workingmen of the nation understand
the tariff question much better than
the average congressman. They I'M
derstand its full import and meaning
much better than do our national legis-
lators, but they realize that there is a
time for everything and that every
thing should be in it's place. For the
last ten years the tariff has been the
issue between both parties. It was
the bone of contention in 1880, again
in 1884, and was the only thing that
came up for discussion in the campaign
of 1885, The goats of the nation fat
tened on the tariff literature which
they nibbled from the bill boards in
1883, but the people grow no stouter or
stronger than before. The result of
the contest made no change for the
better, and, had it gone the other way,
we would have the same story to tell
Congress is to-day engaged in most
dishonest attempt to obscure real, vital
issues and hide them behind the tariff
bugaboo. If the democratic party were
sincere in it's declaration that the
Mckinley tariff would prove hurtful to
the country they would strengthen
themselves and win the support Of the
nation by giving the law chance to
work the evils they predict. It seems
to me that if l were partisan demo-
crat and prophesied that the Mckinley
bill would injure the country in four
years, as many of them assert, would
not do anything to prevent it from do
ing that injury so that my position as
a free trade advocate would be
strengthened. If I were republican
and believed that the Mckinley tariff
would prove to be blessing to the
nation, would insist on giving it a fair
trial so that its benefits might become
plain to all men. Both parties. if sin
cere in their professions, have every
thing to gain by allowing the McKin-
ley tariff time to operate and demon
strate its claim to public favor and a
longer lease of life. BY doing that
they would also give the country
a much needed rest and the peo-
pie time to think about other
questions. Possibly they do not
care to allow other matters to
occupy much of the time or attention
of the people. It may be their desire
to switch other questions off on some
side-track for fear that they would
overturn some of the institutions that
stand more of menace to the welfare
of the people than a high or low tariff
can possibly stand. While you are
talking tariff in the house of repre-
sentatives, with no other object in view
than the strengthening of your posi-
ton in the fall campaign, hundreds of
thousands of men are being turned out
of the mines and workshops These
are the men for whom you would re-
1uce or increase the tariff A COM
,ination, stronger than the one that
recognizes Benjamin Harrison as
it's president, has been formed
with capital of $500. 600, 900 to
say who shall burn coal, who
shall mine it, what shall be paid for it.
and just how much shall be mined
each year. There is no tariff on
anthracite coal. Why stand one hun
dred thousand mine workers in idle
ness or the fear of discharge? What
has the free trader to say in denuncia-
ton of the combination that corners
anthracite? IF you are sincere in ask
ing for free trade in order to improve
the lot of the workingman,. why do
you not exercise your power to compel
those who do not stand in dread of for
eign competition to extend the benefits