Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-06-01


OF goods it is sent out on the principle
that she must get another shipioad Of
goods that is worth more than the one
that she sent out.
It is by pursuing this policy that Eng
land has been able to gather to her
shores great part of the wealth of the
world, that she is trading all over the
world; her ships are found in every
port, and she has become the mistress
OF the world because she has adopted
this true policy of trade, while we who
have adopted the protective tariff and
are sending out more wealth than we
bring in, are laying up loss every year.
and this will account for the sixty odd
millions In gold that went abroad in
the last year, and that have failed to
come back. We are sending steady
stream of wealth out of this country in
stead of bringing it in.
Mr.. Simpson. Universal bankruptcy
and poverty were staring the people of
Great Britain in the face. They adopt
ed this system of free trade, or near
to it, and to-day she has become one of
the richest nations in the world.
Free trade means relief from taxation
on personal property. 1t means free ac-
cess to the natural storehouses of
wealth to produce something on which
to trade. Labor can not produce any
thing out of the air. It can produce
but very little from the sea. 1t must
have access to land, and any system
which places the land of the country in
the hands of the few is fatal not only
to production but to trade, for without
easy access to land the laborer can pro-
duce nothing to exchange.
This brings on the TRANSFORMATION
question, which is really part of the
question of trade. For example: When
the tariff was taken off sugar and sugar
was being reduced in price, the West
ern railroads formed a combination and
raised their tariff on sugar, so that what
we escaped in duties to the custom
house we paid to the railway.
We have granted special privileges to
railroad corporations whereby they can
levy a toll on every man who uses them
in sending their goods to the public
markets. They lay in wait and levy
tariff upon the produts of labor, a trib-
ute which amounts to more than $780,
OOO,OOO per annum more than reason
able profit upon the capital invested in
the roads and rolling stock. The right
to tax is admitted by everybody, but we
believe that all taxes should foster pro-
duction and trade and not speculation
and monopoly. We would put tax
upon those who buy up and hold out of
use the mineral deposits, the coal de-
posits, the iron deposits, and the copper
deposits. They hold these things out
of use so that their increased value can
go into their pockets. We would take
that value to the community and give it
back to the people who made the value,
and this would open up new fields for
the laborer, and instead of going around
to the manufacturer begging for the
privilege of producing wealth, he could
go and produce it without being robbed
by the capitalists. This is what we
mean by free trade: Access to oppoc-
tunities to produce wealth and perfect
freedom of exchange.
Mr.. Chairman, was very much graf
flied when had the privilege of COM
ing into this hall and sitting here with
the great statesmen of the country, and
can assure you that had very high
| and exalted opinion of those statesmen
until as time went on came to learn
more about them and their proceedings
here. Laughter Then there came
back to my mind story told by Lucian.
the Roman writer, of man who had
gotten lot of monkeys and educated
them to perform on the stage till at last
they went through their performances
| just like human beings, until one day
some wag in the audience threw a
handful of nuts and raisins on the
stage, whereupOn the performers went
down at once on all fOurs scrambhng
for the nuts and raiSins. Laughter. I
They were no longer men but monkeys
| Laughter.
| saw here exalted statesmen advo-
eating great policies of state, and | had
an idea that they were truly interested
in this great country, until all at once
some special privilege was thrown upon
the stage, and then they suddenly got
down on all tours scrambling to see who
should first get his little special privi-
lege through this great body of law
makers. Laughter.
We believe, Mr.. Chairman, that that
is what is behind this protective tariff
system. We believe that once you be-
gin to take off the special privileges you
will rapidly recruit the ranks of the re-
formers until finally you will entirely
overthrow this bad system of trade, and
we shall be able to take our place by
the side of the greatest nations or ahead
OF the greatest nations in the world
There is no good reason why the people
of this country should be poor. There
is no reason why the farmers of this
country should be in debt. There is no
reason why there should be two and a
half billion dollars of mortgage lndebt-
edness upon the farms and homes of
this country.
|
Why WOrkingmen Should Organize.
II feel sure that the readiest way to