Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-11-24
SPECIAL SESSION OF CONGRESS-.

SPECIAL SESSION OF CONGRESS.
The idea o, having a special ses-
sion of congress after the inaugera-
tion Of President Cleveland, is be-
ing generally discussed. Some of
the democratic leaders insist that
immediate action should be taken
by the democratic party upon a
change IN the tariff law, that it is
better for the country that early &C
ton should be taken IN this matter
and the avowed policy Of the party
should at once be chrystalIzed into
law. 1t is to be hoped the session
will be held and that the policy
outlined in the democratic plat
form will early become the settled
policy of the Government. A de-
mocratic tariff Is what we want ana
we want it bad. We want to see if
the theory of free trade is best for
this country as its APOSTLE have so
frequently asserted-if to ''buy
where you can buy cheapest and
sell where you can sell dearest" con-
tributes to the growth and devel-
opment Of a nation, and betters the
condition Of its laboring and pro-
ducing classes. Since the principle
of protection has been the settled
policy of the nation, a generation
of people have grown up and been
educated among us; they have large
ly imbibed the free trade theory of
political economy as taught by
nearly all the colllgiato institutions
of The country. This element voted
this year for the first time, and in
many of the northern states held
the balance of power and threw
themselves into the scale of theory
rather than of demonstrated fact,
and turned the election to the free
trade side. Nothing but the appii
cation of their theory, practically,
will ever dIsabuse their minds of
the fallacy of their position on eco
nomic questions, and the sooner
that test Is applied, the sooner will
the country again settle down to the
solution of these questions on prac-
teal lines and in accordance with
the policy that has broadened and
deepenad the channels Of oUr com
merce, both at home and abroad, in
the last thirty years. The issue is
between the beautifully rounded
periods of a theory, and the practi
cally rounded demonstration Of an
accomplished fact-establish the
theory in the place of the fact, ard
its operation can not be other than
IA lamentable failure, since the at,
tempt to give this theory life, at no
less than three epochs of our Ia
tional history, has resulted in the
prostration of business, the gene
raj stagnation of trade, an increase
in the production of the farm and a
l~essening of the demand Of the
workshop, that has left us at the
mercy of capital employed in other
lands in the work of placing their
manufactured products on oar
markets. If the free trade theory
is not tried now and demonstrated
to be impracticacle, it will have to
be later on, when the country Will
suffer ten times more than now.
The people have voted that the
trial shall be had, and it is the duty
OF the incoming administration to
obey their expressed wisqes at the
earliest possible moment.
In the meantime, if you are III
debt get out as rapidly as possible,
else you will be caught and ground
to powder in the business prostrs.
ton that inevitably follows a radi-
cal change in public policy. The
change must come. The democra-
tic party is ''between the devil and
the deep sea-" If they fail to COM
ply with this demand of the people,
the next election will see them relic
gated to a back seat, and il they do
comply with it, their political pow
or ceaGes at the end of the next four
years, just as sure as day follows
night. To adopt a middle course
Will not do, For will it do to pro-
long the present tariff condition.
i'll either case they violate the eX.
press pledges given, by which Il ey
erter into possession of the govern
ment, pledges endorsed by the
people who will not brook any
but will demand that they
face the music, stand up to the
trough fodder or no fodder"
We want every free trader IN the
land to take Il full dose of their own
medicine.
The returns show a large Repub-
lican majority in both the House
and Henate of this state. We hope
they viii wipe out that part Of the
Law On assessments and taxation"
by the populists of 1891,
the control of tax sales to
money corporations and s~yndlcates
" T-4 H. -.--