The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-09-23
THE WOMEN KNOW.
Protective Tariff Blessings Are Fully
Understood i'm Minnesota
Homes.
Our Women Know the Me ming of Free
Trade or Tariff for Revenue
Only.

An interesting, if not entirely novel,
feature of the present campaign is the
large attendance of women at the polit-
ical gatherings which thus far have
been held throughout the state. Outside
of the large cities Mr.. Nelson and the
opposing candidates for the governorship
as well, have generally had the pleasure
! of addressing audiences containing q
large representation of women, who evil
IDENTIFY were not attracted by mere curl
osity, bat by sincere desire to inform
themselves about the questions at issue
between the contending parties. Old
campaigners have been forcibly, as well
as agreeably, impressed by this evidence
of spontaneous awakening of an active
interest in politics among the women of
| the state.
There are good and substantial reasons
for this political uprising among the
gentler sex. The great contro-
versy of the campaign, the tariff
issue, is pre-eminently a question of
| the home and the kitchen. It is
| question that concerns the women of
the land even more than the men, be-
cause the sufferings entailed by bad
tariff system as well as the blessings
conferred by good tariff law are felt
most keenly by them. They are, more
over, better equipped mentally than are
the men for passing judgment on a
practical question like that of the tariff
as submitted in the present campaign
for the decision of the people. A glib
orator may mislead even sensible man
by plausible theories, insinuating logic
and bold assertions. He cannot fool a
woman. Any good, sensible housewife
in Minnesota knows ten times more
about the Mckinley law than all the
Democratic orators "doing" the state
put together. She may not be able to
discuss its underlying principles with as
much fuency as they, but her knowledge
of its practical results is more thorough
and reliable. She is the treasurer of
home. She-t that is to say, most of the
house wives of the state-held this posi-
ton before the Mckinley law was
enacted, and she has held it ever since.
She knows with absolute certainty
whether prices have risen or decreased.
No Democratic speaker, be he ever SO
convincing, can persuade her that the
Mckinley law has added to the burdens
of the people, because she knows that it
has made living cheaper. 1t did not
take her long to find out that putting
sugar on the free list had the effect Of
lessening her household expenses by at
least five dollars year, and her infor-
nation is just as accurate and specific
in regard to scores of other articles COM
monty used in every American home.
Nor can she be deceived as to the true
meaning of free trade or
tariff for revenue only. Experience
has taught her, especially her
recent experience with the price of
sugar, that revenue tariff inevitably
increases the cost of living, while pro-
tective tariff makes living cheaper. The
assertion that the duty is added to the
cost of the article she knows to be trre
ola revenue tariff, but not of a tariff
for protection.
The political interest manifested by
the women of the state is most en-
couraging sign of the times. 1t shows
that the strong, if generally silent, forces
of the home have been aroused to activ-
ity by the reckless assault on the happi-
ness of our homes. The Republican
cause is in safe keeping in the hands of
the mothers, wives and sisters of the
commonwealth.