The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1894-05-25
Populist inconsistency.

POpullStS In Congress on the tarlH issue.
They were elected i'm the interests of
the farmers and were sent to the Ma
tional Legislature to- conserve and to
promote in every possible way the
agricultural industry; but we find them
acting with the Democrats and support
ing the Wilson bill.
Now the Mckinley tariff is law in
favor of the farmers. 1t puts duty
on everything that the farmer raises.
1t was just on this ground, more than
any other, that the Democrats so Bit
terly opposed it. Mr.. Cleveland and
his compeers constantly made the cry of
free raw material, and nearly all former
tariffs have thus Disseminated. They
provided for duties on manufactured
articles, but left the products from
which the goods were made unpro-
tected. That is, the products of the
farm were admitted with little or no
duty and the farmer was left to ''rustle
for himself"
The Mckinley tariff was an innova-
ton. 1t placed heavy duty on all
important farm productions and was
very quickly felt along the Canadian
border, where hay, oats, barley, eggs,
mutton, cheese, etc, are largely raised
on both sides, and the farmers on the
American side were formerly obliged
to accept the same prices for their pro-
ducts that prevailed in Canada. After
the Mckinley bill went into effect the
American farmers received for their
eggs, hay, barley, oats, etc, price
equal to the price of those articles in
Canada, with the duty added. That is:
the Canadian farmers, in order to bring
their products into competition with
those of the American farmer, or in
order to sell their products in the
American markets, must first pay the
duty.
The Mckinley bill is the first tariff
measure that took the interests of the
farmer directly into consideration. In
the tariffs of former years the advan-
tage to the farmer has been chiefly felt
through the betterment of his markets
by reason of prosperous manufacturers
that the tariff helped to foster, and the
employment of labor which made con-
sumers for the farmers surplus. But
in the Mckinley tariff protection in
cludes both the products of the farm
and the products of the factory. 1t in
sures the American market for the
manufacturer and for the farmer also.
Another important feature of the
Mckinley law that should commend it
to farmers and men who represent
farmers interests, and which will be
repealed by the Wilson bill if adopted,
is the reciprocity clause. The reel
procity law has secured great benefit
to the farmers of this country, and is
destined, if promoted and carried out
in good faith, to become of still greater
value to farming industries. To recall,
briefly: The Mckinley law empowered
the President to impose duty on beet
sugar, which is an important product
of German agriculture. This in retail
alton for excluding American pork from
the German markets. Notice was given
to Germany by the President that I'M
less Germany shall admit American
meats in its ports, German beet sugar
would be excluded from ours. AS re-
suit we exported to Germany in 1898
IL 900, 600 pounds of pork, being an in
crease of 800 per cent in two years.
In the same manner reciprocity
treaties made with Spain and South
American states have greatly increased
the shipments of flour and other pro-
ducts of the farm. These are direct
advantages to the farmer which the
passage of the Wilson bill will destroy
and which the Populist Representatives
at Washington are conspiring with the
Democrats to accomplish.
There is still another important count
to be reckoned against the Populist lead
ers in thus siding with the Democracy
in their conspiracy against American
farmers. And this is, that the Wilson
bill, if passed, will deprive the people
of the blessings of free sugar. The
Wilson bill does away with cheap sugar.
But the matter is so manipulated that
the wrong to the many will be the gain
to the few. The manipulators, the
ring the sugar trust, which seems to
embrace not few of the Democratic
members of the United States Senate,
will profit enormously by the change of
tariff laws, but the farmers, the people,
will be correspondingly injured. The
Populists' idea seems to be to increase
the price of sugar and lessen the price
of meat and flour, and thus help to
drive the farmers to the wall.
/
The tariff bill has been under consd-
Grafton in the senate about fifty days.
1t is difficult to measure the progress