Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-09-27

A Protest from Wool Growers - A
Democratic Opinion OF the Democrat
te State Ticket-strong Points in short
Paragraphs.
n Remarkable Array OF F~alsehoods with
which to Fool Voters.
M a. Washington dispatch to the Philadel-
,hia Press says that the record of the
performances of Congress is so devoid OF
anything creditable that the Democratic
members in preparing campaign speeches
nave resorted to the stupid process of in
venting so-called reforms and putting
taem to the credit of their party In this
Congress. One of the speeches which
the Democratic campaign committee Is
circulating is headed achievements of
the Democracy in the Fifty-third Con,
gress." and was ostensibly delivered by
MIR. Coffeen of Wyoming. As a matter
OF fact, no such speech was ever delivered
In the House, though it was printed in the
Record under the leave TO print, and
this obtains for il free circulation in the
mails. Mr.. Coffeen says in his speech
that he is a merchant in Wyoming, but
IL is evident that he would be more sue
Sessful as a writer of fiction of the Mum
chausen order than as a dispenser OF
tea and coffee and other commodities.
Mr.. Coffeen figures out that the amount
NO " lnt Dthllt NY n lNhASAiOls III
b tariff on wooden goods alone will be
$141.3S6,00 a year As the entire inn
ports of wooden goods for the last fiscal
year aggregated only S36,993,000, it will
be seen that Mr.. Coffeen is not one of
those persons who believe that figures
cannot lie. The decrease in the value
of wool and sheep products Of the United
States and of ranch property devoted to
sheep industry in a single year has been
$73,073,59G, or more than twice the value
of all the imports of manufactures of
wooden goods. Hence, instead of the peo-
pie of this country saving anything by
this Democratic wool tariff they are los
ers to a very large extent. The only
wooden goods now imported are lin wool
en- goods used exclusively by the rich.
The reduction in the tariff on wooden
goods is for the benefit of that class of
people.
Mr.. Coffeen's second reform is men
TONED as follows. "a bill retaining
yearly 100000 acres of land from the
tspd grant railroads, restoring the same
to the people again. No such bill has
passed Congress, and the probabilities are
that no such bill ever will become a law.
A demagogic measure of this kind passed
the House, but there was no expectation
thai it would pass the Senate, as it would
deprive 100000 and more innocent hold
ers of their property without any com
pensation. Mr.. Coffeen's third reform" is
n bill to restrict immigration by requir-
lug that consular certificates at foreign
ports shall be obtained. This is the
Stone bill, which passed the House and
which the administration killed by the
direct Interference of Secretary Gresham
and Secretary Carlisle in the Senate.
The next reform" named is a bill
granting to pensioners q vested right in
their pensions. This refers to a rider,
which was put or the appropriation bill
20 prevent the Democratic administration
from suspending any more pensioners
without giving them a chance to defend
themselves. The only object in passing
that rider" was to compel the Presi-
dem to stop the infamous course of Sec
.retary Hoke Smith in cutting off old vet
Grams and their widows and orphans by
the thousands from the pension rolls,
without any just cause or reason except
ing to make a show OF economy. That
.Erider" was a direct condemnation of
che course of the administration, a course
which has resulted in an alleged saving
of S29,0 00, 900 in the payment of pensions,
and which saving alone permits the Dem
ocrats now TO make a claim of economy
as outside of the saving by this infa,
NOUS course the Democrats nave actually
appropriated more money than they did
at the last session of the last Congress.
The Saving" in pensions is SIS, O99.504,
whereas the total saving claimed by the
Democrats in their appropriations is $2S,.
S35,9S9. In other words, If it had not
been for this infamous pension policy,
under which nearly 10000 old soldiers
and widcws had their pensions suspended
before the passage of this rider" to
which Mr.. Coffeen refers, the Democrats
would have been unable even to claim q
credit for reducing expenses. But for
the Democratic campaign committee to
circulate a speech claiming credit for the
passage of such a bill is certainly very
remarkable.
more in the line of reform" Mr.. Coffeen
says: after overthrowing the capital.
tstic schemes shown in the Torrey bank.
ruptcy bill. the voluntary bankruptcy bill
was passed for the proper relief of debt
ors." No bankruptcy bill of any kind
was passed by Congress at its recent ses.
sion. The House defeated the bankruptcy
DILL which was approved by every CONNER.
cial body nearly in the United States,
and then it passed the Bailey bankruptcy
bill, so-cafled, which was a hundred times
worse than no bill at all, and which was
designated to give creditors the privilege
of taking advantage of state laws to Sc
cure a discharge in bankruptcy good
creditors no rights whatever. 1t was in
no sense a uniform bankruptcy bill such
as the constitution requires, and did not
a the approval of q single commercial
body in the United States. But ever
that ridiculous bill was not passed.
Another so-called reform is men.
toned as follows: "a bill for the coinage
of silver bullion in tie treasury and also
the seigniorage was passed and afterward
vetoed by the President. Then il was
carried by the Democrats of the House by
more than two to one over the veto. The
Republicans coming to the help of the
president carried the day against the
Democrats of the House, so that bill was
defeated" Here we have the Democrats
claiming credit for passing a fat money
till and for voting by more than two to
one TO override the Presidents veto OF
that bill. 1t is also stated as a ''ninth'
that free coinage was defeated 'by the
almost solid vote Of the Republicans,
joining with the cuckoo Democrats
And it is further asserted that there
never has been a time in the last dozen
years when there was not a good ma.
.jority Of Democrats in the House and also
in the Senate in favor of the restoration
of silver and its reeoinage at the ratio OF
is to l." That is no doubt true, and il is
a fact the people of the United State will
do well to remember.
Another reform of which Mr.. Coffeen
boasts very much is the alleged reduction
in the appropriations, which was accom-
piished by cutting off pensions to that
amount Then the federal election laws