St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-18
in the Confederate army, and had many
friends in all walks of civil life,
KIEFEH AND PoraroEs

SHPaiiihS SieHce Dy the TWO organs
of the party of which the gallant colonel
is so eminent and distinguished and fit
representative. 1t is strange indeed
that it Is left to Mr.. Kiefer's own efforts
and the franking privilege. aided by an
appreclative paper like the GLOBE
which always aecords. even to an adj
versary. that recognition which his EN-.
inent merits demand-to make his con-
stituency acquainted with the erudltion,
the statesmanIike grasp OF questions
immense and minute with which that
gentleman in this speech enlightened, If
he could not convince. the -obdusate ma
Joritv which, unfortunately for him.
dominates the lower house.
Bat ii the Pioneer Press and the Dis.
patch, not to mention the lesser lumi-
naries-the incandeseent lights, as it
were = of journalism in his district,
choose to ignore his greatness, thus
pay Ing the tribute envy always pays to
emlnence, the GLOBE. at least. will mete
out justice with even and impartial
hand. and endeavor to spread the light
of the coloneps intelligence among its
readers. Happily for the colonel, he is
III the possession of the framking privi-
lege and the mails, for by their aid he
can triumph over the petty jealousy
which excites what the editors of his
party organs complacently term their
minds, and lay before his constituents
in their homes all that informant oil
about the tariff which he has gathered
with the assistance of his gifted and
versatile secretary.
We said in prior article. in which we
descanted at some length on one feature
OF this speech, that 1t was one or the
most remarkable which we had read
among the many striking speeches de-
livered in this Fifty-thrd congress; and
any one of our readers who has waded
through the Record will admit that this
is very strong statement. We firmly
believe that no candid and unbias ed
mind can go over these varied and null
titudinous speeches without coming to
the same conclusion. 1t is not alone
that 1t 1vanceS that novel matne NAUTICAL
proposition that a tax can be reduced
$50 per cent, though that feature alone
entities the speech to rank among the
great efforts of great men. and to take
place alongside OF Mark Twain's won
derful map of the defenses of Paris.
which drew forth from Won Moltke the
admission that he ''had never seen any,
thing like it."
With equal facility Mr.. K iefer turns
from philosophy and mathematics to
potatoes. In fact. it was while speaking
of potatoes that he evolved his novel
proposition about the reduction of the
tax on that escuient. which the Wilson
bill ruthlessly cut from twenty-five to
ten cents bushel. The colonel assured
the benches and the galleries that "the
consolidated price" of potatoes-what-
ever that may Manufacturing 1892 aver
aged 81 cents; that certain localities in
his district raise an exceptionally fine
quality of them, and that "under'' the
duty OF % cents buShel, 1.-THE potato
product has been a source of substantial
profit to the farmers of Minnesota" He
assured his hearers that Germany raises
potatoes at so per cent-not $50 per cent
this tlme-less cost than they can be
raised III Minnesota. ''because there a
man works as a farm hand all the wear
for s50,'' but with the duty (on starch)
at one cent pound all round, aud with
potatoes coming in from Canada, this
new and thriving industry. which made
the farmers of my district happy and
prosperous, will be wiped out-anni-
hilated.'
Assuming thatit is trde, as the colonel
evidently wishes to be understood as
asserting, that the effect Of the Increase
OF the tax OH potatoes by the Mckinley
act was to so largely increase their cost,
and thus make his farmer constituents
happy and prosperous. it really seems
to uS-and we mention it with that
dif1idence which in the face of the opin-
ions of so enlightened statesman all
will concede is most becoming-it seems
TO us That Mr.. Kiefer has played on the
farmer a trife too assiduously, and
overlooked the very important fact that
vastly more of his constituents are eat
ers OF potatoes than are Iaisers of them.
There is very natural antagonism be-
tween the men vino eat potatoes and
those who grow them, the former being
concerned in getting them at the lowest
cost possible, and the latter being inter-
ested In getting the most possible for
them.
OF the $4,000 voters who cast their
votes In the Fourth district in the cleo
tions of 1892, not mora than 1000. prob
ably, are engaged in growing potatoes :;
the remaining $1,000 have no other con-
Germ in that neceSSitous article of food
than i'll buying it at the grocery and
eating 1t at the table. We fear that,
especially in these times. it will hardly
commend the colonel to the favor of
these $4,000 to learn that he, Stoutly and
with all the force of his wide learning
and fiery eloquence. is trying to make
them pay more for their potatoes. There
is hardly one among them who would
not feel as If he were 25 ceuts better off
if he could get his bushel of potatoes for
% cents instead of paying 80 cents for
them, and who would rather have that
quarter to buy something else with than
to feel that McKinley's act had made
him donate it to some farmer in some
one of the colonePs Favored localities.n
Possibly this occurred to MIR. Kiefer.
and, Schooled in the new doctrine. he
saw the error into which his potato
buying and eating constituents had
fallen. They had not learned as had the
colonel. sitting at the feet Of Mckinley
and Harrison, that cheapness even in
potatoes is detrimental; that '.cheap
and nasty go together" that "a cheap
coat means cheap man under it;'' and
he doubtless reflected that then it must
be true that cheap potatoes meant a
cheap man outside of them. He will
no doubt make it one of his objects this
fall to educate his constituents to be-
lief in this doctrine.
HOW PROTECTION WORKS.
L. MA L..