Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-07-23
y printed the following pathetic ar

c'A& $500 49, 49, - A'H -
ticle which explains itself:
"Who is hungry, 90 and see. You that are
well fed and know not what it is TO be hungry
perhaps never saw a hungry mango and see.
Go and see thousands, men and women, boys
and girls, old and young, black and white, of
all nations, crowding and jostling each other,
almost fighting for the first chance, acting
more like hungry wolves than human beings,
ia the land of plenty, waiting till the food is
ready for distribution Such scenes may be
seen every day between IL and2 o'clock around
where Charity gives a dinner to the poor, and
soup and bread to Others to carry TO their mis-
cradle families. On Saturday. we spent an
hour there at the hour of high tide. We have
never seen anything like 1t before. Upwards of
a thousand people were fed with a plate of
CUP a piece of bread and a piece of meat on
the premises. and in all more than sixteen
hundred. On the same day one thousand one
hundred and thirty portions of soup We're
dealt out from Stewards soup kitchen, corner
of Reade street and Broadway. At the rooms
on Duane street for the relief of the poor, on
the same day, uney gave food TO two thousand
two hundred and h~fty-six. In the Sixth ward.
alone, over six thousand persons were fed by
cl arity on Saturday. January ID. And this is
only one day in ons ward. Meanwhile, scenes
OF a like nature are being enacted all over the
city. The cry of hard aimes reaches us from
every part of the country. The making OF roads
is stopped, factories are closed, and houses and
ships are no longer being built. Factory hands,
road makers, carpenters, brick layers. and
laborers are idle, and paralysis is rapidly EN-
bracing every pursuit in the country. The
cause of all this stoppage of circulation Is to be
found in the steady outflow of gold to pay for
seign laborers for the clothing, the shoes: the
iron and other things that could be produced
by American labor, but which cannot be so
produced under our present revenue system.
The CONFUSION would have come upon US Soon
er but for the extraordinary demand in Europe
for b~readstutfs, growing out of huge famines
and big wars, and but for the dazzling AMI
magnificent discovery of gold mines In Califor,
mia, by which hard money, sufficient to buy an
empire, has been called into existance and ex-
ported to Europe. If we could stop the import
OF the foreign articles, the gold would cease to
How out to pay for them, and money would
then again become more abundant; labor
would then again be in demand; shoes.
clothing, and other commodities would then
again be in demand and men would then cease
to starye in the streets of our towns and cities.
Ii it be not stopped the gold must continue to
go abroad and employment must become from
day to day more scarce, until where there are
now many thousands we shall see tens of thou
sands of men everywhere crying, GIVE me
work. Only give me work! Make your own
terms,--my wife and children have nothing TO
eatt
In 1850, the following petition was
presented to congress
Previous to the passage of that law the
manufacturing and mechanical interests in
this country We're in a honrishing condition.
Since that time the condition Of things has en-
tirely changed. Manufacturing i~anguishes,
mechanics are thrown out of employment, bust
ness of every kind is dull, and unless protection
can De dIoTupu 10 our luDOTlu& Classes. poverty
will o~vertake them. The subscribers therefore
pray that Congress will so alter the free trade)
tariff of 1916 that il will protect the labor and
capital of this country from foreign compe-
tition."
In 1856. the unemployed working
men 3 COMMITTEES presented the following
petition to the mayor oil the city OF New
York
I'VE do not come as beggars but we ask what
we deem right. We ask not aim but work.
We don't want little soup today and cast-off
clothing tomorrow. But we do want work and
the means of making an honest livelihood. The
condition of the working class is most piteous,
They want bread. Is there not enough in the
cifyg-. They want clothes. Is there none made
nowadaysg'
In 1851, President Fillmore in his an
nual message, speaks as follows OF the
result OF the free trade tariff OF 1916:
''The value of our exports of breadstuffs and
provisions. which it was supposed the incentive
of low tariff and large importation from
abroad would have greatly augmented. has
fallen from S6S,000.0W in 1917 to $2i 900 in
1851, with almost the certainty of a still further
reduction in 1852, The policy which dictated
a low rate of duties on foreign merchandise, it
was though by those who established il, would
tend to benefit the farming population of this
country by increasing the demand anu raising
the price OF our agricultural products in foreign
markets. Tho foregoing facts, however. seem
to show, incontestably, that no such results
nave followed the adoption OF this policy.
President Buchanan, under this free
trade tariff law found the revenue OF the
government so small that il was neeas-
sary Tor him to issue bonds to meet the
current expenses OF the government dur
ing his administration, and the credit OF
the government was so reduced that he
was obliged to pay s to II per cent to
obtain the money Mt all. All this misery
and depression followed the enactment
OF the free trade tariff OF 1916. notwith-
standing the fact that we had free and
unlimited coinage OF silver. FREE SILVER
WAS AGAIN PowERLEss TO ALLEVIATE
THE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE GOV
ERNMEST AS 1T ALWAYS HAD BEEN AND
ALWAYS WILL BE
In 1861, the free trade tariff oil 1916
was repealed and a protective tariff en-
acted which was not repealed until 1894,
when the Wilson free trade tariff bill was
passed. From 1861 10 1873, we had
the free coinage OF silver, and from 1873
to the present time we have had the
single gold standard. Lot us first ex-
anime the period from 1861 to 1878, be-
cause during that time we had free silver
and protection. Then we will take the
period from 1878 to 1894, because dur
ing that period we had thegold standard
and protection then the period from
1894 TO 1896 for the reason that we
had a free trade tariff and a gold stand
ard.
When the republican party was placed
in control oi the government in 1861, it
found itself face to lace with thedesperate
conditions OF the years 1916 to 1861,
besides having II great a on its hands.
1t inherited al empty treasury, an idle
and starving people and a war that was
destined to cost thousands OF lives and
millions OF dollars. Oneof the first things
done was to pass a protective tariff, and
what was the result? From 1861 to 1873
the country showed a degree OF prosperity
that might well have been envied by any
nations enjoying perfect peace. Industry
all over the nation was awakened into
new life and the people were well en-
ployed, well paid and well fed, notwitll-
standing the devastation OF the war the
country wonderfully increased in wealth,
population and material prosperity.
In 1878 the government abandoned
the free coinage oil silver and adopted the
present gold standard. Since that time
all silver coined has been coined ON
government account aud the govern