The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-11-05
THE ISSUE THEY FEAR,
DEMOCRATS PERSISTENTLY IG-
MORE TARIFF QUESTION:.
,...ccd Silver to the Front in Order tn
ryade the Responsibility of the Tariff
pi,nder OF Four Years Ago-Another
r>ucriment Proposed.

The remarkable feature of the cam.
,n SO far, the only feature, in fact
A. All worthy of remark, is the strange
ursistcncy shown by Democratic news
,,nors and public speakers in ignoring
tta tariff issue, upon which these same
r~ov-slapcrs and public speakers had SC
,nuch TO say four short years ago, and
,bo strange panic Of fear into which the
,.ro mention of that issue by a Repub.
r..in newspaper or public speaker will
.hrow them.
The people of the United States have
svor been noted for short memories
- n~olitical matters. That is one amone
The many misfortunes of the Democrat
cr. The people remember, how foul
,,ars ago. they were promised pros
I,r,ty to follow the adoption of the pol
f., If free trade. The people even re-
,,1uhcr the enthusiastic and victorious
f..a trade campaign Mr.. Bryan. now the
democratic nominee for the presidency,
made in one of the districts of the state
n Nebraska. 1t is true. Mr.. Bryan had
rnf then attained his present position of
NATIONAL prominence, and his most enthu-
s~ia,tic local admirer never dreamed that
four short years would see him in the
lead Of n new" Democracy-which
means. in this case. a Democracy which
seeks success by getting as far as posi-
le from all that was best in the old
faiths of the %party--but then neither did
his most enthusiastic admirer ~foreseo
flat the free trade remedy would not
only fail. but that the courage of Bryan
and the Democracy would fail to apply
il after they had been returned to power
for that very purpose.
Compared to their present condition.
the workingmcn of America We're fairly
prosperous four years 20. They were
iyomised better times by the Democ-
racy. and this promise was, ut least,
Ilai,ihlc. Every Il whatever his con-
clifton. would better it if he could. The
bare threat of tariff reform, so-called,
uuon the lines laid down in the Demo
cratic platform of 1892 plunged the coun-
try into Il condition of industrial distress
such rs it had not known since the war.
and the Democratic effort to make the
prescribed remedy fit existent ills was
one Of the most pitiable failures in the
history of modern craftsmanship. 1t was
a failure so pitiable that, had it not
been for its grave consequences, only
commiseration would have been excited.
Ii is a serious matter to triile with the
welfare and the industrial prosperity of
7o,00o,000 of people. Every man who
works for his l~iving-and few men do
not. in one form or another-must join
in the condemnation of Democratic econ
omy quackcry. 1t is not a pleasant duty,
but it is not for that reason less urgent.
Mr.. Bryan and the Democracy, seek
ing how to evade the responsibility for
the tariff blunder Of four years ago. see
Ing condemnation already pronounced at
the bar of public opinion. naturally also
seek to cloud the most vital issue with
another which they themselves have
forced upon the country. They would
cure the ills they have created by an
other industrial experiment, whose re-
suits can. at best, be but a matter of
conjecture. The AmericiA people. if you
please, will try no more Experiments sug-
gested from that sourceI4Neither will
the American people nor.tke Republican
party ignore the tariff k$ue, however
much that may be desireT by the De-
mocracy. The American people know they
must have at least .foEssTears of pros
pcrity in which to recover from the eff
fScts f:Depperatic rHls and they know
pile, After''a period of protection let
Democracy call Against. Joseph Her