Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-03-18
YES, WE NEED A CHANCE.

OniDg, to place the responsibility of
existing conditions on the tariff of
1894.
To begin with, the Capital says We
have been living under gold standard
times for the last thirty years. This is
a mistake. We have been living under
a gold standard since 1878 but it was
not until the special session of congress
of 1893 that the last vestige of silver
was destroyed. But the evil worked
by the single gold standard and the
characterization of silver did not come
upon us III moment nor Immediately
after the crime was committed. The
compromises, such as the Bland-Al-
lison act and the Sherman law, which
provided for the coinage of a limited
amount of silver served to prOlong the
crisis but the effect Is only proportion
ately worse.
Now as for your high tariff, your low
tariff and your Indifferent tariff. Be
fore making ANY corrections in the
Capitals statement, we want TO repeat
what he have often said before to-wit:
a variation in the schedules, such as
we have often experienced during the
past ten years, will not affect the mass
of people materially; that is to say, it
will not deprive people of comfortable
homes and the necessaries of life-con-
ditions which are now existing through
out the length and breadth of this
90 "a
as compared with the old: the Capital
would have us believe that the new law
imposes a greater duty upon manufac-
tured goods than did the old law. This
is false as the following illustration
will show:
REPUBLICAN LAW.
On blankets, hats of wool and fannels for
underwear, etc. valued at not more than
thirty cents per pound, the duty per pound
shall be 1874 cents, and in addition thereto
thirty per centum ad vHlorem.
DEMOCRATIC LAW.
GA blankets, hats of wool, and hannels for
underwear. etc, valued at not more than
thirty cents per pound, twenty-five per centum
ad valorem.
We could follow this up by giving the
comparative rates of numerous articles
and would have an invarlable showing
in favor of the democratic law. The
! Mckinley law places higher rate of
duty on goods used by the people
in this country, imported, than does
| the Wilson German Brice law. The
figures on all clothing compare with
the above Illustration. Admitting that
the tariff is tax, it is plainly seen that
the consumers are not taxed as heavily
for clothing and wearing apparel under
the present tariff law than they were
under the old Mckinley law. This
serves to explode so much of the Cap
ital's argument.
Now as to the revenues: the g. o. p
attributes the recent bond issues tC
the deficient revenues under the new
law. Let us see. The last year of the
Mckinley law yielded Sl99, 7S4,991; the
! first year of the Wilson German Brict
law yielded $40, $50, 600 Difference
between the two, 500, 434 ,99l or 3O3 cents
per capita. To the door of this is laid
the responsibility of our social condi
lions according to the republican poll
tician. In other words, because of The
deficiency of $40, 434 ,991 in revenues, il
became necessary to issue over $3.50
100000 interest bearing bonds. Grea
reasoning that. 1t is too plain to admit
of comment. The idea that the yer,
small shrinkage of 304 cents from each
| in 90 &C. ~
turn such large number out homeless:
and penniless is equally silly and no
worthy the consideration of an intelh
gent people. The best feature abou
the new tariff law was the income tai
law Ia strictly Populist measure bu
for which it would have not received
Populist support, and forced through
congress by the Populists) which wa
later annihilated by the erroneousl.
supreme authority of the iand-tht
been stricken out, the new law would
have yielded larger amount of revenu,
than the Mckinley law. Another ar
gument we wish to offer in defense o
our position igthat the Wilson. German
Brice bill imposes higher duty gen
orally than the Morrill, bill which wa
once the pride of the republican party
At that time the American people wer
fairly prosperous because the effect c
the Ubiquitous legislation of 1873 ba
, not yet been felt simply because sui
| licient amount of time had not elapse
to rob the people of what they had.
But time went on. The money pow
er was in the saddle, monopoly had flu
sway, commerce was entirely controlle
by trusts and corporations until no.
the great moving and industrious elias:
es are huddled idly together i'll tn
. stagnant pool of restitution, priyatioI
: lunGcy, suicide, poverty and starvation
} These are the fruits of unwholesom'
! un-American, unpatriotic, venal an
ayowedly corrupt legislation. An
now after the deyilment is eating on
e the substance of the American peop
l like canker the life of its victim thes
7 Plutocratic hirelings, who claim to [
a statesmen and financiers and men VIII
] are laboring IN the interest of the pee
e pie. tell us that it is all due to veI
+ slight variation in the tariff rates.
= is only adding insult to injury anu Il
very fact that such culprits are at Il
head of the government is burnin
. shame to freedom America. which, b
:, their official acts, has become sa
misnomeF,
= Yes we want change end it Cal
= not come too quickly. We waEt chang
. that will give equal rights under Il
= American flag and one which Will r
store to the people their lost libertie
To do this we must first strike at Il
monied aristocracy. This cannot
done until the present system of
nance. land and transportation is rad