Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1896-08-20
TARIFF NOT SILVER.
The Cause of the Present Stagnation
Not Due to the Law of 1873.
Democratic Rule and the Wilson Bill Are
Responsible for the Country's Con-
dition.


''The credit of any government
is imperiled SO long as it expends
more money than it collects"
These were the words of william
Mckinley, the Republican candidate
for president of the United States, in
his address to- n delegation of glass
workers at Canton on July %. There
are no new statements of policy in
them. They simply give utterance
to a truism which no one can deny
hut they are of the utmost Significance
at this stage of the political cam
paign i'm pointing out the necessity
of tariff legislation
When the Republican party shall
be in full power, the presidential
nominee promises that one of it's
first acts shall be to put upon the
statute books n law to stop deficien-
cies and to protect American labor.
1t is refreshing to hear this sort of
talk after all the delirious din which
has been raised by the Populistic
and Anarchistic advocate of free
silver. The Democratic party, re-
spOnsible for the suffering and dis
aster which have continued since
President Cleveland's inauguration
through free trade experimenting,
now has the hardihood tn offer as u
new theory that the present trouble
is entirely in the currency and not in
the tariff.
In such an emergency, McKinley's q
appeal for the exercise of the gravest
duty of good citizenship, and the
suppression nf all partisan feeling, Is
statesmanlike, hut it il noticed that
he does not surrender I'm the slightest
the principle which his candidacy
Represents I'm the cause of American
| Protection. That, he says, includes
honor patriotism, production and
prosperity and everything that will
tend to restore the country to the
thriving condition i'm which IL
fiourished under Republican rule.
When President Cleveland, with
characteristic cunning, attempted tC
raise false issue in advocating the
retirement of the greenbacks, so al
to increase the interest-bearing debt
$5OO, ,OOO, 900, his purpose was td
divert public attention from thu
wretchedness which had been created
by the Wilson-GOrman tariff bill
He was called promptly to account
for this trick by Senator Sherman
of Ohio, who said, i'm January, 1896
"The President has mistaken the
cause of our present financial condi
ton i'm attributing it to the demand
for gold for United States notes, in
stead of to the deficiency of revenue
caused by the legislation of the last
congress-
Mr.. Sherman contended at thai
time as Major Mckinley does now
that the true line of policy was t.
supply to the government ample
means to meet current expenditures
and to pay each year portion o
the public debt. The gold reserve
provided for the redemption o.
United States notes could then bt
easily maintained. 1t is a startling
fact that never, from the close of the
civil war, until the Democrats were
i'm control of all branches of thu
government, were the expenditure
greater than the receipts. Fol
thirty years there was a surplus
which was applied to the interest
bearing national debt. When thu
Democrats came in, deficiencies begaI
which have continued until the pres
ent day, and which will continu,
until the Republicans restore tn,
Igood times which existed previous
to the fateful year of 1893. Then in
dustry was in it's best development
manufactures were thriving and ex
ports exceeded imports by many
millions. Foreigners did not monop
olize profits, and the wages paid IL