Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-06-26

TINS we find poverty, want and dis
tress abroad in the land, the price of
labor and labors' product tending
downward and millions of our fellow.
men adrift, unable to earn a respecta-
bic living. The concentration of
wealth is so rapid that mortgage FORE
closures and sherif17s sales have be-
come the order of business. The Dem
ocratic party said it was over-taxation
by excessive tariff, but they have been
tried and their record needs no COM
ments.
The Republican party says it is
Cleveland and tariff reform. There
was something wrong in 1884 or Cleve-
land and tariff reform would never
have been heard of, and there was
something wrong in 1892 or Cleve-
land would not have been returned TO
office.
The Republican party claims that
the prosperity during the years sue
ceeding the war was due wholly to
protective tariff, but forget that during
those years the people of the United
States received from the hand OF
mother nature in farms and mines the
cream of the earth, and yet after re-
ceiving this gift-@ealth enough TO
enrich half dozen nations-we find
that under Republican gold mono
metalism that all our railroads are
burdened with mortgages and in the
hands of the receivers, farms mort
gagged and large per cent. of our best
mines closed; irrigation canals, water
works and street railways ban krupt. |
No natural causes and no want OF in |
dustry stays the progress OF the Amer
lean people; the cause is artificial, the |
result OF class legislation, the contrac-
ton OF our medium of exchange. We !
denounce British free trade, which !
effects our people locally and many
millions indirectly. but we are asked !
to accept British gold monometalism
which directly effects every citizen in
our country, causes our markets to be |
clogged with labor and labors' prod
duct until prices fall to less than the
cost OF decent living, our people become
degraded, our industries crippled, our
schools injured and the progress OF
our people arrested.
We cannot legislate ourselves into
by taxation. No tariff law
that Can be devised will result in in
creasing the price OF our surplus prod.
ucts. Our wheat, cotton, beef, pork
and corn as we'll as the surplus prod
ucts of our factories and mines, must
be sold in foreign lands just as cheap
under protection as under free trade.
But the tariff question has been
practically settled by the experience
OF the last ten years it is not an issue,
but is being used to blind and gull the
people, TO attract their attention from
the currency question.
No man who will seriously consider
this matter in the light of reason and
the best interest OF our country, can
stand on platform which makes so
trltiing matter as the difference OF a
few million dollars in revenue, and a
question about which the masses of all
parties Qor all must agree that we
must have more tariff to meet the ex.
penses OF our government) agree, the
paramount issue, and ignores and
leaves Tor foreign countries to settle
the greatest problem in modern times.
We are called upon now to settle
this great question; not for to-day, not
merely for ourselves in this genera
ton, but for our children and the I'M
born millions yet to come; not for
America alone, but for the human
race, for America is the asylum of
mankind. The human race is inter-
ested in the battle before US, every
being in existence will be effected by
The result whether he lives in America
DR. not. tits fight Of freemen against
Inc dospoilers of their rights, of the
producing, toiling millions against the
The bandwagon patriots are now
hunting for comfortable seat on the
chariot, but any man who
votes a ticket simply because he
thinks it will win, regardless OF princi-
Pile, will surely receive the condemna-
lion of his fellow men. Whether silver
wins or silver loses this year has moth
ng to do with debating our duty or
our actions. The question
8. shall we stand up and be counted
ike men, or bend the knee to the
Money King. l propose to be count
ID. O. L. MILLER