The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-12-24
PUTTING THE CART
BEFORE THE HORSE
SOME vExATI0US QUESTIONS WHICH
WILL COME BEFORE THE RE-
PUBLiCANS.

Their Own Platform Declarat ols Bring
up Problems That Puzzle Everybody
Else-TarifT or Money.
The trium phant Republic an party
when It assemblies in March, 1897,
will have some diff ault economic
problems to solve. Based on their
own platform declarations and plat
form arguments these questions seem
| impossible.
CD They propose 70 increase in
the volume Of the nations money.
except what gold may be coined and
what money the national banks may
glaciously see fit to loan out to an
| already over-burdened, debt-ridden
people. There is plenty of money,
they say, if confidence" only be re-
stored. open the mills, not the
mints," says that champion, Mr..
Mckinley.
Will it not be found, when the
mills are opened, that they cannot
be run long without a demand for
their product7 What constitutes de-
mand in business7 Certainly not
merely the want or needs of the
people alone. They must have the
ability to PAY.
Low prices for years among the
farmers, and enforced 1dleness
among the wage workers, have
thrown all these millions deeply in
debt. They can but sparingly find
money to buy the product of the
mills even if open and the mill op-
orators can i'll afford to pay inter
est on capital, borrowed from ma
tional banks, until the increased vol
ume of money, through this source
begins to show increased prices and
margins of profits.
! (2) Republicans must raise rev
enue to fill depleted treasury by
some adjustment of the tariff, or in
ternal revenue laws, outside of an
income tax.
u Let it be remembered that 8 tariff
Of any kind, either for protection
or revenue, is duty levied on i'm.
} ported goods.
} The treasury rex orts show that
. importations under both the McMin.
ley and under the Wilson bill have
rapidly fallen off. Both bills are
, protective IN their nature; tht
, Wilson bill having only few more
articles on the free list than ha.
the Mckinley bill, and only PEI
. cent. lower in its horizonta
r average rate than the McKin
8 ley bill. The trainers of any
f tariff measures must therefore
ascertain the cause for fall
ing off Of importations. If NJ
q importations take place, no revenue
q from this source can be counted on
But our Republican friends CLAIM
that a tariff should be so protectiv
IN its nature as to prohibit importa
, tions of foreign goods. "Let Amer
leans produce all our own goods.
: The position of our Republica
9 Q friends is therefore like the old Ca
- whistle theology:
Q You shall and you shan't,
a You will and you won't;
You'll be damned if you do,
And be damned if you don't.
o On the other hand, we populis-
# claim that it is the volume of none
l. that sustains a nations market
If and gives her people the ability
g. pay for goods and to absorb foreig
l. products at prices high enough I
t. permit tariff to be levied on thel
l. and revenue through this source co
a. lected. We claim that a plenteor
l. money supply after the war su
J. tanned American markets aboy
te those Of surrounding nations, an
t, permitted the tariff as a protecto
o, to take effect. In short, it is fir
te money, not tariff, that sustains
le nations markets. We claim TIL
at scarce money has caused a fall
CO prices sufficient to prevent import
GO ton of goods. That Io tariff
N now needed for protection of Anne
n lean markets, because we have !
as markets to protect. We favor pr
a lection when We haye anything
On protect.
n Prices are all below cost of pr
nd ductioa in America. We clai
is prices must be restored by an
III creased volume of money befo
in tariff of any kind IS of any ava
ial WATCH AND SEE. The biggest GRO,
81 is not always right.
to {3) The Republican platform sa.
&c, 1--WE are, therefore, opposed to t
es, free coinage of silver. except by
Ia ternational agreement with the le.
,er ing commercial nations of the wor
ce- which we pledge ourselves to p
am mote, and until such agreement c
90, be obtained the EXISTING GO
ng STANDARD MUST BE PRESERVED"
~, The Cleveland method of prese
cry ing the gold standard has been
;ss redeem ell forms of paper money
md cold only. Bond issues frequent