The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-03-07
STEWARDS LOGIC.
His "Financial Independence" Il Butte Z
Hollow Mockery.

His "Financial Independence" Il Butte =
| Hollow Mockery.
| Senator Stewart, of Nevada, ia his
free silver speech in the senate, made
what the press dispatches describe as
'an appeal for the financial as we'll as
the political independence of the
United States" Mr.. Stewart must
certainly have been playing to the
galleries when he did so.
Financial independence" sounds
well, but what does it r1ean? Suppose
we extend the idea, AMI cry out Tor
''trade independence" That would
mean, that we should not buy anything
abroad that we can do without. Ii
would mean to stop imports of all ar
ticles that we cannot produce. Why
should we be dependent on any foreign
nation for anything? Stop the i'm.
ports of sugar! We only produce about
one-tenth of what we use, but what of
that? Let us declare trade independ-
ence, and not lie groveling at the feet
of German, Belgian, French, West In
dian and South American sugar pro-
ducers!
Then there is tea. We cannot raise
1t here. We have to buy every pound
we use of China and Japan. Let US
stop being basely dependent on those
countries for tea. Why should we pay
out millions of dollars every year to
enrich the tea growers of Asia? True,
Americans are fond of tea; but let
them go back to sassafras, or some of
the many 'yarbs" used by our grand
mothers to make hot drinks.
OF course, In carrying out such a
policy, we would also stop all importa-
ton of coffee. We are the slaves of
the coffee planters of Brazil and other
South American states, not to speak Of
the Mobammedan coffee producers of
Arabia and the east. Why should we
be in bondage to them, and pay out
millions per year for the berries of
tree? Parched rye or corn, touched
up with burnt Orleans molasses, was
a popular drink in the confederacy
during the war. Let us carry out SEN
ator Stewards plans and declare our
independence of foreign coffee planters!
Let us promote the interests of our
own people, who raise corn and rye!
Then there are hundreds of other
thiDgs-pepper and spices, bananas,
dates, figs, silks, quinine, and SO on
that we do not produce. Let us declare
our independence of the foreigner,
cncc for all, stop importing these
things, and keep the millions at home
that we spend for them. Let us be
independent!
All of the above propositions are
strictly in line with Senator Stewards
suggestion. Gold-or money, if you
prefer that TERMS simply a COM
modify, exactly as coffee and tea.
sugar and spices. and the other ar
ticles enumerated, are commodities. We
could get along without them, posi-
bly,, but the substitutes would be in
ferior, and would not be liked by the
people. Senator Stewards proposition
is. in plain terms, to abandon the use
of gold and substitute silver instead.
1t would be as silly to do this as it
would be to abandon all use of wheat
as breadstuff, and use corn instead;
to abandon tea, and use sassafras; to
abandon coffee, and use parched rye.
Senator Stewart is demagogue, a
blind leader of the blind. Fortunately,
the peopleare getting their eyes opened
and begin to see the truth concerning
Stewart and his fellow-conspirators.--
r,olaIo p1orlo