The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1896-09-18
LONG ON THE ISS CES,
but Short on Facts.

| about One-thlrd ladies, one third pop
ulists and one-third republican voters
There was seating caracity for plent!
more if they had chosen to come. Mr.
Longs speech, for mis-statement, half
statement and political pettifoggery
beat anything the republican manage
ment have been, and we hope will be
able to dish up to us this year. HI
started out with the paIpably false as
sertlon that this country is now under
free trade.
This statement he reiterated from
time to time throughout his speech,
with the evident intent to impress il
upon the minds of his audience. The
burden of his song all the way through
was that we were now under free trade
ana that if we would return to a pro-
tective system all our financial ills
would disappear. ANY school CHILD
whose education has progressed as far
as the second reader, knows that this
country is not under free trade. Eng
land is free trade country and levies
a tariff upon 10 articles only. Under
the Wilson bill, our present tariff law,
revenue is laid upon articles number
ed 10y thousands. The Mckinley bill
levied an average tariff of S6.7j
per cent; the Wilson bill levies an
average tariff of 1852 per cent, a
reduction of 1.23 per cent. The
glaring mis- statement that this coun.
try now has free trade was iterated
and reiterated by Mr.. Long and FORM
ed the basis of a l;lrge portion of what
little argument there was in his speech.
What hundredth of one per cent or in
finitesimal fraction should be added to
the present tariff to bring it up to the
Mckinley idea of proper tariff and
to bring about prosperity, the gentle
man failed to state.
He also stated that the Government
had been buying silver ever since '7S.
The fact is, the Iast silver purchased
by the government was in 1898, when
the purchasing clause of the Sherman
act was repealed. And again, he made
the statement that silver was kept at
parity with gold by reason of the
fact that it was excbangeable tor gold,
which statement is absolutely untrue
and has been denied in all open letter
by Secy. Carlisle.
He also made the statement that
only eight million dollars worth of sill
yer was coined by the U. S. prior to
1878, while as a matter of fact, over
100 million dollars worth of silver was
coined prior to that date. Further,
that Mexico had no gold, while as a
matter OF fact she has about $4,000,
900 of gold. @
The following are few of the more
gross mis-statements made by the
learned gentleman:
The decentralization of silvsr in '73,
which has been denounced by nearly
every republican and democrat of any
prominence during the last two de.
cades, Mr.. Long characterized as a
harmless measure and Of little impnr-
tance. He threatened the people with
the statement that under free coin.
age of silver they could pay
their debts in SO cent dollars, which is
appalling when we take in considera.
the fact that the aggregate public and
private debt of the state is about 2SO
millions of dollars and the people OF
the state would be the gamers OF
about 140 millions by the transaction.
The important question as to how
this beautiful Existing gold stan.
uard" is to be maintained, seemed tc
give Mr., Long no concern, since he
lett it entirely alone, possibly for the
reason that it is too hard for him to
answer. If he answered it at all, ii
was by the inference that an increased
revenue would yield sufficient gold t.
keep the gold reserve up to the 10C
million mark. The fallacy OF this rea-
soning isQuicklv perceived when the
fact is considered that customs arc
payable in eight other kinds of money
than gold coin and the farther practi.
cal fact that out of over IS millions OF
dollars recievod by the government on
account of customs during the first si,
months of the present year, only about
three millions was paid in gold coin.
As has been pointed out by Presi
dent Cleveland, an increased tar.
iff would not aid materially in main.
tanning the gold reserve, and it fol
lows as a legitimate conclusion that tI,s
only way to maintain it, is by bone
issues. This difficult question Mr.
Long stGdiously avoided and for the
very good reason that he would have