New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1897-05-26
Ideas of Others.f Y y

country in the amended and mutilated
Dingley bill. He says.
1t may he that there is some occult
power in this tariff which will enable us
to lift ourselves out of the slough OF in
dustr1al depression by our boot straps
staff the cart before the horse, build
prosperity upon expectations, and put it
in the power of manufacturers to pros
per by starting up their mills, even
though there be no market for the pro-
ducts. But if there is not some such
magic power in the Dingley tariff 1t
must fail as restorative Of prosperity
it must fail to bring prosperity to our
manufacturers, for the mere starting up
of mills will not make a demand for
manufactured goods, and to increase the
output of mill and factory, with the re-
suit of piling up the products in store
houses, cannot but lead to ruin and dis
aster and thickening Of the clouds Of
industrial stagnation.
The building of higher rates with a
view to depressing importation of for
eign goods can avail our man ufacturers
nothing, for it is not an increase in i'm
portations of foreig On goods, it is not a
replacing of the products of our own
mills, in our own markets.; with goods
of foreign manufacture, that has been
the cause OF manufacturing depression.
Therefore to build up tariff duties to
check imports, to provide a remedy for
an evil that does not exist, can profit us
nothing. The seat of our troubles lies
in dire falling off in the consumption
of manufactured goods-lies in the i'm
poverishment of those who buy the pro-
ducts of mill and factory. In short, our
farmers and planters have suffered such
serious losses from the fall IN prices for
their products that has taken place dur
ing the past few years that their ability
to purchase manufactured goods has
been much lessened. Consequently a
market uf sufficient breadth to absorb
the products of our mills and factories
has been wanting, and of necessity the
shutting down of mills, the curtailment
of production and general manufacture
ing depression has followed. So great
has been the fall in prices for our farm
products that our agricultural produc-
ers did not realize for their crops last
year within $500,O0O,OOO as much as
they received in 1892. Consequently
they had this much less to spend for
manufactured goods.
That such a diminution should have
led to dire manufacturing depression is
only natural, and as this, namely, the
falling off in domestic consumption, has
been the cause of our troubles, we can
not pull ourselves out of the slough OF
industrial stagnation by bui lding up tar
if duties to exclude importations of Tor,
cign goods. Compared to the curtail.
ment in demand for manufactured goods
occasioned by the diminished purchas
ing power of our farmers, the increase OF
importations of forei ign goods, and the
loss of market to our own manufacturers
on this account is infnitesimal. The ab
solute exclusion of foreign manufactured
goods from our markets would fall fal
short of making good the loss in market
occasioned to our manufacturers through
the depreciation IN the value of agricul
tural products.
The one and only sufficient remedy
fo1 manufacturing depression is the lift.
ing Of the premium OF gold and the con-
sequent bounty on exports from silver
using to gold using countries, which has
led to the depreciation of our farm pro-
ducts and thereby sown the seeds of
manufacturing depression
Senator Pettigrew of South Dakota
doesn't believe that the Republicans are
sincere in their advocacy of the Dlngley