Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1897-05-07
SOUTH DAKOTA. FRIDAY 7.
..rHE DOCTRINE OF DESPAIR,

| 1.-THE OOCVd4NG Oc OGS1A46.>>
In his speech at the Jefferson banquet,
among many other excellent things Sena-
tor James K. Jones gave utterance to the
words which follow:
The logic Of events since November
last has convicted our opponents OF
deceiving and misleading the people.
They offer no hope, they have no
hope, except that higher taxes may
make US rich and prosperous, or,
failing in that that the calamity Of
foreign war may make market
for our surplus products. How dis.
NAL must be the creed of political
| party which relies upon calamity
alone for its hope of prosperity.
Will great and free people recognize
as correct such theories OF govern
ment? This is certainly the doctrine
OF despair and not hope.
Senator Jones was. of course, speaking
as Democrat, and yet no fair minded,
intelligent person can fail to appreciate
the remarkable force as we'll as the accu-
racy of the statement. The doctrine OF
the party in power is the maintenance of
the gold standard. for the talk of an inter-
national agreement is mere edust-throwiEg.
In order to divert the public mind from
the wrong, the oppression. and the de-
structive effects of that standard, it has
resorted to revision Of the tariff on the
lines of higher protection. Under exist
ing conditions this is simply taxing one
portion of the people for the benefit OF
the other and unfortunately, those who
are taxed are already the poorest while
those who are directly benefited are
those who are suffering the least, or not
suffering at all. We do not wish TO be
understood as attacking protective tariff
generally. With that question the BIZ
melallist has naught to do, save as an
incident to the monetary problem. If
by imposing higher tariff duties, the
manufactures OF the country could be so
developed as to create market for sub.
stantially all our agricultural products,
the question would present itself in an
entirely different light. High tariff or
low tariff, for hundred years to come
we shall have an enormous surplus of
agricultural products which must find
market abroad. There they will be sold
in direct competition with like products
from other countries, and they must be
sold at the same prices. Everybody ought
to know that the prices of the surplus
will govern the prices in the home mar
ket. Hence, while higher tariff duties
may. for time, raise the prices of manu-.
features. they Can not materially lift up
agricultural products. The result will
be a direct and positive injury to the
agricultural classes-nearly half the pop
ulation by compelling them to pay more
for what they buy without giving them
any more for what they have to sell.
Under the stlmulous thus afforded the
factories will increase their output and
load up with goods which cannot be sold.
Then will come the reaction, and we
shall find ourselves in worse condition
than before.
A general foreign war would. as sug-
gested by. Senator Jones, increase the
demand for our products abroad, and
thus for time improve conditions here
The exigencies Of great European war
might lead to large issues Of paper money
and thus raise prices still more. But
these things would argue nothing in
favor of the gold standard. They would
simply prove that extraordinary and dis.
tressful conditions might arise in other
countries, which, to some extent, would
temporarily offset the baleful effects Of
the gold standard.
So long as we have vast surplus of
products to be sold in the foreign market,
and so long as we have an immense for
eign debt, the interest upon which must
either be paid in gold, or in products sold
as cheaply as other countries will sell
them, just so long the trend of prices
will be downward and hard times will
prevail, save as we may experience tenn.
porary and spasmodic relief from the mis-
fortunes of other countries.
All the tariffs ever devised will not
bring prosperity under such circum-
stances.
Silver must be restored, the effect Of
which will be to raise prices abroad as
we'll as at home.
With great political party attempting
to maintain the god standard in this
country, we do indeed, as Senator Jones
we'll says. stand face to face with the
doctrine OF despair. National Bimetal-
list.