The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-01-13
BUSINESS BUM A NJ I iii.
A CORRESPONDENT COMES TO
THAT CONCLUSION.

Poverty is Rapidly Increasing Under
the Gold Regime-The Tariff is Not
the Remedy as Wrecking Panics
Have Occurred Under Both High
and Low Tariffs-The Only Remedy
is Monetary Legislation.
The business boom, where is it?
I have travelled to-day over the city
Of Providence, up and down, cross
wise huntirg for it, but was unsuc-
cessful. I enquired of the cute-elec
ton Hannacrat prophets; not one
could answer. One man was little
soiled, but before I got through with
him he mellowed, concluding his an
swers with this significant remark:
.'We were all damned fools" I told
him I was glad he had come to bis
senses, though it was rather late
hour He was man, a trader, whom
the hard times had cut into deeply.
He evidently COW realized that the
Hannacrat organs and orators who so
vociferously predicted an easy Sc
quence on the election of Mr.. Nc
kinley had deceived and lied, and he
was stung badly. 1t was huge
swindle to tell the people that the
son OF Canton, if elected, would be-
come Tue son of prosperity, invigor-
ating the body polite all through,
curing our industrial ills, arresting
the downward trend of things, espec-
tally beneiting labor by constant
work at good wage.
I visited large and small stores but
nowhere found evidence Of thNTbb0om TIE boom.
It was the sane, same old story, "dull
| tires tile When I limited at the roseate
utterances before the election, and
asked how it happened that there was
no betterment, I touched a sore spot;
they didn't like to talk. Their looks
spake sharper and louder than words
I told them that they laid the egg,
and if it had hatched a cocatrice
they must father it.
True the Christmas time had Gre
ated some activity, but the holiday
trade is far from normal. People for
some months have been saving their
scant earnings for the holidays But
their means are limited; so are their
purchases. Hence the usual fusL
holiday trade will be lean. Though
the season has been mild, thousands
upon thousands are sitting upon the
ragged edge OF despair. A paucity
of money will not rush trade.
I called at the Office of the Over
seer of the Poor. He said the pres
sure was much greater than last year,
and if the weather became inclement
the pressure would largely increase.
Sewer and highway work having
ceased, large number of laborers
are unemployed. These the city pro-
poses to provide for with work on the
parks as matter of charity. Seven
or eight hundred will thus be aided
this to keep the wolf from the doors
of these men who are facing grim
poverty.
Similar tales of woe and prospect
i've wrestling with an adverse fate,
caused by unjust and unwholesome
legislation, come from all parts of the
country, a sad commentary on Hanna
crat wickedness and political rascal
ty and venality. This fact stands
out wildly: Poverty is rapidly IL
creasing under the Cieveland-R -Repub-
licsn gold regime, and will continue
to increase till we shall have change
Of conditions giving US truly ma
tional money.
But say the to be ms, we will right
things by 4 recasting of the tariff.
During the campaign, this issue was
made subordinate, the election being
made to hinge on gold, because Shy
locks and bankers furnished funds
pleDtecusly. Now the Hannacrats
are pushing the tariff and House
committee are incubatipg bill.
The country il the past has had a
surfeit of tariff medicine to insignii,
cant advantage The first tariff act
was passed in 17Se; since that time
there has been an immense amount
OF tariff tinkering, the question hav
ing been before Congress some fifty
times or more. At intervals the
schedules were entirely recast, and
between the recastings, there was
much patching. With all the tinker
ing there always was loose screw
somewhere.
Our monetary system has hereto
fore, and i; now, an obstacle in the
way Of wholesome tariff legislation.
It has been claimed by the protec-
tionists that tariff was necessary for
the success Of our industries. Yet
we have lad wrecking panics both
under high and low tariffs Under
the Clay compromise tariff, average
duties % per cent, we had the panic
of 1887; under the Walker tariff.
average duties 25 per cent, we had
the panic of 1857; under the Morrill,
tariff, average duties 4S per cent, we
had the panic of 1878; under the Nc
kinley tariff, average duties So per
cent, we had the panic of 1898; un-
der the Wilson tariff: average duties
II per cent, the panic of '73 contin-
ued, with failures and their concomit-
ants. Tariffs, therefore, are not the
factors of GOOD times. and the at.