Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-01-06
Promise and FuIfilment.


The year 1897 ushered liz new ad-
ministration which promised the earth
and the adjacent parts of the universe.
The new protective tariff law was 60
| ing to made everybody happy, every
| one rich. The foreigner was to pay
the tax, and as a consequence our rev.
enues were to fill the Golfers of the pub
lie treasury until they ran over, and
| each individual of the seventy millions
of our people was to have nothing to
| do but hold out hat or cap, pot or pan,
or whatever receptacle might come to
| hand, and be blessed in his basket and
s store for all time to come. The gold
standard was likewise to prove a horn
OF plenty. The coal miner and factory
hand, under its magical influence, were
| to behold their wages climbing sky
ward until they became the opulent
ones OF the earth. The protective tar
iff and gold standard were to bring the
age of gold. The Halcyon days were
to return to the earth once more, and
Organism, Populism, discomfort, hun
ger. and gaunt despair, were to be-
come memories of the sorrOwful time
when benighted people were pursu-
ing the gossamer phantoms of Free
Trade and Free Silver.
Now in the opening days of the New
Year, what does the thoughtful man
find upon looking about him? Instead
of the overlooking Treasury promised,
he discovers deficit running into the
millions. He sees the cotton planter
at the south selling cotton at less than
the cost of production. He sees the
agricultural classes being forced from
the land over the whole earth where
the gold standard is maintained. He
hears economists like Mathew Mar
shall prating about overproduction in
the cotton crop and in other products
which men must have in order to live,
as if there were no naked backs or
hungry bellies in all this trust blighted
land of ours. He hears schemes grave
ly proposed to recolonlze New England,
the oldest settled section of this coun
try, and wonders what has caused this
land of the home market to decay. In
stead of prosperity and plenty he finds
the reverse, and thinks that perhaps
the evils of Free Silver and Free Trade
may have been a shade overdrawn.
The factory hand discovers that his
season of opulence has not yet materi-
allied. At Fall River and other places
many thousands of them find that, in
stead of their wages soaring skyward,
they are face to face with cut of ten
per cent. on wages already so low as
to hardly afford comfortable living.
These people are beginning to think.
Free Silver and Free Trade could not
make matters much worse for them.
The farmer, through the misfortunes
of his brethren in India, South Ameri- |
ca, and Central Europe, finds his food |
products in better demand than last |
year, but knows that when normal con-
ditions are reached in other parts of |
the world. his products will sink to the !
old level or lower.
The administration is moribund. 1t |
DpOmiSad knouipp II Gould not MN
form. 1t has acted as if it believed the |
American people were as gullible as
children, that any new cry would be /
sufficient to divert them and turn their
attention away from the consideration |
of their vital interests. In spite of the |
suppression of the facts through pluto
cratic control of news agencies, in spite !
of the stuffing of trade reviews, the |
fact remains that prosperity is not here. |
A business boom was started last |
August. The retail dealer and specu- |
lator, taking the Mckinley administra-
ton at its word, began to invest heavi-
ly, but those on the inside predicted |
disaster if that sort of thing was per-
sisted in, and a halt was called. Dis |
tribut'on and collections were found as
difficult as of yore. Prosperity had |
not come to such an extent as to ena-
BILE the consumer to buy The only
men who have prospered under this
state OF affairs are the bondholder and |
the man who deals in money. What
ever enhances the purchasing power
of his dollar is blessing to him. what
ever it may be to the rest of the nation,
and the conditions that cause this en-
hancement he is going to perpetuate if