The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-24
Kiefer aud the Home: Builder.

We have shown how extremely con-
siderate "Col." Kiefer was of the men
who grow potatoes and who make
starch from them, and how inconsiGer-
ate he was Of the men, women and chill
dren who consume those articles. Briny
tears coursed down his cheeks because
Democratic congress proposed to re-.
Guce the taxation laid In order that the
vastly greater number who use them
might get them at less cost, less eX-
penditure of the labor that brings
money 1t is timely when he Is posing
as "a friend of the people" to recall
how, when he was where his vote had
some power to promote or impair their
welfare, he threw that vote where it
would help enrich the few at the cost
of the many.
In every instance. at every oppor-
tunity this friend of the people" was
on the side of the benefited few. He
is there today whatever his pretenses
may be. He was the enemy Of the
home maker when in congress and he
is the same today. In that speech to
which we have referred, he set his
face against the reduction Of taxes on
every article of the schedules which
was produced in his district. The bill
proposed to remove entirely the impost
on lumber. The decrease Of the cost
of this article affected, directly or III
his district. It affected the renter as
we'll as the home owner, for cheaper
lumber meant cheaper houses and
cheaper rentals. 1t also affected few
persons injuriously by diminishing their
unearned profits, those gained through
shutting out competition that would
decrease lumber prices. These few IN
the ''colonePs" district were residents
of Saltwater. One of them resides in
st. Paul. on Summit avenue. All are
very wealthy men.
1t was for these few that the 'col-
onel'' spoke, for them he made those
. statements whose absurdity was SO
evident, whose ignorance was so pal
pable as to bring ridicule upon the
speaker. That fact, however, but
affirmed his devotion to the class he
defended. This BILL" he said, las now
constituted, seems particularly design
ed to cripple and hinder, if not entirely
destroy, the lumber manufacturing in
terests of Minnesota and the North
west" 1t puts lumber on the free list.
thereby placing Canadian unpaid
labor in direct competition with the EN-
ployes Of our great numbering centers
at Saltwater and Taylor's Falls" His
efforts were unavailing;; the bill passed,
lumber went onto the free list: the
great numbering centers at Saltwater
and Taylor's Falls Especially the latter
were neither Crippled nor hindered;;"
lumber was never cheaper and home
building never easier
But three years later the party which
opposed that cheapening came back
into power, although the colonel was
not its representative. He had been
choked off. But his ideas prevailed and
lumber went back onto the taxed list
The ''colonePs" party proved itself the
friend Of "the people," What people?
The pine barons, the Weyerhaeuser
syndicate, the Northwestern Lumber
mems association. One of them had
said, when the tax was restored, that
it would put $6O00,00O this year into
their pockets. Who pays it? The home
makers. Was the prediction accurate?
Every man who has built or would
build a home knows it was Lumber
prices began to advance even before
Mckinley signed the tax hill with that
mother-of-pear1 pen" The "colonePs"
few people" took the full benefit of
the benefit given them by the "col-
onePs" party. The mass make the con-
tribution. And the colonel still poses
as 1.-The friend of the people,