Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-10-22

tHt gOuuB man WIZ was CuuIllLb TIC
Dutch girl. She was a buxom lass,
weighed about two hundred pounds and
had been sitting on the young mans
knee for about an hour. At length she
said. I'm afraid you are getting tired,
dear" He drew a deep sigh and an
swered, Och, no. I'm not tired. I'm
schoost numb" When the Populists
think OF the tariff they arc 'schoost
numb"
Mr.. Bryan is the strongest free trad
CT, the prince of free traders in the
country. The facts | have indicated
show that he was wholly wrong on the
tariff question. That fact that he was
wrong then arouses a suspicion that he
may be wrong also on the financial
question.
What brought on the panic Of 1898?
It was the advent to power OF a party
pledged TO abolish the protective sys-
TEN, to repeal the tax on state banks
and r~e-establish the old wildcat curren-
cy, and as ii was known in favor OF the
free coinage OF silver. II was believed
that this party would carry out its
| promises. What resulted? Business men
cancelled their orders. The balance Of
trade turned against us and gold be-
gan to flow out. Workingmen became
alarmed as they saw the gold leave and
drew their little savings out Of the
bank. In a short time they drew $780,
100000. Credit disappeared. The banks
refused to discount bills. The panic
came, brought fon by these revolution
airy measures, the panic came with soup
houses and CoXey armies and starva-
ton. 1t drove people to d]estitution and
despair. But they can't fool us again.
And they don't dare to talk on the
tariff. They know che people under
stand that.
We say that with no tariff we shall
have no industry. Will someone name
to me IN industry in this country
which has not been built up and cstab-
lished by the tariff? And can You
name an article which we have put I'M
der a tariff which has not fallen in
price? Why during the first twenty
years Of protection we started more
factories than during the two hundred
and forty years before, we put 10000
more men at work in factories than
had worked in them since the landing
Of the pilgrim fathers. Hhcre are no
tin plate poddlcrs going around the
country telling about the high price Of
tin plate, as they did a few years ago.
This was the last great industry which
protective system has brought over
and planted in this country. We never
could establish it until We put q tariff
on 1t. We tried. But whenever q fac
tory would open the foreigner, who had
gotten a start, would put down the
price below cost and staTyC us out and
then shove it up again and make US pay
the cost. When the tariff was put on
tin plate by the Mckinley bin it was
expected that we would by this time be
making onc-third Of our consumption.
How was that promise fulfilled? We
are supplying fOur-fGthS. Has the price
risen? 1t Is less than onc-half. De-
spite the repeal Of the tin plate tGriif
by Mr.. Bryan and his friends the in
dustry has grown until now We manu-
faCture moro than any country in the
world. But how did we keep it alive
under the repeal? The manufacturers
had made their investment and could
not sacrifice II. They could not run at
the samc wage without the protection.
They called their men together and
talked it over. And in order to keep
the men employed and the factories
running the men accepted n cut in
wages OF from ten to thirty per cent.
That shows the effect Of Mr.. Bryan's
free trade. A cut of ten to thirty per
cent i'm wages. And yet Mr.. Bryan
claims to be the friend OF labor. Tho
year before the duty was put on we
imported $4,000, 900 pounds OF tin plate.
Last year We imported only 100000
pounds. The Dinglcy bill put on half
as much protection ~ the Mckinley
bill and yet since the Dingley bill
passed, since the so-called tax was
added to tin plate, the price has fallen
One-half and the wages have not. Thus
the cold facts have absolutely knocked
out the promises of Mr.. Bryan and the
free traders. Now If they couldn't man
age q little thing like the tin plate in
dustry, how do you expect them TO
manage the great complicated financial
item Of the country?
And how about the promises and the
direp redictions which they made in
1896? How about the awful prophecies
OF impending ruin they made in case
the frightful gold standard were fas-
tened on the country? Where are the
long lists of mortgages they used to
bring oIt to frighten The farmers with?
Where are those charts which Senator
Pettigrew used to carry around the
country showing that strange affinity
between wheat and silver? | wish |
had that chart here so that l could
hang it up before you and hear You
laugh. They arc not showing those
charts this year. They know that you
know that since those charts were
made wheat has been worth not ono
ounce Of silver, but two ounces and
ounces. No, you can't find those
today.
They say that the Populist party IL
the poor mans partly. 1t is-the more
Popuiists we have the poorer we get.
| rather hate TO talk about free sill
yer. ] hate to TesurrCCt q corpse and
plant it twice. / understand that Sen
ltor Pettigrew talked about free silver
last night. It reminds me Of the funcr-
ri gloves. There was once a man who
was invited to be pail bearer at n tuner
III and lie q given a pair of black
gloves to wear. 1t IA the greatest act
Of his life and he used to gloat Owe ii
lfterward and look at tho gloves and
eel his bosom glow at his greatness,
Md each year on The anniversary Of
he funeral he used to get out these
and wear them as a sort Of way
celebrating. | was reminded Of this
when l heard that Senator Pettigrew
lad gotten out his old funeral gloves
md was celebrating the free silver fu'
neral Of 1896. And yet | don't know.
Perhaps he was merely practicing for
hat greater funeral of 1880 In which he
viii be n still more conspicuous party.
Loud applause and %laughtcr)
When ! heard.that Mr.. Pettigrew and
lis free silver friends had succeeded
n inducing the Populists and Demo
and free silver Republicans to
,nrnn q fusion in lhis sinfn WAS re,