The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-10-07
RANKlN'S RANK TALK.
Tariff, Tariff, Tariff, . Panaoea for All
Political Irs-A Jolly Good Fellow
to,Jolly the Boys.

A fair-sized audience, which rapidly
thinned out, was present at the begin.
ning Of A. G. Rankin's political address
at the opera house last evening. Those
who staid 1t out, we consider, we're we'll
repaid for their patience, for, as Josh
Billings used to say about his mule. che
is an amusin' cuss." He is better than q
comic opera for entertainment, is a good
talker, tells a good story frequently and,
is a great %jolIier. He jollied the boys
immensely. In fact his speech consists
mostly of jollying and pleased the boys
to a dot. 1t was as heavy rs most Of
them desired to heal and no heavier
than any Of them could bear, and yet we
venture the prediction that there we're
not more than tive meu present but
what thought MIR. Rankin made q great
political argument, but in what they
cannot tell. 70 the sober minded per-
son, n not given to levity, buncomoe
or toadyism. Mr.. Rankln's address WAS
not agreeable, and find ng it SO,
many went away; but to the
one interested in watching the
wiles, sophistry or humor of the
stump orator, MIR. Rankin is 40 enter
tanning study. He Is u great stump
orator for this country.
He touched upon three points only Of
the political issues Of the day-the tariff,
the silver question and the war. His
reference to the last point was simply a
fulsome laudation of President Mck,n-
ley, intended to draw forth cheers for
partisan glory at the expense of patriot
ic respect for the high office of the chief
magistrate of the nation. This is a piece
of cheap dema:oguery frequently re-
sorted to by stump speakers, and usually
captures the crowd.
His speech was taken up mainly by a
discussion Of the ''ta-a riff" According
to Mr.. Rankin's statement, il We under
stand HIM, the ''ta-a-rlff" solved all other
political questions of this country Ii
Dor, finance, silver, manufactures, growth
OF farm products, etc, etc. He picked
out one era of free trade to show how
hard up we were-ihis was before the
war-and another Of high protection and
big balance of trade IN our favor-,his
was after the war-to show how rich We
were and how money flowed into our
Golfers. That was all the argument he
advanced; but he said it solved the pros
perity question, the financial question,
the price question and all other ques-
tions. Then he gave illustrations of his
theory, called them facts and truth, told
some very good jokes, and jollied his
hearers some more. Mr.. Rankin WAS
great on jollying the boys, and they
liked 1t. Onr big credit balance in for
eign trade last year he attributed to the
Dingley tariff and though three.fourths
Of it came from export products Of the
field, natural resources, he did not en-
plain how the tariff made these products
grow. Mr.. Rankin's statements OF the
accumulations Of gold in this country as
a result OF this tariff or balance Of trade
We're wide Of the mark or actual figures.
But Mr.. Rankin's reasoning on the
silver question Or standard OF values
was the most specious of all his argI-
ments. Gold ia his view was not so
much a medium Of exchange os a stand
ard Of value. AS the element OF
measurement in q yard etick was length,
as the element OF measurement in q
bushel was capacity, SO the element of
measurement in gold was value. Gold
had value and therefore measured every
thing. Gold was worth 100 cents to the
dollar. SilAer was worth only sc cents
to the dollar therefore it could not be
used as the standard of measurement,
nor could it's value be forced up by legis-
lation. Mr.. Rankin did not turn his
logic around and apply it to the gold
dollar which had appreciated 100 per
cent relative to the value of other things
and could not be forced down, nor did he
lot it be known that the men who held
the gold during it's appreciation OF 100
per cent had been roLbing the seller Of
other commodities to that amount dur
ing the period of It's appreciation. This
was not his purpose in his speech and
this specious reasoning IA Affair sample
OF all The rest OF his arguments.
He jollied the crowd and won their
applause and the few republicans left at
the close OF his address gave three cheers
for Mckinley and still believe that tariff
is all there is to politics.
Rocky Mountain Tea is active. poei.
tive, never nauseates or upsets the
stomach, Cleans and purifies the whole
system. IS cents.
FRANK SMITH.
You invite disappointment when you
9 experiment.. U0Witt'a Little En,lv Rs.-