The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-02-03

very beneficial tax, especially to the
manufacturer, the laborer and the
farmer. Of course they admit at
once that it enriches the manufac-
turer and builds up vast corpora
tons and monopolies.
And now for the laboring man
and the farmer All admit that a
home market is the best market on
earth. On all the fam produce or
home manufactured articles that can
be consumed at home, there is no
expense of handling, and they do
not have to compete with cheaper
made articles or glutted markets in
other localities.
Statistics show us that 95 per
cent of all we raise or manufacture
in this country is sold at home. We
make big talk about our foreign
trade and work zealously to increase
it, which is entirely proper, but we
should remember that it is only
per cent of the whole, and any pol
lev that benefits and increases our
home markets results in vastly more
real benefits to the people than
slight benefit to our foreign trade.
No one will attempt to deny the
fact that a high tariff tends to start
up manufacturing concerns and to
build up and strengthen those in ex
istence. Factories give employment
to men, pay them wages, and there
by increase their power of consump-
ton, thus creating greater demand
for farm products and manufactured
articles, and the greater the demand
the greater the price. The more
factories that run the greater will be
the demand for labor and the better
the price. The more wages the la
borer receives the more he has to
spend for necessities and luxuries,
thereby increasing the demand and
hence the price.
Since our friends on the other
side of the fence have admitted the
great law of supply and demand,
they can the more readily see the
force of the above argument.
Of 22oo factories interviewed last
year on the matter, situated in all
parts of the United States indis-
criminately, engaged in all kinds of
manufacturing, their reports show
that they increased their force 80
per cent and increased the average
wages of their employees IL per cent.
This is doubtless fair index of the
increase in all manufacturing inter
ests. And there can be no doubt
but that this great increase in the
employment of labor and increase
in wages is directly due to the Ding
ley law.
The Republican idea is to look
carefully after the 95 per cent end
of our trade first, and that the little
) per cent tail-en does not require
so much nursing. The Democratic
idea is to devote all our energies to
building up the 5 per cent part of it
and utterly destroy the 95 per cent
part by admitting foreign products
made by cheap labor, thus shutting
down our factories and throwing the
laborers out of work and taking
away from them the power to pur-
chase farm products or manufactur-
ed goods, thereby taking away from
our home markets the very best Gus
toner, the laboring element. What
does laboring man care if a humid
red pounds of -four, which he may
buy once a month, does cost him IS
cents or even 50 cents more under
protective policy, if that same pol
icy gives him several days more
work during the month at increased
wages? Does he kick on the cost of
his living in any way if he is fully
employed at remunerative wages?
And now for the results of this
Dingley law at which our good
Democratic friends sheer so much,
as practically demonstrated by last
years business; There has not been
year for long time in the history
of our country when all lines of in
dustry were in better shape and
more prosperous than the last year
The iron and steel industries
never did such a volume of bust
ness. The tin industry attained Won
derful and surprising proportions.
The agricultural implement manu-
facturers had their plants running at
full capacity both night and day
and were then unable to supply the
demand. The railroads had more
business than they could handle and
most of them, for the first time in
years, declared dividends to the
stockholders.
Farmers received better prices on
an average all around for their prod
ucts than are usual, and the labor