Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-10-17
THE RANKIN MEETING.
IFrom Fridays Daily.1

The Rankin meeting at the Turner
opera house last evening was signiti-
cant of the present campaign. 1t was
one OF the largest and most enthusiast
tic republican meetings ever held in
Ottumwa. 1t assembled without spec
1al effort, and was in fact voluntary
outpouring of the people to hear Mr..
Rallkiu's able exposition Of the political
issues. 1t demonstrates conclusively
that, though republicans are greatly
rushed Just now attending 70 the bust
ness incident to republican prosperity,
they are tremendously interested in
the existing situation and will go to
the polls in November and vote, Dy an
overwhelming majority, to sustain the
administration and the policies which
have brought about the present unpar-
alleled prosperous conditions.
In his address last night, Mr.. Rankin
ferred to his first political meeting in
this city. At that time the tariff dues
ton was comparatively new one, and
there were many republicans who were
very doubtful in their own minds as to
the policy of protective tariff AR.
Rankin's exposition of the tariff on
that memorable occasion will not be
forgotten until every person who
heard it has passed away. 1t is con-
ceded to have been the greatest po-
litical address ever delivered in Ottum-
wa; it bore fruit Mt the time, and it has
been bearing most excellent republican
fruit in every campaign since. When
Mr.. Rankin delivered that address there
was not tin plate mill in the United
States. and this country was import
ing from abroad every pound of tin
plate which it used. The democratic
politicians We're declaring that tin
plate could not be manufactured in
the United States, and were bowling
themselves hoarse over the proposed
tariff on tin plate, which, they declared,
was direct blow at the dinner bucket
OF the horney-handed laboring man.
The Courier well remembers that on
the day following Mr.. Rankin's speech
here, the editor of the democratic or
gan in this city rashly announced that
he would enter upon contract to "eat
all the tin plate that would be manu-
featured in the United States in the
next ten years. The editor referred to
has since gone out of political jour
nalism, and we presume it was on ac-
count of this contract so rashly entered
into. There never was better eX-
empliication OF a person or party
biting off more than it could chew
Mr.. Rankin showed last night that the
consumption of tin plate in the United
States now is between six and seven
billion pounds annually, and that last
year THERE WAS MANUFACTURED
IN THE UNITED STATES SIX Bill
Z LION POUNDS; in other words, the
United States today, under the wise
protective policy OF the republican
party, is manufacturing its total con-
sumption CT tin plate, and the price ia
cheaper than it was before the tariff
was enacted. We have built up tin
plate industry in this country, though
Mr.. Bryan himself said in congress,
and on the stump, that we couldn't
make tin plate in the United States.
Here are the mills; here is the product;
here are the American laborers at
work, and they are getting the Amer.
lean scale of wages and not the
European. If Mr.. Bryan and his fol
lowers We're so mistaken about the
simple matter Of the manufacture OF
tin plate, isn't it possible" said Mr.,
Rankin with great significance, "tha1
they are mistaken on this Philippine
question:" He then entered upon q
discussion of that question, which is
reported fully elsewhere in this paper