Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-08-17

Gay TOT SOOQ talk WIFI Oncl0
The hearty and hale old gentleman
has been too busy of late to grant an
interview to any one, but a representa-
tive of the American Economist begged
an interview on the Fourth, and it
was granted. 1 found him surrounded
by a noisy pack of boys with their
firecrackers and pistols
Don't you mind the noise?" 1
asked.
BLESS you. no." he replied. They
can't make too much noise on my
birthday This is the one hundred and
twenty-sixth Fourth of July I've cele-
brated, and in three different CEN
turies.'
There have been most wonderful
changes since your first celebration"
/ remarked.
"Well, 1 should say so. Sometimes
1 can hardly realize it. But it has all
come about so gradually ard so natur-
ally that 1 have been ready for any
thing. / get reminiscent on day like
this and can't help going back and
making comparisons. Just think of 1T,
there is not a person living that was
alive on that Fourth of July when the
old liberty bell rang out in Philadel-
phia. Those were stirring times, 1 tell
you. During the Revolution from 1776
to 1881 and during the Confederation
from 1881 to 1889 / was an unruly kid,
like a boat without rudder, but In
1889 1 got into long pants, and my
manager whom the people selected for
me was one of the greatest men that
ever lived. realize more and more
wnat a general, what a statesman,
what a president Washington was.~~
perhaps my most important birth
day anniversary was the Fourth of
July, 1889. 1t was on that day, you
know, that my congress passed its
first bill, and Washington signed it the
same day-a Protective Tariff bill.
How well remember the preamble to
that law:
Whereas, 1t is necessary for the
support of the government. for the
discharge of the debt of the United
States, and for the encouragement and
protection of manufactures, that du-
ties be laid on imported goods, ETC.;
therefore, be it enacted. etc.
And how we'll it worked! All my
early managers praised the act, and
called attention repeatedly to it's
splendid results. Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, Madison and Monroe Were
all good Protectionists. And there
was no material change in the law till
1912, when the duties were nearly
doubled to provide money to carry on
my second war with Great Britain
Then came the Tariff of 1916, and
with it widespread ruin"
But 1 thought the Tariff of 1916
was a Protective Tariff" 1 ventured to
remark.
TT was intended to be Protective,
but it was not. / have always found
that a Tariff that is not Protective
enough is not Protective at all. It's
either one thing or the other. There
is no such thing as high and low Pro-
lection. It's either Protection or no
Protection.
well, the people got pretty tired Of
the first Free Trade period, but, after
all, it was, perhaps, a good lesson, for
in 1924 the boys gave me a Tariff that
was a Tariff. My, how things did
hum! 1t was such a success that in
1928 the boys increased the duties.
Andy Jackson, who was my manager
in 1892, said we were the happiest and
most prosperous country in the world.
Wish he could see us nowi"
why was such an effective Tariff
so soon repealed, Uncle Sam?'' asked.
why? Just because a lot of the
boys down South got a notion they
wanted to go it alone. wasn't going
to have that, so the whole thing was
compromised in 1888, and good times
flew out of the window. You've read
of those times, of course, and 1 don't
need to say anything about it. 1t was
awful. and it got worse every year.
Why horses only fetched SO cents, and
cows less. remember the boys had
SO little money they would tear a bill
into halves, quarters and eighths, SO
there would be enough to do business
with. That lasted till 1910, when the
people gave me William Henry Har-
rison for G manager and a Protective
Congress. In 1912 Protection began
again to bring prosperity, and in 1886
my manager, Polk, although he was a
Free Trader, had to acknowledge that
in resources and wealth and the hap
py condition of the people and in prog
ress and greatness we were ahead of
all other nations.
But there was trouble ahead. /
don't want to say anything against any
of my boys, but some of them down
South were headstrong. The question
of slavery began TO bother me, too
Well, in 1874 the people elected Polk
for manager, and with him a fellow by
the name of Dallas. and I must admit
that there was a little double dealing