The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-11-29
AS TO TARIFF LEGISLATION

| Ao ~ IAnlEE LEtlSLAIlON.
| The Democrats are still nursinp
the hope that the Republicans will
split upon the tariff question. If their
only chance of success rests upon such
hopes, then they are remote indeed.
While there may be differences of
opinion among Republican leaders as
to what should be done just at present
as to tariff revision. it is not likely
that there will be any serious trouble
as result of that difference. While
| there are certain duties which might
be either reduced or removed entirely
there is nothing at present to indicate
that any great harm will come if the
matter should rest for year or two.
The Free Press does not believe that
any serious injury would be done to
business should a bill modifying the
duties upon some articles be prepared
and passed by the present congress
Tariff legislation, or the consideration
! of the same by the Republican party
| is not inimical to the business inter
| ests Of the nation. But when the tariff
| is revised, be it at the coming session
of congress or two years hence, let it
| be upon its merits, and not upon the
foundation of some false cry. The free
traders have no hopes to win in this
country during the present generation
upon a straight square issue The step
toward free trade in 1897 opened the
| peoples eyes to what the effect would
be upon the nation were the free
! traders to have their way. And their
old cry of tariff reform has been worn
threadbare. But they have cunningly
devised new cry, that of curbing the
power of trusts by removing the
duties upon rustmade goods 1t is
strange, the number of Republican
{ leaders of more or less note, as we'll as
papers, who have been caught by this
cunningly devised phrase. If they
! stopped to consider that the trust is
| the outgrowth of conditions other than
| the tariff they would at once see the
! fallacy of such cry. We're the free
. trade Cry to be carried out, every YES
tige of the protective policy would be
/ swept away, for there are few manu-
featured articles upon which duty is
levied, that are not made by great COR
| porations of aggregated capital Sweep
this protection away and the hundreds
of Independent concerns throughout
the country which are not in any
| trust, would be the first to suffer,
while the most powerful combinations
against which the most complaint is
made, would be in the best position
| to survive. When revision of the
tariff comes let it be, as we have said,
upon its own merits Then curb the
power of the combines in the correc-
! tion of abuses the natural outgrowth
of great and unrestrained power by
| Legislation directly for that purpose.
| The Milwaukee Sentinel gives the
! list of casualties of the deer hunting
season up to last Saturday as thirteen
killed and one missing. 1t is presumed
that this covers only Wisconsin From
all reports we should judge that Min
nesota has not Jagged far behind. It
is something appalling, when one
thinks of the slaughter which has gone
on in human lives. Either hunters are
getting more careless with the passing
years, or else the long range rifle is
responsible for this increase in loss of
| life. Those most familiar with the
situation attribute it to the latter, and
! it has been proposed that the use of
the rifle be prohibited and that
, hunters be allowed to use only the
; shot gun with buck shot. This would
oblige him to get nearer his game,
would lessen the chances for mistakes
and SO prevent such slaughter of
human beings. Certainly some, steps
ought to be taken to protect human
life in the open season for deer
hunting.