The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-10-12

L 4
| by students of political economy that
prosperity leads to overtrading and over
production. This leads ultimately to an
excess of supply. Excess of supply
leads TO falling prices. Falling prices
to loss of confidence and business stagna
ton. This coalition continues until
demand again exceeds supply, and conf
dence is restored and prosperity re-
turns.
| FARMERS ALLIANCE AN ORGANIZED
PROTEST AGAINST BAD TINES
BEFORE CLEVELAND WAS
EVEN NOMINATED.
| The business depression which exist
ed during the middle of Mr.. Cleveland's s
administration did not begin with his
administrator. 1t begun under Presi-
| ident Harrison, long before Cleveland was
elected or the Wilson tariff bill passed.
| During the year 1891 there began
scramble among the nations of the earth
for gold The circulating medium here
and everywhere was rapidly contracted
| During that year this country lost sixty
leight millions of its gold supply. BY the
beginning of the year 1892 there was a
general condition of financial stringency
and business depression. The election
of Mr.. Cleveland was due chiefly to the
unsatisfactory business condition, and
hard times which existed at the time of
the election in November 1892.
| 1t was hard times we had during the
latter part of Harrison's administration
which brought the Populist party into
being. That party was organized in
this state in the spring of 1892. while
Harrison was yet president, and in the
election of that year it polled in this
State forty seven thousand votes. From
one end of this State to the other dur
| ing that memorable campaign they sang
| one long doleful song of woe. of scarce
money. OF hard times, OF business stag
nation of the low price of cot
ton and corn and wheat of ruin
tor Pritchard says that Harrison's
| administration closed in a blaze
of prosperity. The truth is that bust
! ness depression was uniNtrsal when
Cleveland was inducted into office on the
4th day of March 1893. Nobody then
attributed this condition to the Wilson
| tariff law, nor to fear of a change in
the tariff. because everybody knew it had
begun under the Mckinley tariff and
Harrison. The Republican party of
that day, so far as they attempted to
attribute this condition to local causes
or legislation at all. charged that it was
due to the silver purchase clause of the
Sherman act. IL law which had been in
troduced in Congress by Senator Sher-
man. who was then leader of the Repub-
lican party, in 1900 and passed by Con
gress when that party controlled both
branches of that body and the presi-
dency. Not only the Republican party,
but the whole commercial and financial
interests of the country declared that
this Republican enactment was the cause
of all the evils from which the country
was then, suffering and demanded its
repeal. The year after the repeal of
this Republican enactment, the wilson
German tariff act was passed and, be-
fore Mr.. Cleveland's term expired. the
country had again entered upon an era
of prosperity which has happily con-
tinued up to the present time.
CLEVELAND VS.. PRITCHARD.
Senator Pritchard. in> the speech that
he is making this year. he compares
Clevelands second administration with
Hafrisons. He claims we had good
times under Cleveland: that we
had Il surplus under Harrison
and a bond issue under Cleveland. Why
does not Senator Pritchard go back to
Clevelands first administration: Why
does not he include it in his comparison?
will tell you. 1t is because he would
have both prosperity and a surplus.
Clevelands first administration was not
only prosperous one, but it was then we
had the biggest surplus save one since
the war. Senator Pritchard thinks q
surplus a good thing. Mr.. Cleveland
did not agree with him. He said 1T
withdrew that much money from circu-
latiOn-diverted it from the channels of
business. He said taxes should be limit
ed to the necessities of the government
economically administered. He said un-
necessary taxation was unjust taxation,
and that this money. instead of being
boarded in the treasury. should be In
the pockets of the people, and he point
ell to this surplus as reason why taxes
should be reduced.
WHY CLEVELAND ISSUED BONDS.
We had a bond issue under Cleveland's
second administration, but it was not
because of lack of money in the treas
iry 1t was not because Mr.. Cleveland
did not have money in the treasury TO
meet current expenses. but il was Tor
fhe same purpose that Harrison was
about to issue bonds just before he re-
tired from office. to-wit: for the purpose
of getting gold to redeem the silver
certificates issued under the Republican
law passed in 1890, known as the Sher-
man act. in order to maintain the par1-
ty between gold and silver. No one
knows his better than Mr.. Pritchard. aud
Intelligent men will not appreciate ms
Attempt to give IL misleading and wholly
nnwarranted interpretation to this act
OF Mr.. Cleveland's administration.
PROTECTION GIVES NO BENEFIT TO
FARMERS.
Republicans in this State are appeal
ing to the farmers and to the lnanutact-
urers for support this year. They claim
that both Of these interests are ut pres
ent prosperous and that they get their
prosperity through the Republican policy
of protection. The argument which they
make is based upon false assumptions
Of fact 1t is not true that the prices
of the staple products Of our farmers
have been higher under the last two ke-
publican administrations than under
Cleveland. Nor is it true that our manu-
factureres are all prosperous or that such
prosperity as our farmers and nanufaet-
urers have is due to protection. The
average price OF cotton was lower dur
fnS the four years of McKinley's admin
istration than it was during the four
years of Cleveland's administration. The
lowest price to which middling cotton ever
dropped in this country was during 1898
under Mckinley. and that year it sold
as low as "a cents a pound. while
the lowest price it reached under Cleve-
lam hn