The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-02-14
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED,

The distinguished gentlemen win
have charge, respectively, of the edi
torlal pages of the Butte Miner ant
Anaconda Standard should get togeth
er and talk the matter over. For. the
sake of consistency and the better eff
feet their labors would have in be
half of a disowned and r%epudiatet
political party they should agree
upon one form of indictment and fash
ion their pleadings accordingly. With
one devoting yards of thunderous
language directed at the republican
party for yielding to the behests OF
the sugar trust and attempting to re.
peal the duty on raw sugar so that
the trust may succeed in wiping out
every vestige of competition from the
beet sugar makers. and the other in
equally strong words condemning the
same party for refusing. also at the
command of the trust, to repeal that
duty, the average democrat, possessing
no more than the usual amount of
democratic sense and understanding,
is at a loss what to believe, and it is
no wonder that he turns populist.
The Miner accuses the great, fat,
fluffy, overgrown trust of wheeling
and putting about obligations the
American public owes to the interests
of morality and conscience. meaning
thereby the discharge of a sentimental
debt 10 the Cubans and permitting
them to send their raw sugar to this
country free of duty, or at best with
the imposition of only a nominal tar
if, and declares that the high moral
tone taken by the great, fat" ETC.,
etc, is only a blind assumed for the
purpose of deceiving the people and
make them subservient creatures to
its will and wishes. To reduce the ex-
listing tariff on Cuban sugar the Miner
says would be an outrage to the beet
sugar men and beet growers of the
United States and severely arraigns
the republican party for what it de-
clares an unmistakable willingness to
do the bidding of the adjectivial COM
binatiOn.
True to its democratic instinct of
enmity to the republican party, the
Standard jumps onto the republicans
and the trust for opposing the propo-
sition Of a reduction of hat same tar
if. 1t solemnly ayers that the trust
is under the protection of the republi-
a party and any attempt to reduce
the duty on the Cuban sugar will find
that party up in arms ready to do bat
tie for it's pet and it's interests. Con-
tinuing its argument, the Standard
declares that the congressional
friends of the trust and the lobby it
has in Washington give as a specious
reason for their opposition to the pro-
posed reduction that it would result in
seriously impairing the revenues of
the government, and pretend to feel
alarmed at the possibility of such an
event.
Although both use the agitation
anent the reduction of tariff on Cuban
sugar as a weapon of offense against
the republican party, and to that ex.
tent give unmistakable evidence of
their genuine democracy, which con
sists of nothing more than blind and
unreasonable prejudice. against the re-
publican party. they make it the basis
of entirely different attacks. The
Butte paper is opposed to the reduc-
ton and holds the republican majority
ir congress responsible for retention
OF the present rates, while it's Ana
conda contemporary demands the re-
duction and with equal vigor charges
the majority with being in collision
with the trust as against what is de-
manded by every consideration of
morality and conscience
The one is not owned by anybody in
terested in the production of beet
sugar and still has a sneaking regard
for Grover Cleveland. The other is
so owned and has about as much use
Cor Grover as his Satanic majesty is
nopularly credited with having for
hysop. Both are democratic, though,
and consequently may be depended
upon to say something mean and u n
truthful Of the opposition, even if
their arguments clash and their plead
ings are faulty.
PEARSON INCIDENT CLOSED.
In arriviDo az tho cpDciucioo TO