The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-08-01
PEOPLE WANT REFORM.
Tariff Revision Will Be the
Leading Issue.
ooUNTRY's HOPE IN DEMOCRACY,

FARMERS taals11s'e and Laborers Have Learn
y ga That They Have Been Outra-
Il g 'sOusly swindIed by the aProtec-
n ton" sharIss-How some American
s9s Manufacturer Have Been Misrep-
reaented.
1t is inevitable that the tariff viii he
the leading issue in the coming cleo
tons. The country is becoming thor
oughly aroused on the subject. The
farmers TAR who have heretofore meekly
bowed DOW their necks beneath the tariff
yoke and patiently borne the burden
OF protection in the fond delusion that
they We're reaping immense rewards
from the system, have awakened. to
the fact that they have beer hum.
plugged. They see that the ineffective"
duties on farm products serve only to
protect the meat trust and the grain
Spectators. The farmer never has re-
3ceived cent of benefit from them.
The protective duties on sugar do not
IN the least help agriculture in gem
feral. while they double the price of
sugar to the consumer. It has been
estimated that perhaps 10000 farmers
are more or less interested in raising
sugar beets. AS there are about 12.--
100000 persons engaged in agriculture
throughout the United States it is ey1-
dent that this protection Of the sugar
beet Is curse instead Of blessing to
the farmers, as we'll as to all other
classes. The so called protective"
duties on grains, vegetables and fruit
are of no possible benefit to our farm
ers, 1nasmuch as these products are
exported to foreign markets and must
be sold at competitive prices. The
beef trust magnates and the grain and
fruit SPECTATORS are enthusiastic in
support of these duties for the protec-
ton Of the farmers because they are
enabled to monopolize the home mar
kets and charge exorbitant prices for
these commodities. The whole scheme
of putting protective duties on farm
products was conceived for the sole
purpose Of hoodwinking the farmers
Into voting for tariff robbery.
The laborers, too, are beginning to
realize that they have been bunkoed.
The protection gold brick of high wages
looked SO attractive and so innocently
genuine that the very elect have been
deceived. OF course the country is
prosperous, and wages are not very
much lower than they were before we
became so prosperous. The census bull
tletins show decrease of about 6 per
cent per capita money wages from 1890
to 1900, while the amount of capital in
vested IN industry increased over 81
per cent. During the same time the.
cost Of living steadily rose. According
to Dun's review, prices Of commodities
sDn Jan. i, 1902, were the highest in
recent times, exceeding by 40 per cent
the low prices of 1897 and being about
IL per cent above prices Of 1890, which
was considered prosperous year.
When we consider that the census fig
nres always err on the side Of the man
ufacturer, making the money rate of
wages higher than it actually is, these
figures become even more significant.
They show beyond the possibility of
contradiction that there has been a
marked decline in actual money wages
under the reign Of tariff protected
trusts. The laborers have long known
that something was not just right. The
gold brick Of high wages has long had
% suspiciously brassy appearance, but
the laborer has not dared to complain,
because the country has been so pros
porous, and he did not wish to be boot
ed at and Knocked as calamity bowler
sand q disgruntled socialistic anarchist,
with sMugwump tendencies. But as the
abuses Of protectio nism continue to
grow apace the workers feel that the
time has come for action. Every day
sees them more united for tariff re-
form. They are beginning to under
stand that whatever prosperity the
country enjoys comes not because OF
protection but in spite Of it They
now recognize that protection benefits
the few at the expense Of the many; 1t
Is the mother Of monopolies. The la
sborers will demand a thorough revision.
OF the tariff in the coming congress.
d The farmers and the laborers are not
the only classes interested in tariff re-
vision looking toward free trade. The
Indapendent manufacturers are de-
manding free raw materials and reel
procity Of trade with no uncertain,
voice. The high priests Of protection
Ism have urged the helplessness OF our
lnfanS industries as the excuse for pro-
lection. Now our manufacturers lind
me tarff fostered monopo lies more fear.
!; some than the bogy Of foreign comped-
lion, and they are ready to fly to the
Ills of free trade to escape the evils Of
protection q recent editorial In the
cortland Oregonian commenting on the
statistics gathered by the American
Machinist, sums up the situation adj.
mirably as follows:
There Ii reason to believe that the siren
nous efforts made by Republican leaders
rs keep the tariff unmolested are not actu-
snIIy III the interest Of the protected manu-
fact.irers, as pretended. but are due to q
deefre on the part OF those leaders TO per-
pefuate the threat of free trade as a
means OF soaring the rnanufa cturers into
continued support OF the Republican par
~, This Is the conclusion we draw from g
remarkable symposium of letters from
sn1ant,factnr obtained by the American
/ Machinist al fits own request The evil
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