The independent., 1903-10-15

gagged in raising cattle and hogs, and
who had been voti- the populist and
democratic ticket, decided that as they
were getting good prices for their
products they would "let we'll enough
alone" and vote for Mckinley. Enough
of them did this to carry the state
for the advance agent of prosper
ity."
Today they are getting a different
brand of PROSE erity-the Roosevelt
mixture none genuine without name
blown in the bottle. The prices OF
cattle and hogs have slumped off to
such ali alarming extent that conser-
vatiye estimates place the loss on
hogs alone to be between two ana
four million dollars in the past week
and compared to prices year ago 1t
foots up $S,7O0,0O0, or nearly S6
head for 300-pound hogs.
The cattle situation is even worse.
Very few herds of cattle of any con-
siderable size are owned clear, but
most of them are covered by chattel
mortgage to secure "cattle paper" CIV
er. at or near the time of purchase. The
purchaser in effect bets the banker
that he (the purchaser) can, by hold
ing the cattle, realize something above
their cost, keep and the usury he pays.
The banker is willing to bet, but re-
CURES plenty of security so that he
can't lose.
Millions of dollars of this cattle
paper" is coming due To sell the cat
tie now would mean that they would
not fetch enough to pay the principal,
81. u, rf Icy1rU
Stares thousands of cattle growers and
feeders in the face. The banks are
not looking for cattle paper now,
but, on the contrary, are anxious to
realize on some they are now holding,
and more than one of the 'let well
enough alone'' supporters of Mckin-
ley in 1900 is up against the real thing.
He must fish or cut bait, and the way
his business is fixed he can't well do
either.
There are intimations that lot of
"cattle paper" will not be collected ex-
cept at the end of long and tedious
litigation. The cattle men purpose to
fight for delay, hoping turn in the
tide will let them safely into port.
1t was the rankest kind of dishonesty
for populist farmers to contest farm
mortgage foreclosures against them
clear through to the supreme court
and back again. simply for delay; but
republican cattle men now consider
this eminently proper for them to do
to save their own skins.
1t remains to be seen whether these
men, whose politics changed with the
price of cattle and hogs, will still vote
the republican ticket They are be-
ginning to realize that large part Of
their present trouble is attributable to
the packing house trust; that the
trust has been built up by collusion
with the railroads; and that the re-
publican candidates for supreme and
district judges are almost to man the
choice of the railroads. The question
is, Will these cattle growers kiss the
hand that smote them?
What if they did clear pot of mon
ey when prices were going up-where
is the money today? Pretty generally
tied up in that last bunch of cattle
which promises to sell for less than
the mortgage.
The election of Judge Sullivan and
the populist and democratic candidates
1Ol ulSlIlCt JuuSc, VI CUuISC, COuIu
not at once affect the price of cattle
OF hogs. No sensible man would make
such an assertion But their election
will be a rebuke to railroad domina-
tion and an entering wedge for ulti-
mate control of the railroads by the
state.
State control is long; weary road,
but it will eventually be traveled-be-
cause railroad domination is finally
reaching a point where it is unbear-
able. 1t is quite true that the pop
ulists and democrats, when in posses
sion of the state government, did not
accomplish as much as many believe
they might have done. But the re-
publcans make no attempt to do any
thing whatever, and lately have not
even the self-respect to blush at wear
ing the railroad collar
If the stock growers were justified
> dr. supporting the republican ticket the
past three years because of good
prices, they certainly have equally
$1.OO RIG STOVE OFFER.
IF you can use the best big 50O-pound steel