Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-04-30
IRONTON. MO. THURSDAY. APRIL 80, 1903.
Special Washington Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, D. c. April 27, 1902

VI VIC ALhOi iNuu iONSSbiNO VI AZ
League, in New York. 1t has COM
PEELED President Roosevelt to change
front on the question of tariff revision
and it is now boasting OF its achieve
ment. 1t is no exaggeratlon to say
that the most powerful instrument in
this country to-day fol, the moulding
OF public sentiment is the organization
of manufacturers which bears that
name. The American Protective Tariff
League defeated the Cuban reciprocity
legislation of the first session of the
Fifty-seventh Congress, emasculated
the Cuban reciprocity treaty ratified at
the last session, and will attempt at
the next session to further negative
that treaty 1t has thus far prevented
the ratification of the reciprocity treat
les negotiated by Mr.. Kasson. 1t has
combatted the "Iowa idea" so success
fully that President Roosevelt, who
started out with a declaration that he
would s'stand pat' on the Mckinley
policies, which included reciprocity,
has now concluded to "stand pat" with
the high tariff faction of his party.
This league has membership of 1000
including some of the most prominent
manufacturers OF iron, steel, cotton
goods, woolen goods, cutlery, Yankee
notions, leather goods, hosiery, gloves,
varnish, silks, ETC., in the entire
country.
The 1000 members pay in years
when important elections are on, a
minimum annual assessment OF 500
each. This minimum fund of $780,
600 is swelled by additional contri-
buttons as the occasion demands. The
object of the American Protective Tariff
League is to create sentiment in this
country favorable to the maintenance
of the protective tariff rates. 1t is the
personiication of the "stand pat' idea
1t opposes the crossing of ST." the
dotting of an 81" or the changing of a
punctuation mark in the existing tariff
law. The league effects its purposes
and accomplishes its object of mold
ing public sentiment by working upon
the readers of the country through a
masterful system of newspaper syndi-
Gates 1t boasts that the combined
circulation per week OF the newspa.
pers using the editorials and other
matter sent out by the league was
5000, 900. Approximately that rep
resents 24,000,000 readers per week.
All this matter is sent out in stereo-
typed form and free to the papers de-
string to use it. Besides this the
league publishes weekly paper called
the american Economist, which is sent
; out to all the leading papers of the
country and has circulation of more
than $4,000 per week. 1t voices the
most intelligent thought on the tariff
question from the standpoint Of pro-
lection and its sophistries are repro.
duced as editorials in many of the
leading papers of the nation. From
the above can be gathered an idea OF
the immense engine used by the pro-
tective tariff interests of the country
to keep the people fooled and believ'
: ing that they are getting some benefit
from the system of protection. If the
people were getting the benefit and not
the special interests, does any sane
man suppose those interests would con-
tribute 100000 year to keep up the
protection wallp Is not this sufficient
evidence to the people of the country
that they are being bled and robbed
by this set of men and special inter
ests putting up the money to keep
them hoodwinked by making them be-
lieve that protection is helping them
and the countryp What more do they
wantp The Democratic party panders
to no special interests whose profits are
made by robbing the people and there
fore 1t has no propaganda and nc
money to establish one by which its
ideas OF good government can be con-
stantly pounded into the people. II
the Democratic party could have had
even 1000 papers for the past ter
years exposing the fallacies of high
protection, the farmers OF the country
who suffer most from this one-sided
game, would to-day be almost unan-
, imous in their opposition to protection
We have no fountain of wealth flchet
from the pockets OF the people from
which to draw, and therefore the peo
Pile do not get the truth. They ge
only the honied sophtstries from al
organized band Of public plunderer
and go on ''letting we'll enough alone
8 until the band Is bursting with noodle
When the members are gorged and ge
to quarreling among themselves a
they are now doing then the peopl
will begin to get glimpse Of tn
truth. 1t remains to be seen hov
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