Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1904-04-09


continental Europe for more than thir-
ty years.
There were no barriers to trade and
commercial intercourse in those earli-
er days, but the Mckinley tariff chang
ed all that Nations at once began leg
islating against the imports from the
United States, which has been kept up
ever since, with but slight intermis-
sion during the life of the Wilson bill.
All this is aimed at American tariff
and has resulted in curtailing imports
from the United States to minimum
Through it all, as nation we seem
to have prospered. and therein lies our
false security. but we are now arous-
ing the nation that possesses the pow
er to deal stunning blow to our agri-
cultural interests. and unless we take
some action in the way of modifying
our tariff. that will show a greater ap-
probation Of Great Britain as Gus
toner. We are going to lose such por-
tion of the British trade that it will be
felt by all classes Of people within the
four corners of our domain.
There is No Competition.
40 W LILY SCCOuu SLdlcllcul, 1 udV .
to say that is is only the people dealing
with present combinations who have
any conception Of their power and ar
bitrary methods, and how necessary it
is to bow to their dictum. in order to do
business at all, and then often only
to be handicapped in the struggle, fav-
oritism frequently taking the place Of
fair business methods
Today there is no competition, one
way only is open, and that is, pay the
price. The purchaser is told smoothly
and pleasantly, "You cannot help your
self, you must buy from us or go with
out There is no competition, the
producers are com bined, the purchaser
helpless.
My third statement does not require
much argument to prove it's truthful
ness. 1t can be proven out of the lips
of him who was the apostle of high
tariff. Mr.. Mckinley never uttered a
truer precept than that delivered the
day before he was struck down. He
gave the country in his final message
to it, the result of his ripened mind,
which is that in order for our nation
to continue successful und prosperous,
it is necessary to buy where it sells.
All business is based upon this princi-
pie. A nation is but country store
on large scale How long would
the proprietor of a country store con-
tinue to pay money out for produce
if the seller took the money and bought
his supplies from a competitor in his
own town, or made his purchases in a
neighboring town? The seller would be
told IN little while ''to buy where he
sold," and no fair minded person would
raise any objection to the practical
application of that rule.
How Borrow Prosperity.
The question may be asked. "How
can prosperity be borrower" Well
I will illustrate. Take railway, or a
factory; both are in good physical con-
dition, and have done prosperous
business in the past, but are beginning
to fall behind. because they are not ad-
justing themselves to changing condi-
tions. The managers cast about for a
remedy. and in place of discerning the
real trouble, or discerning 1t, pay nc
attention to it. They reduce the main
tenance outlay, Improvements called
for by the advance Of the times are
not provided, until some day they find
themselves left behind by their com
petitors. However, while this has been
going on by their apparent economies
they have kept up the dividends, and
to the outsider, have made a show of
prosperity, but they borrowed their
prosperity, and before it We're possible
for them to be on equal footing with
their successful competitors, the mon
ey foolishly paid out must be paid back,
and more too, which is the interest,
and such interest is always at an ex-
orbitant rate.
This is what we are doing as ma
tion today. We are forgetting that the
world is moving, that conditions are
changing, that we are fast putting our
selves out of joint with the world The
last and fatal move is alternating the
trade with Great Britain.
My object in coming before you to-
night is to say to you that our state
has in some manner evolved the
thought that it's interests are endan-
gered. and that thought in some way
has been given a name, and the name
is "The Iowa Idea" That modifica-
ton Of the tariff, and a call for reci-
procity should come from republican
state and as powerful a one as our own
is indeed remarkable, and should not
be turned down without serious
thought and very good reason, but
am sorry to say that there is strong
effort being made to strangle the
"idea" in it's infancy, and l am here
tonight to do what little may be able
to save its life.