The Irish standard., 1904-10-29
PLAIN FACTS
Convincing Argument Against
Fletcher's Election.
His Vote Was Always In Favor
of the Trusts,

DR.. G. II. Kohler, Democratic NOM
inee for congress in the Hennepin
county district, is making it warm for
Loren Fletcher as the campaign pro-
crosses. The Doctors arguments are
simply unanswera BILE. He gives facts
which go to show that it would be Il
great mistake for the people, and es-
pecially those who toll hard for their
daily bread, to send Fletcher to con-
gress again. His address delivered in
the Second ward last Tuesday night
makes interesting readin. He spoke
in part as follows:
"For over century the United
States has been maintaining system
of tariff taxation, based on the idea
of tariff protection of infant industries.
The system has been maintained so
long that the infants have become
giants with power enough over the ma
ton to dictate legislation and prices,
destroy competition and compel the
people to pay forced tribute.
To-day such industrial giants rs the
United States Steel, American Sugar,
Standard Oil and the coal trust are
powerful enough to defy the United
States government. They have reach
ed the stage of rule or ruin.
Sin this campaign they have de-
creed that the party in power shall
''stand pat' on the tariff schedules en-
aeted to protect them in their mon
opoly.
"They look upon the tariff as their
franchise, their grant of power to levy
tribute upon the public.
with a consolidation of American
factories in trust or New Jersey cor
poration,. and a tariff wall to shut out
any competition from outside, the trust
goes SO far as to levy upon the Amer
lean consumer prices one-fourth and
even one-half higher than it charges
for the same goods in Europe.
"In other words, the trust power
looks upon the people as legitimate
prey. And the method employed by
the trust-power in collecting it's tribute
is through the tariff. the method of an
~ifi9iirecf tax.
TARIFF TAXATION BY
THE TRUSTS.
Investigation shows that the aver
age family in the United States pays
a tariff tax of 1914 year to protected
trusts.
"This trust tax of $94 a year ex-
ceeds one-tenth, or the scriptural title,
of the average family's income.
ut amounts to many times more
than the lawful taxes which the aver
age family pays for the support Of
national state, county and municipal
government combined.
st takes an average of tifty-four
days labor for the average American
to pay his tariff taxes to the trust
collectors.
"Who gets the benefit of this levy
of $94 year per family?
'"The answer is: The million-dollar
and the billion-dollar trusts, that GER
tainly need no protection in their work
Of fleeing the people.
'"There are in the United States
nearly 100000 families. They GER
tainly would not knowingly contribute
$94 year from their hard earnings to
the tariff protected trusts.
"rheir forefathers rebelled simply
because of tax ON tea.
1.-THE question which strikes home
to the workingmen, farmers and mer-
chants of Minneapolis and Hennepin
county is this:
"Do we, being in the possession of
the truth, propose deliberately and
willingly to contribute to any trust
$94 of tax tribute year, and do we
propose on November to vote for a
representative in congress who stands
trust tribute?
CAN'T COMPLAIN OF TAX.
"If you vote for this tax, then yor
are responsible for the logical result
and you have no right to complain if
on your clothing, hardware, tools, coal
oil, sugar, salt, binder Irvine and othel
necessaries and comforts of home life
you pay from 25 to SO per cent higher
prices than those same goods are solo
by the same American trust to the
people of other lands thousands OF
miles away.
eff you vote for the trust prices, by
voting for the law which maintain.
them, it is your duty to be satisfied
with the results.
eff, on the other hand, you are moi
satisfied with the results, If you DOM
believe in passing laws to protect
trusts, if you don't believe in passing
laws to rob your family, If you DOM
believe in paying $94 a year to bill
lion-dollar trust, you have simple
remedy, namely, to vote for repre-
sentative in congress who opposes an6
will do all in his power to defeat tariff
laws for the protection Of trusts.
Il pledge you, If elected, to devote
NV onprpios fO tho dosfr,,otiop ~ ovorx