Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-07-08
Tariffs and Panie..

Iaftno ana fahieos
Another false pretense Of Republican
spellbinders and editors is that under
Republican tariffs times are always
good and under Democratic tariffs al
ways bad. Even SO eminent person
age as Mr.. Secretary Of the Treasury
Leslie NJ. Shaw Is fond Of making that
declaration, and this year the Republic
an managers possessed the effrontery
to put 1t in their platform. It has alb
solutely no foundation in fact.
There ia no question who passed the
Walker tariff bill Of 1861. The
Democrats did it, and for eleven years
the country was 80 prosperous and so
completely satisfied that in 1856 neither
of the great parties mentioned the
tariff in its platform. In 1857 there
was financial panic in this country,
but as 1t extended all over the world
1t is clear that the Walker tariff bill
did not produce 1t. The country speed
lily recovered from it.
In 1873, with a Republican high
tariff in full force and effect, when
General Grant was just beginning his
second term, when the Republicans
had more than a two-thirds majority
in both houses Of congress, there came
panic which swept the country like
cyclone from sea to sea. The Re-
publicans had then had complete pos
session Of the government for more
than twelve years. Usually at that
point the memory Of Republicans fails
them utterly. They generally skip that
unhappy portion of our history. Only
one Of them has had the gall to charge
1t to Democrats, and that was General
Charles Henry Grosvenor Of Ohio. who
was in hole trying to fight out.
Then came the panic Of 1898 under
the Mckinley bill, which was clearly
Republican panic.
70 say, as most Republicans do, that
1t was caused by the Wilson-G German
tariff bill is preposterous, for the VIII
son-G German tariff bill was not passed
till August, 1894, whereas the panic
began in the spring of 1898. 1t would
be just as reasonable and true to say
that the war Of 1912 was caused by
the election Of James Monroe to the
presidency in 1885, No man with any
self respect or respect for the truth
ever charges the panic of 1893 to the
Wilson German tariff bill.
"Bis We"
More remarkable because the facts
are fresher in the public mind are these
false statements: 1--WE refused to palter
longer with the miseries Of Cuba. We
fought a quick and victorious war with
spaip." "We"-the Republicans. God
save the mark, and may God have
mercy on the monumental and colossal
liar who wrote those sentences! He
must believe that the American people
have very short memories. 1t is only
six years ago that the Spanish-Ameri-
can war occurred. Everybody knows
that had It not been for the Democrats
the Spaniards would still be numbering,
robbing and outraging the Cubans.
Nothing except the fear of losing the
elections in 1898 and 1900 induced or
forced-for force" is the proper term
the Republican administration and
the Republicans in congress to lift
finger in their behalf. "We"-that Is,
the fought a quick and
victorious war with SPAIN" Does any
man believe such rot? Did not as many
Democrats volunteer and fight as Re
publicans? Are not ADMIRAL George
Dewey, Admiral Winfield Scott schley,
General Joe Wheeler, General F1tz-Hugh
Lee and Captain Richmond Pearson
Robson, to say nothing Of others, all
Democrats? Was not Bagley Of North
Carolina the. arst American Killed In