The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-09-12


ing them from the small also'
There is little for me to add to this.
| 1t is but ten years since the last at
tempt was made, by means of lower
ing the tariff, to prevent some people
from prospecting too much. The at
tempt was entirely successful. The
tariff law of that year was among the
causes which in that year and for
some time afterwards effectually pre-
vented anybody from prospecting too
| much, and labor from prospecting at
all. Undoubtedly it would be posi-
| BILE at the present time to prevent any
Of the trusts from remaining prosper
Gus by the simple expedient of making
such sweeping change in the tariff
as to paralyze the industries of the
country. The trusts would cease to
prosper; but their smaller competi-
tors would be ruined, and the wage
workers would starve, while it would
not pay the farmer to haul his pro-
duee to market. The evils connected
with the trusts can be reached only
by rational effort, step by step, along
the lines taken by Congress and the
Executive during the past three years.
If tariff law is passed under which
the country prospers, as the country
has prospered under the present tariff
law, then all classes will share In the
prosperity. If tariff law is passed
aimed at preventing the prosperity of
some Of our people, it is as certain as
anything can be that this aim will be
achieved only by cutting down the
prosperity of all of our people.
Our opponents assert that they be-
lieve in reciprocity. Their action on
the most important reciprocity treaty
recently negotiated-thatw with Cuba
does not bear out this assertion. More
over, there can be no reciprocity I'M
less there is substantial tariff; free
trade and reciprocity are not COM
patible. We are on record as favor
ing arrangements for reciprocal trade
relations with other countries, these
arrangements to be on an equitable
basis to both the contracting parties.
The Republican party. stands pledged
to every wise and consistent method
of increasing the foreign commerce OF
the country. That it has kept its
pledge is proven by the fact that
while the domestic trade of this coun-
| try exceeds in volume the entire ex-
port and import trade Of all the ma
tons of the world, the United States
has in addition secured more than an
eighth of the export trade OF the
world, standing first among the ma
tons in this respect. The United
States has exported during the last
seven years nearly ten billions of
dollars worth of goods-on an aver
age half as much again annually as
during the previous four years, when
many Of our people were consuming
nothing but necessaries, and some OF
them a scanty supply even of these.
| The farmer has benefited quite as
much as the manufacturer, the mer-
| chant, and the wage-worker. The most
welcome and impressive fact estab-
lished by the last census is the wide
and even distribution Of wealth among
all classes of our countrymen. The
chief agencies in producing this dis
| tribution are shown by the census to
be the development of manufactures,
and the application Of new inventions
| to universal use The result has been
an increasing interdependence of ag-
riculture and manufactures. Agricul-
ture is now, as it always has been, the
basis of civilization. The six million
farms of the United States, operated
1by men who, as class, are steadfast,
single-minded, and industrious, form
| the basis of all the other achievements
of the American people and are more
fruitful than all their other resources.
| It is difficult to know if our OPP
ponents are really sincere in their de-
mand for the reduction of the army.
If insincere, there is no need for COM
ment, and if sincere, what shall we
say in speaking to rational persons OF
an appeal to reduce an army of sixty
thousand men which is taking care of
the interests Of over eighty million
people? The army is now relatively
smaller than it was in the days OF
Washington, when on the peace estab-
lishment there were thirty-six hun
dred soldiers, while there were lit
tie less than four millions of popula-