Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-07-19
JEROME AND LAWSON THUNDERED IN THE
INDEX.

SperSeQ with reasonable amount or
mutual vilIfcat;on-not wholly unde-
served.
Some ten years ago Kansas was CIV
en- oyer to Populism-a creed which was
not without certain merits of its own.
New York then laughed at the populis-
tic oratory of Kansas. at its wild exag.
gerations, its fiamboyant rhetoric. it's
excited gestures and, what we in the
east were pleased to consider, its entire
lack OF logic and political enlighten-
ment.
After the outbursts of Jerome and
Lawson it would seem that Kansas now
had the laugh on New York aud Bos.
ton. 1t IS not necessary to enumerate
the oratorical bricks these eminent
statesmen threw at each other. They
began their wordy warfare at Kansas
City, and at last accounts were still
keeping it up.
But it is interesting to consider in
what way they met the wish of the
kansans for economic advice, which
should be both wise and progressive.
The great theme OF Mr.. Jerome's ad
dress at the Kansas Chautauqua was
that the trust evil Is, in the main, fig
ment Of the imagination; that almost
everything said about trusts was fool
ish; that the trusts had done great
service in cheapening their products,
and that the hostility of Kansas and
other Middle Western States to the
trust idea was based upon prejudice
rather than upon an Intelligent study
of the problem.
Of course, Mr.. Jerome did not con.
fine himself to the question of trusts.
Treating that subject alone, it would
be impossible for him to eulOgiZe his
remarkable methods. And without
that, Tby should he ever make speech?
But if the people of Kansas, who know
something about trusts and who Gave
done some vigorous fighting against the
greatest of them all-the Standard Oil
accept Mr.. Jerome's statements con-
corning his method of law reinforcement
in New York with any more confidence
than they are likely to put IN what he
said about the trusts, we mistake the
Kansas character.
Mr.. Lawson isn't excited about
trusts, either. Its that celebrated
system" that he is after. He doesn' t
care very much about politics. though
he reiterated that he had seen II. II.
Rogers with $4,000, 900 rob William j.
Bryan of the Presidency. This, how.
eyer, was merely passing incident of
Mr.. Lawson's summary of the evils of
today. The chief danger which he dis
Germs today is the consolidation of mon
ey In the hands Of banks and insurance
companies and its use by the Wall
Street spectators for the plundering of
the people.
1t must be admitted that the recent
revelations concerning the Equitable
and the mutterings concerning like con.
ditions in other great New York com.
panies do help to maintain the Lawson
contention. But the cure he offers
seems ludicrous when presented to an
audience of Kansas farmers. He begs
them to sell all their stocks at once sc
that the promoters of the System
would be forced to buy. Newspaper!
Of certain sort have been preaching
the wonderful prosperity of the western
farmer since the Republican party came
into power, but we doubt whether ever
they believe that if the agriculturists O.
Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri dump
ed on the market all the railroad or in
dustrial stocks they held it would seri
ously embarrasS the giants of the "sys
tenn"
very hard his own hobby, were talking
to the people of Kansas and Missouri
and adjacent states, the United State
Bureau of Labor was issuing a yer
significant bulletin.
In this bulletin it is declared anC
proven by figures that since 1890 th
living expenses of the average famiI
have increased from % per cent to 5
per cent.
Farm products have gone up in pric
% 2'lO per cent. But is the farmer an
more prosperous than of yore?
Fuel and lighting have increased 8
6-lO per cent. But the miner or prC
, Queer of oil, is not more prosperous no.
than ten years ago.
Food products, under which headin
are included chiefly the necessaries O
life controlled by the Beef Trust, hav
gone up II 10 per cent. Is the stock
? raiser richer?
Lumber and building materials al
now % 10 per cent higher than in 100
These are the figures, or part of tt
!. figures, presented by statistical b,
;. reau of an administr alton which hs
evec3 thing to gain by showing great,