Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-05-09


atty of candidates is not the issue.
Tariff Revision, now, at this time, is
the issue, and Mr.. Cumnins knows It..
Railroads and corporations are used
as dust to throw into the eyes OF Iowa
farm ers, to blind them to the real
issue. Tariff Revision and Canadian
Reciprocity. There is no other one
man today standing before the Amer
lean people for enc single purpose, to
the extent that the present governor
of Iowa stands for, and that is the i'm
mediate revision of the tariff. About
eight years ago I was down through
Mississippi, and I pledge you my word
that l don't think the good people OF
that old state had heard mill or a
saw for forty-odd years, until within
seven or eight years ago. Now, all
over that great state, from one end OF
1t to the other, 1t is veritable work
shop. The old state capital at Jack.
son has three or four great sky-scrap-
ers going up sixteen or eighteen stor-
les high, magnificent new capital
building, practically the equal of our
own, 125 miles Of railway between
jackson and Gulf Port, and at every
station one to three saw+mills, en-
ploying hundreds of men, mostly col
ored men, who receive from $3.50 to
81 day for their labor. And that is
the situation in Mississippi. Go down
into Oklahoma and the Indian Terri
tory, and you will find the trains are
insufficient to carry the tremendous
emigration thronging the country.
buying land at 200 per cent and 800
per cent above what the same land
cost three or four years ago. Then
come up into the great northwest,
and you will find the same situation.
In the last five years the people OF
South Dakota have increased per cap
ita in wealth to greater extent than
any other similar number Of people
on the face of Gods green earth, and
that heavy increase of wealth Is go
ing on today.
=. Common Horse Sense"
That is the condition of our country
today. Our exports are increasing
every month. When I was In the
south I had the pleasure of going to
Gulf Port, Miss, where l saw thirty
foreign ships being loaded with goods
of American manufacture. to be ship
ped abroad.
And yet, my friends, 1t is proposed
to stop all this, by a tariff agitation
to last from one to three years; AMI
I want to say to you that this is the
only issue before the people of Iowa.
Do you want it? Then re-elect Gov.
Cummins, and help to precipitate 1t
right now. The republicans of every
other state in this union are looking
will take her stand alongside of the
State of Massachusetts,, in demanding
an immediate revision of the tariff.
l want to ask you caniidly, fellow-citi-
zens, If that lumber plant In Missis-
sippi can afford to wait until business
is dull, before 1t thinkers with the ma
chinery, cannot this country afford to
wait, before tinkering with the tariff
machinery? Can't we afford to wait
while we are pillng up wealth at the
rate of hundreds of millions every
year-wait until times are little bit
slower? Don't it appeal to you as COM
mon horse-sense to wait? I want to
say to you, my friends, that nothing
of the tariff more than for the State
of Iowa to single out a man that
stands for immediate revision of the
tariff. and reflect him for the third
time, governor Of this state. / want
TO say to you today, that If this gentle
man had had his way, according to his
public utterances, he would have re-
vised the tariff three years ago. and
hundreds Of millions of wealth that
have been put into the pockets of the
American people during these days Of
wonderful prosperity would have been
lost to them, while Congress was
wrangling over what kind of a cog or
piece of tariff machinery was to re-
place the machines to be taken out.
The state of Massachusetts, com.
menced this agitation for immediate
revision of the tariff. Iowa progress
ives are jumping onto the steel trust.
and insisting that this one tariff ma
chine shall be revised. Nobody OBJ
jects. 1t is simply folly to stop the
progress Of the nation to do 1t now.
Iowa don't consume steel rails. We
are not the ones that are getting
hurt by the steel trust. 1t is proposed
that we go into partnership with
Massachusetts and assist her to buy
cheap butter, cheap beef-steak and
cheap bread from the farmers of Can
ada, at the expense Of the farmers Of
Iowa. so that the people of Iowa can
buy their steel rails. What kind Of
partnership is this? Iowa regulating
the steel trust. that does not affect
the pockets of the Iowa people, while
Massachusetts Is given the opportun-
ity to buy the products of Canada
at a cheaper rate than from the farm
ers of Iowa, thereby reducing the In
come of the Iowa farmers, and lower
ing the price of Iowa lands.
Did you ever stand upon the banks
of a river or the shores of a lake, and
watch picnic party start out to sail
across? Did you ever see them start
out with the sun shining brightly. not
wave to be seen, everything propi.
tious for day of joy and happiness.
when all at once some fellow, In the
back part of the boat gets up and
thinks he will have some fun. Every
body tells him to sit down. He says:
Il don't intend to hurt you, don't get
scared. Let's have little fun" He
insists on rocking the boat, and finally
the boat capsizes and the picnic party
ends In funeral. want to tell you
n 4 Il