Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-08-17
WHAT STAND PAT MEANS.

Slurring at Republican policies takes
the place of facts and arguments in
the Democratic press. AS our contem-
porary in his last issue INDUCED in u
little reimbursement on the PROPOSE
ton of standing pat the following
calculation OF what it means, from
The American Economist, will be worth
reading just at this time:
ITO stand pat, it says means now
precisely what it meant when thai
non-political euphonism was projected
into politics by Mark Hanna five or
six years ago 1t continues:
Mr. Hanna saw a country on the top
wave Of 4 sea Of unparalleled prosper
ity. stand pat said he.
He saw domestic production increas-
ing AT a tremendous rate to meet do
nestle demand stand pat"
He saw domestic labor fully employ
ed at increasing high wages. Stand
pat.
creasing at the rate of half billion
dollars year "Stand pat
He saw railroads carrying mora
lltlSHt anu pdSStHScIS anu DullulnS
more miles of new road than ever be-
fore. stand pat"
He saw 100000 farmers with paid
off mortgages of the tariff revision pc
riod of 1S93-97 buying pianos and auto
mobiles. Stand pat?''
He saw an internal trade amounting
to twenty billions year and growing
very fast. stand pat!"
He saw foreign trade pass the two
billion mark and growing at the rate
of S20o,OO0,000 a year. ct is now over
three billions.) stand pat"
He saw the outside word taking
more and more of our agricultural and
manufactured exports. Stand pat"
He saw big increase in our import )
alike Of non-dutiable articles for use
IN manufacture and Of dutabe goods
M the competitive Sort Stand pat"
He saw that the duties collected on
imports Were yielding ample revenue
! for the governments increasing re,
quirements. stand pate"
He saw the excess Of exports over
4 imports bringing to use annual trade
balances averaging more than half a
/ billion dollars. STAND pat,
He saw in consequence a vast inflow
Of gold, which in the past 10 years
has added 100000. 600 to our supply
of yellow metal. "Stand pat"
He saw American securities held
abroad sent back to aid in settling Our
favorable balances of trade. and the
amount of American money sent
abroad to pay interest and dividends
on foreign capital invested in this
country reduced to less than half what
ii was 10 years ago in tariff revision
period Stand patti
He saw the United States paying off
its debts to foreigners and rapidly be-
coming the money center, as it has be-
come the industrial center of the world
stand pat"
He saw, in short. the most eXtraOr-
binary prosperity. the highest rate of
wages, the highest standard of living
that the world has ever known. So
he said "Stand pat,
What Mark Hanna saw five years
ago IS TO be seen today on much
bigger scale. If he We're living today
he would again say Stand pat,'
He did not say, nor does anybody
now say, as the Mail seems to think,
that protection is a hoop of iron" an
infleXible. memorable thing that will
never permit of the change of a single
tariff schedule. The Mail ought 10
know better. That is not the stand pat
attitude. That is not what stand pat
means. To suppose il is to suppose a
silly thing. Free traders and chronic
reformers ought to be given mOnop
oily of that kind of supposing.
This is a stand pat year. So will
next year be. and the year after that
and many years after that. Ne shoulo
all hope. When a different condition
comes. and when revision of the tariff
is called for 10 promote the genera
eOod-when a decrease of some of tbs
schedules and an increase of some "a
the schedules shall obviously work t
the advantage of the country as :
whole-then tariff revision shoul5
come and will come.
Should it come any sooner thar
that? The best craftsmanship of the
country says no. The business inter