Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-10-06
REPUBLICAN PARTY DOOMED.
An Old Time Cresco Republican Ex-
plains His Support of Bryan.

its grip, and, like the old Wing party,
will soon be no more. The people have
become tired of such great extrava-
gance; such an enormous waste of the
public money, and the resulting conse-
quences, high taxation, direct and in
direct. The latter is just as oppres-
sive as the former, but comes in such
a way that the majority of the people
hardly realize the fact, but 1t is collec-
ted just the same by the government
through high tariff or duties on i'm
ported goods of from fifty to seventy
five per cent and this enters into the
cost of home made goods the same as
imported; the duty is added to the
price, this is why the cost of living is
getting so expensive. A person can
live in Canada, just across the line for
less money then in tho United States.
A common suit of clothes can be
bought there for fifty per cent less
money than in this country, on account
of the high tariff. | believe in protec-
ton but it should be reasonable. The
fact of the matter is, in order to meet
the enormous expenses of this govern
ment it is necessary to tax the people
for all they will possibly stand without
open rebellion; and the government has
learned that the people can be ''bled"
in an indirect way with less complaint
then through direct methods. it, is
folly to talk about reducing the tariff
before we can get more economical
government. When the expenses are
cut down about one-half, to where they
should be, then the duty or tariff
could be reduced to twenty-five per
cent or one-half what it is now and
then have ample protection for home
industries. Why is it that nearly all
the necessaries of life are merging into
monopolies? 1t is because they soon
become so rich through such great
profits that all competitors are soon
bought out and there is no competition;
prices are thus set to suit their own
pleasure.
Under present conditions not only
tariff for protection is collected, but in
addition this has to be doubled for rev.
enue to meet the expenses of the ex-
travagant management which the peo-
pie are now laboring under. The
cruise of our whole navy around the
world, distance of not less than forty
thousand miles, at such an enormous
expense in treasure and drain on the
coal supply, with no other object but
display and to receive the plaudits of
foreign nations, in the height of folly
and is only fair sample of what is
called the Roosevelt policy" in the
way of extravaganza and personal am
bition at the expense of the public.
Such war spirit as we are now mani
Testing has set the whole civilized
world ''ablaze," and from now on ii
will be a race between the powers to
see which shall be masters Of land and
sea, with the United States reaching
out her best for the home stretch. -
The people of this country are now
to be taxed to build ten to twenty
million dollar battleships without limit,
for generations to come, virtually
turning this republic into worse than a
monarchy, as the right of suffrage is
but farce when the men we send to
Congress are continually Tightening
the chains around the liberties of the
people, enslaving them with the bur-
dens of extreme taxation. All this
pretended fear of foreign invasion is
only pretense. There is 40 danger to
this country if we had not single war
ship, unless we are looking for trouble,
as when we pitched into Spain. In
that case, we claimed the victory, but
they gained the spoils. We paid them
twenty million in gold for destroying
their fleets and took the elephant" off
their hands, the Philippines, Cuba and
Porto Rico. Since then Spain has
been prospecting and the United States
going down hill. Although our enor-
nous navy was not SO great as at the
present time, yet through keeping up
standing armies and increased navies
in taking care of those possessions,
the public debt is constantly being in
creased through bond issues, and there
is no telling to what extreme we will
go through the present Roosevelt pol
icy and ambition to become a great
world power. Through such ambition
for conquest as that of Car, Ma
poleon or an Alexander the Great, like
the Roman Empire the whole structure
of this republic is liable to crumble
and fall through the weight of its own
corruption.
There is no cause for fear of this
country. Our territory is SO large and
our people so numerous that we can
rest with safety, and we need not get
in any trouble with foreign countries
unless from choice, but we must exer-
else good government and be peaceably
inclined Under such conditions Of
friendship the lion and the lamb can lie
down side by side with safety.
In 1850, | crossed the plains when all
west of the Missouri river for two
thousand miles was bowling wilder
ness and the only inhabitants were
sayages. In California, mingled with