The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1910-01-28
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, JAN. %, 1910
THE MEAT BOYCOTT AND THE
TARIFF.

All over the country men and wo-
men are giving up their daily and &C
cuStomed ration of meat, and its not
Lent. They do not wish to do this
but it's high price and the necessity
of living forces them to. This is seri-
GUS and something must be funda-
mentally and viciously wrong with a
government that has this condition
with more cattle in the country today
than year ago and the average price
only $1.92 higher per head, according
to the report of the Agricultural de-
partment issued on Tuesday. There
fore, the farmer cannot be blamed for
the enormous increase in the price
of meat. So the question arises, who
is responsible for this state of affairs
Most people have an idea that the
Beef Trust IL accountable for the sit
uation, and we think they are right.
Through the control of the market it
is enabled to pay or charge any price
it desires. When the small dealer
IL forced to lower his price, in the
face of angry and deserving custom,
the trust maintains it's. If it thinks,
"it's business" it may lower the price
to it's customers, but loses nothing
for at the same time it lowers the
price payed the farmer; a. in Ne
braska this week, when the price of
butter was reduced, the trust compla-
Gently directed all the creameries
which is controlled, to lower the price
of cream. The trust by the boycott
loses nothing, keeps still its outrag-
eous profits, and by control of cold
storage warehouses, stocks up with
meat and butter at low figures, to be
sold at the same old rate, when the
present indignation war il over. And
in the meanwhile, the farmer-God,
help him, with his credulous, conceit-
ed, faithful and loveable nature-pays
the bill, and on election day, hurrahs
for the Republican party, which has
made this condition possible.
1t is not pleasant to be reminded of
our mistakes but conditions COMPEL
this sometimes. You wage earners,
you professional men, and you farm
ers, were all warned, time and again,
that you could not trust the Republi-
can party; were told, that it was no
longer the party of Lincoln and the
plain people, but the party of oil kings,
steel kings, beef kings, and lumber
kings. You had become educated to
the fact, two years ago, that the tariff
was tax; you then realized that our
industrial kings, had been created by
it at your expense, and you decided it
had to be lowered. Needing your
voice the Republican party quickly
promised in it's platform to revise the
Dingley law downward. And you were
almost satisfied with this political
promise, almost pursuaded, but not
quite, and it required the large and
corpulent Judge Taft, the Presidential
candidate, to come forward and turn
your wavering doubt into faith, when
promised in his Milwaukee speech that
the revision of the tariff will be, on
the whole, a substantial revision
downward"
Of course the Democrats told you
that neither the platform of the Re-
publican party, nor it's candidate could
be trusted; that the one had been
written and the other nominated by
the trusts. But, when did Democrat
ever tell the truth? You sneered at
those misguided people, whom your
leaders declared were not fit to lay
their impious hands upon the sacred
Dingley tariff, and decided that it
could only be revised by tits friends
Poor, simple, trusting dolts. Why
wouldn't you apply 20 the question,
the same common sense, you do i'm
your daily business? You know you
would not leave fox in your hen
yard, have thief in your store, or
trust your deadly enemy with the con-
troll of your welfare. Yet, through
blind allegiance to a name, you are
beguiled and tricked into electing the
servants of the very men who had be-
come wealthy by robbing you through
law
A most amusing incident occurred
in Washington last summer, which
showed the ownership Of the Republi-
can party. After the Senate had rails
ed the rates on everything that the
trusts desired, the President, with an
apparent display of rectitude, de-
manded Of the conference committee
that the duty on lumber BE- reduced
Mr.. Aldrich promptly announced, that
it would not be, and that the whole
bill was at an end. For six hours the
committee did nothing until one oi
them, who was interested in lumber
went out OF the room and pursuaded
the lumber interests to conceed some
thing and reported their concession
ia the conference committee. Where
upon MIR. Aldrich said, "Of course, A
they yield, We yield"
How much longer. will the poor con-
sumner continue paying tariff tax,
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