The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-07-05
/. HE ECNtSUN kEViE "
HE FREDERICKSBURG co.
I/NCORPORA 2ED.I
Entered at the POstottice in Denison
Iowa, as Second class Mail Matter.
SHAW SEES PANIC AHEAD.

Ex-Governor Leslie NJ. Shaw, whose
record as protectionist is we'll
known, gives us permission to print
the following portion of personal
letter addressed to F. w. Meyers.
Mr.. Shaw says:
81 want to come back some time
and make another speech in Denison
before | die. | want to call the at
tention Of the people of the county to
some specific warning which l gave
away back in the early history of
tariff agitation in the state. l want
to remind them that while they were
selling corn at 60 cents per bushel
and hogs at 5000 per hundred, they
became dissatisfied at the price of
stockings and thought the tariff on
knit goods and steel rails should be
lowered. Tariff agitation began in
Iowa The first letter OF warning
wrote to anyone was to Geo. D. Per-
kins, of Sioux City, who was perhaps
the first to start the agitation. Then
Cummins took it up and Perkins took
the other side. Then Massachusetts
and Minnesota caught the disease
from Cummins until finally it became
epidemic. Now the people are selling
corn and hogs at about one-half of
the previous price. ! am not certain
that they have made up all this loss
in the price of their stockings.
ut appeared in the papers a few
days ago that the Importation of gems,
champagne and dressed furs has fall
en- off $8.O00,0OO in the last eleven
months, but that Notwithstanding this
reduction (evidently economy on the
part of the rich) our imports have in
creased $145,0OO,0O0. In other words,
the importation of articles consumed
by the masses have increased $685.
100000. The average tariff duty is
about so per cent Add this and it
proves that the American people not
Withstanding their economies, have
consumed during the past II months
$230,000.00O more imported merchan-
disc than during the corresponding
period of 1910. The things we con-
sumo are about one-half labor. 1t fol-
lows By logic irresistible that American
labor has lost over $110,00O,000 in II
months or more than $1O,OOO,OOO per
month. There are today $4,000 idle
looms in the United States, and reci-
prOcity is not yet passed and neither
congress nor the president are through
with proposed reductions.
Crop prospects are good, but the
good crops of 1895 and 1896 did not
prevent trouble. James Buchanan said
in his message of 1857 that notwith-
standing good crops, our factories are
idle, business stagnant and universal
ruin prevails. No man in the United
States ever walked the streets in vain
TOR work; NO man ever saw his wife |
in rags or his children hungry because
of dishonesty in public Office, or be-
cause of poor crops; but millions have |
suffered the loss of employment of
any and every kind which is worse |
than any of the plaques of Egypt; yes,
worse than all of the plaques of
Egypt, through asinine legislation at
Washington! There now seems no
escape from it that whoever writes
the message to congress in December,
1913. can repeat the paragraph to
which I have referred from the mess
age Of Buchanan, for if we proceed
in the direction we are tending the
army Of the unemployed will excel
in number our regular army.
VERY sincerely yours,
L. M. SHAW"
There is much food for thought in
what Mr.. Shaw says. We do not see
how the country as whole can come
unsca tnp ID through the terrific assaults !,