Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1911-08-17
DENIS AND INSURGENTS
POOLING THE FARMER
Former Senator Hitchcock Of This
District Discusses The Far
mers Free List Bill
EutertaiuiugIy.

A majority of the Democrats in con
gress and all of the insurgents appear
to think the farmer is an easy victim
and can be fooled by any old trick pro.
vided it purports to be in his interest.
In doing the stunt they have made
themselves ridiculous. The reciprocity
measure was passed by a majority Of
the Democrats voting for it. Now, by
the aid of the insurgents they have
passed farmers free list, pretending
to be for the purpose of reinbursing the
farmer for the losses that he may sus-
tain by virtue of reciprocity. 1t puts
the question up to the Democrats of
why, If they thought reciprocity would
hurt the farmer, they all voted for it?
The insurgents are in slightly better
fix for they voted against reciprocity
Now they have all stood for the farmers
free list This win enable them to come
home and tell the farmer that they OPP
posed reciprocity but, being beaten,
they did all they could to give him a
free list so as to make good to him
what reciprocity may cost him.
True they have all been for recipro-
city until now, were the fathers of the
idea, and they have declared for years
that it would hurt no one and do the
country great deal of good. They
each and all denied that duties on hogs
and cattle, wheat and corn, did the
farmer any good, and when the law
was up for passage that provided these
duties they all voted against the law
and said the duties would be of no help
to the farmers. Thus they have got
onto both sides of the question and
made fools of themselves. but they
trust to the people forgetting what they
said two years ago and only remember
ing what they say now. That they con-
vict themselves of being untruthful one
time or the other evidently does not
worry them at all.
And then what posy their free
list" isl 1t has been based upon the
theory that if little of thing hurts
one good deal of it will prove bene-
fetal. They claim that the free ad-
mission of Canadian cattle, wheat and
barley will hurt the American farmer
and so to cure his hurt they have pro-
vided by this free list that beef, veal,
mutton, lamb, pork and meats of all
kinds, bacon, hams, shoulders, lard
sausage, corn, wheat, oats, horses,
cattle, buckwheat -four. wheat flour
rye -four, bran, biscuits, bread and
similar articles shall come in free also.
Now If the free agricultural and food
products admitted free by the recipro-
city measure hurt, this addition of
everything else the farmers free list is
expected to make him all right.
Then, as further bait to the farmers
good feelings for thus having everything
from the farm put on the free list,
there was added plows, disc, headers,
harvesters, binders. reapers and other
farm implements: WeaLali isow expect
to see our farmers all rush mp to Canada
where they scarcely know how to make
such things, for their farm tools or i'm
port them from Holland, along with
their wooden shoes. The absurdity. of
all this is that no other country can
compete with this in agricultural inn
PIGMENTS suited to our use. and the
placing of such things on the free list,
is merely dust thrown in the farmers
eyes to blind him to the fact that
politics is great game and this far
mers' free list" is q part of the game.
Will it blind him?