The Springfield herald., 1912-10-25

| country and from that paralysis 1t did
not recover for four years.
Can Successful Farming give guar
antee that the history of 1892 would
not be repeated In 1912 II Demo
| cratic victory should come? The Dem.
| ocratic house in the present congress
passed tariff bills affecting the duties
on thirteen billion dollars worth OF
American products in the making OF
which are employed four million
American workingmen. Fortunately
for the country these bills were vetoed
by a courageous Republican president,
But II president should be elected
who would not veto them and con-
gress should again pass them, does
Successful Farming think the business
of the country would go booming
right along just as If nothing were i'm
pending? Would manufacturers go
ahead piling up goods for future sale
with the certainty that they would
have to meet competition from goods
made in other countries under a wage
scale one-half or one-fourth that OF
our own?
Prosperity Is gift of Cod says
Successful Farming. II that is true,
why was Gods grace withdrawn from
this country from 1898 to 1897? In
point of fact 1t was not withdrawn.
The earlier and the later rains fell as
usual. the soil was just as fertile, the
people were just as industrious and
the crops were just as bountiful as in
the preceding four years, and yet the
price of farm products during these
four Cleveland years fell Off In the
aggregate to four billion five hundred
million dollars compared with what
the sane crops would have brought
If sold at the prices which prevailed
during the preceding Harrison admin
istration. That is to say, the penalty
which the farmers of America paid for
four years of Democratic administra-
ton was equal to one and one-half
times the cost of the Civil war.
Bountiful crops are indeed In a
very large measure the gift of God" y"
But God does not look after the mar
kets. That is mans business. And it
is markets which really determine
he prosperity of the farmer. 1t is not
what he pays for what he buys. but
what he gets for what he sells that
determines his success or failure. and
he price the farmer gets for the
things he has to sell depends in larg.
st measure upon the purchasing pow
er of his customer. Men who arc
sleeping in city halls and eating at
public soup houses do not make
profitable customers for the farmer.
Nobody can say absolutely. OF
course that Democratic victory in
1912 would mean the same as Demo
cratic victory in 1892; and nobody can
absolutely guarantee that Republican
success will mean continuation OF
the good times prevailing now. But
on which side do the chances lie?
Is there any particular reason why
Democratic victory on a similar plat
form to that adopted in 1892 should
not bring about conditions that pre-
vailed then? And can any plausible
reason be given why continuation of
the Republican party should alarm
business or in any way affect the
prosperous conditions that now pre-
vail?
When Successful Farming positive
ly declares mo matter which party is
victorious the good ship of state will
ride the seas in safety because of
bountiful crops on farms" 1t is CIV
ing its readers assurances for which
there is no more substantial backing
than one. mans opinion and upon the
validity OF which the history Of the
past casts grave doubt.