The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1913-05-08
THE new TARIFF BILL
Has Already Caused Cotton to Drop
More Than Five Dollars
a Bale
FARMERS DENOUNCE THE BILL

FARMERS DENOUNCE THE BILL
Will Drive Thousands OF Voters Away
From Democratic Party-A Major
ity Of the Oters of the Country
Are for ProtectiOn-The Position
Of the Progressive Congressmen-
Joke Discovered In the New Tariff
BilI-Steel Trust Gets Favors-
Wilson and Bryan Fall Down on
California and Japanese Situation.
Special to The Caucasian.
Washington, D. c., May 6, 1913.
The National Farmers Union.
through a meating Of it's executive
board, just held, in New Orleans,
has passed resolutions denouncing
the pending Democratic tariff bill
The radical cuts made in the tariff,
by this bill, are denounced generally
as being in the interests of foreign
manufacturers and foreign laborers.
Special mention, however, is made
of the fact that the attack made on
the cotton schedule will not only
close up many cotton mills but has
already had the effect of reducing
the price, on cotton, to the farmers
of more than five dollars a bale.
The action of the Farmers Union
in passing these resolutions is most
significant inasmuch as the whole
membership of this great organiza-
tiOn is made up of farmers and mas
much as at least nine-tenths of the
membership of this organization is
composed of men who were born and
raised as Democrats.
Marked Uneasiness Among Demo-
cratic Congressman.
This action on the part of the Ma
tional Farmers Union, together with
protests coming up from manufac-
turers, farmers and laborers, all over
the country, has produced a marked
uneasiness, to say the least, among
large part of the Democratic Con-
gressmen and has ratified some of
the leaders.
They all know and admit that the
Democratic party did not secure a
majority Of the votes at the last cleo
ton. They know and admit that
their party must gain votes instead
of losing votes, to have any show of
victory two years and four years
from now. They all know and some
of them admit that the pending DEM
ocratic tariff bill will not bring sim
gle vote to the Democratic party but
will drive tens Of thousands from it
in every quarter of the country.
Therefore, the state of mind of these
Congressman and politicians is some
thing really distressing. AS one
Democrat expressed it to-day: I'VE
are between the devil and the deep
blue sea, and that we will be damned
If we do, and be damned If we
don't"
A Progressive member, from the
West. who was standing by remarked
that he was mot concerned whether
the Democratic party was damned
from the right or from the left, but
that he clearly saw that the country
was going to be damned any way as
result of their ignorance and folly"
The Position of the Progressive Con-
gressmen.
Congressman Murdock, of Kansas,
the leader of the Progressives in the
House has been making q splendid
fight against the Democratic tariff
bill and also against the position of
the standpat Republicans. He has
shown the folly and the hypocrisy
Of the Democratic bill and the evils
that will result from its passage. He
has, at the same time shown that it
was the blind selfishness of the
standpat Republicans in forcing
through the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill,
in the interests of certain monopo-
lies and trusts, that has brought up
on the country the greater calamity
of Democratic tariff.
He has pointed out that a major
ity of the voters of the country are
for protection and so voted, by a big
majority at the last election. He has
pointed out that the millions of vot
ers who repudiated Taft, and voted
for Roosevelt, did it, not as an en-
dorsement of the Democratic posi-
ton, but did it in the interests Of
protection, because they considered
the extreme reactionary position Of
Payne and Aldrich, while not so bad
as the extreme action Of the Demo
cratic party, yet one that would dis
credit protection as a great American
principle. He has declared that if
the voters who favored protection
had supposed that there was any dan
ger of a Democratic victory, that
they would have gotten together on
some basis to save the country from
this calamity.
In a recent speech he stated that
"the Democratic party, knowing that
thoy did NOT have the endorsement