Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-10-04
DEMOCRATIC FREE TRADE.
it Was All Myth as Prices Have
Risen to Highest Point in
American History.

Washington, d. c., September %.
Reduction in the high cost of liv-
ing, as promised in the Democratic
platform of 1912, is a myth" de-
clared Representative Julius Kahn,
of California, ranking minority mem
Der of the House Military Affairs
Committee, in statement given out
here today.
I'm 1912 the Democratic party
promised the people of the United
States to reduce the high cost of liv-
ing" said Mr.. Kahn. They fulmin-
ated against the protective tariff and
blamed the latter for contributing
to the increase of prices for food pro-
ducts of all kinds. This is the plank
of that platform:
1.-The high cost of living is a seri
Gus problem in every American
home. The Republican Party, in its
platform, attempts to escape from
responsibility for present conditions
by denying that they are due to d
protective tariff. We take issue with
them on this subject, and charge
that excessive prices result in
large measure from the high tariff
laws enacted and maintained by the
Republican Party and from trusts
and commercial conspiracies foster
cd and encouraged by such laws, and
we assert that no substantial relief
can be secured for the people with
out import duties on the necessaries
of life are materially reduced and
these criminal conspinacies broken
up
Like many another plank it
seems to have been inserted in the
platform in the nature of 'molasses
TO catch flies
Instead of reducing the price of
living under this Democratic admin
istration the cost of food products
has constantly increased. Uncle
Sam himself feels the pinch. He is
the greatest purchaser of commodi-
ties in the United States. He can
buy cheaper than anybody else be-
cause he buys in such large quaint
ties. In 1913 at the time the Dem
ocrats took possession of the coun-
try and promised to reduce the cost
OF living he was paying twenty-three
cents day per ration for every en-
listed man in the United States
Army. That was the cost of the
Army ration at that time. The ra.
ton itself has not been changed for
about eight years. The same arti-
cles of food that were given the SOL
diers in 1903 are supplied to them
today. Acting Quartermaster Gen
eral H. G. Sharpe, who testified be-
fore the Committee on Military AT
fairs last March, said that for the
year 1917 the cost of each ration
would be thirty cents. It's cost has
increased steadily since 1913. Every
year saw an increase until now the
ration amounts to thirty cents per
day There are approximately $780,
600 men in the regular army and the
National Guard at the present time
An increase of seven cents per ra-
ton means that the taxpayers OF
Uncle Sam have to pay $1,000 a day
more than they would have had to
pay in 1913 to feed Uncle Sans sol
diers. At that rate the increased
cost to feed the army amounts each
month to 1925, 900, or $1,000, OOO
per year more than when the Repub
licans were in control. The taxpay.
ers are called upon to meet this
heavy increase. But it is not only
the food for the Army that has in
creased in cost. The cost of cloth
ing, shoes and equipment generally
has gone up in proportion.
The Records of the government
disclose the fact that under the I'm
derWood tariff bill, which is probably
the lowest tariff this country has ev-
er had, prices have advanced steadily
and the end is not yet
THE Democratic Party proclaim
ed in 1912 that the protective tariff
was responsible for the high cost OF
living. 1t was beautiful theory
with which they fooled many of the
voters of this country. The people
are wiser today. Under Democratic
free trade prices have risen to the
highest point in American history.
"Will the voters again be fooled
by Democratic sophistry in Novem-
ber?"