Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-06
A WALSH DEFINES
PARTY ISSUES

Y clearly stated than the way
Z Senator T. J. Walsh stated the CASE
of the democrats against the repub'
lican party in his speech Thursday
night in the Grand theater. IT was
comprehensive in it's thoroughness
and SO simple in its presentation
that even those who are not close
students of national affairs could
understand. That the senator
scored every one of his points was
evident in the rapt attention given
him and the whole hearted applause
with which his speech was punctu-
ated.
Quite naturally the senator con-
fined his range of discussions to
national questions, the national
capital having the orbit of his &C
tivities for the last 10 years. But
he dealt with these issues from the
standpoint of the Montana farmer,
Iaborer and business man, showing
the vital relation between the at
fairs of the industries of this state
and legislative activities of the re-
publican party.
The senator took up the tariff
first, that being the most recent leg
islation enacted by the republican
administration. But he did not
slight the revenue bill which was
passed a year ago, nor did he ov-
CROOK the Newberry case. He paid
considerable attention to President
Harding's ship subsidy bill, too,
contrasting the administrators at
titude on that great expenditure OF
money with the presidents attitude
toward the expenditure of money
for adjusted compensation for u
soldiers who served in the world
war.
Experts of the United States
treasury and the federal tariff COM
mission were cited by the senator
as having estimated that the new
republican tariff will add a burden
of two billion dollars on the Shout
ders of the common people of this
country during the next year in the
increase of the cost of commodities
which are protected" under the
measure.
Every Montana farmer must bear
his proportionate share of this two
billion dollar increase in the cost
of the necessities of life which the
republicans have fixed under the
tariff schedules. And what does
the Montana farmer receive in re-
turn? Senator Walsh answered this
plainly: The price of Montana's
principal crop-wheat-depends up
on the ability to sell it in foreign
markets; the republican tariff shuts
out foreign countries from selling
US much of their surplus, thus they
have no money with which to buy
our wheat and our surplus of wheat
is conservatively estimated right
now to be 25o,000,oo0 bushels or
more than five times what was har-
vested in Montana this year. This
is one reason why Montana farm
ers are receiving less'than a dollar
a bushel for their crop in a year
when they had plenty to sell.
Senator Walsh scored a telling
point when he said: THE tariff
legislation which has just had the
approval of the president robs the
Montana farmer both ways-by in
creasing the cost of what he buys
and diminishing the demand, and
consequently the price, of what he
has to SELL"
Montana's copper industry has
been treated much in the same way
as have Montana farmers by the
republican administration. The
senator told his auditors that nor
mally so per cent of Montana's
copper goes abroad. The mines of
Butte are open and the smelters in
this city are running today because
Germany has again begun buying
copper. But" said the senator,
Germany can pay for it only in
the goods she produces, having no
gold, and the new tariff law was
designed to shut her products out
of our market. How long, under
the operation Of that law and the
international troubles in which she
is involved, and which our govern
ment does nothing either to solve
or alleviate, she will continue to
buy, is problenatical."
In discussing the revenue bill
which was enacted by the repub-
lican administration, Senator Walsh
said that it repealed the excess
profits tax thus releasing the
profiteers from the payment of
$780, 00, 000." He laid special en-
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