Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-13
Economic Equality
Is Plea of Kansan
To the Editor of The star:

10 1Cd III 1AdASuA
To the Editor Of The Star:
I have just received the full text
Of your editorial, organizing the New
Congress" in The Star on Saturday,
February %. note with interest what
you say about party boilers. sincerely
trust that you Eastern people will re-
alize that political parties must have
a national viewpoint, and that you will
realize further that the time is over
when you can shake down representa-
| tives from the midcontinent by waving
before them the humiliation Of party
and washington isolation.
We recognize the necessity of party
government. We recognize that there
can be no party government except that
there be party regularity. You must
realize that there can be no party gov
eminent and there can be no party
regularity except when the parties have
national programs and stand for eco
nomic equality and justice for every
industry in every section Of the Nation.
For 10 years agriculture has been
receiving IS cents for each dollars
worth Of products it has exchanged for
Eastern industrial products. AT the
end Of 10 years twenty-four million
people engaged in agriculture have be-
come impoverished until they are no
longer your cash customers. The same
situation is taking place in the mineral
field. Midcontinent coal and lead fields
have been shut down and have been
In bankruptcy for several years. For
a long time they carried on their
struggle of selling their products below
cost and purchasing highly protected
Eastern steel and machinery to operate
their mines. Oil is now in the same
situation The oil fields of the mid
continent have been developed by buy
ing highly protected equipment manu-
featured in the East. These wells are
now in competition with foreign oil
wells which have been developed with
equipment purchased upon the free and
open markets Of the world This for
duty free. We asked for tariff protec-
ton and an Eastern Republican Ways
and Means Committee insolently re-
jected our plea by q vote Of seven
to one.
For 10 years Kansas has been fur
nishing Republican delegations who
have been voting tariff protection for
Eastern industries. All the while we
have realized that Kansas was paying
an excessive price for the products Of
these industries as q result OF this
tariff protection.
We have accepted the national view
that If Eastern industry were pros
porous there would be an Eastern mar
ket for our agricultural and mineral
products. The East denies us q tariff
on oil on the plea that 1t would increase
the price Of fuel oil in Eastern factories.
The Eastern delegations wholly refuse
our agricultural and mineral fields
would produce q market for their
products.
We are not boiling against the Re-
publican party-we are boiling against
the economic discrimination of the East.
On the morning of February Is the
Washington Morning Post, an Eastern
Republican paper, denounced the oil
tariff as treachery to America. On the
evening of February Is the Baltimore
Sun, an Eastern Democratic paper,
likewise denounced an oil tariff.
The Republican members of the
Kansas delegation who would not at
tend the caucus have been regular for
years. They personally voted for the
Hawley-Smoot tariff bill. In the recent
campaign stood four-square for the
Hawley- Smoot tariff bill. I asked the
people 10 hold me to the same RESPONSE
bility as II had been present in Con-
gress and supported the bill. We be-
lieve in protection for American prod
ucts. We believe that America was
never so In need of protection as it is
today. However, We firmly believe that
protection must be American protection
and not sectional protection.
II you could but read the newspapers
of my district you would recognize that
the Eastern superiority complex, re-
fiected in your editorial, Is riding for q
fall. There are 40 newspapers in this
district, 80 Of which are Republican.
Ninety per cent Of these Republican
newspapers have been regular, conserva-
tive and standpat Republican news
papers, year in and year out. Not one
of them has taken an exception to my
attitude. Many of them have edi-
torially supported my position. Re-
Gently letter was received from an edi-
tor of Republican paper in my dis
trict who has never supported me in a
primary campaign. I shall quote a part
of that letter:
you have shown good sense and lot
Of leadership in the matter of protec-
ton for Kansas oil and wish to ex-
tend my congratulations to you per-
Sonally. have done it on several
occasions in the editorial columns of
this paper and arm doing 1t again In the
Sunday morning ISSUE"
We do not want to leave the Repub-
lican party. If we leave the Republican
party we are not bolting-we are simply
being driven from the ranks of the Re-
publican party by the Eastern leader
ship and control Of the party practicing
an economic tyranny which is driving
us to another refuge in the hope that
our civilization of the midcontinent
may be preserved. It cannot be pre-
served with such economic discrimina-
ton as tariff protected Eastern indus
tries and free importation Of foreign
oil, which is destroying the great oil
and coal industries Of the midcontinent,
HAROLD McGUGN.