Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1891 — Wise Words from Simpson. [ARTICLE]

Wise Words from Simpson.

Congressman Jerry Simpson, of Kansas, has boen talking in Washington to a newspaper correspondent about tho ills from wh ch the farmers are suffering, and the remedies which ho proposes. He shows that he is “right side up” on the tariff question. Comp aining that parallel lines of rails road running East have combined in order to put up freight rates, ho was asked whether he did not expect any benefit from Southern routes in competition with Eastern. To this question he replied: “Weil, we did take a good deal of interest iu a proposal to improve Galvcs-, ton harbor, as it promised to give us a more easily accessible outlet through tho Gulf. But, dear mo! with our present protective tariff, what’s the use? No sooner is an opening found anywhere for getting American products out of the country than the Government, stops it up again at a custom house, so that nothing can get into the country from outside without paying an extortionate toll. The trouble with commerce, as witli any other form of exchange, is that it takes two parties to conduct ti; and we Americans can t expect other peoples to buy our goods if we refuse to accept theirs in return.” Socks, or no socks, that is sound doctrine, and the coming forward of stalwart, common-sense farmers like Simpson to teach it to the people and enforce •it in Congress bodes no good for McKinleyism. It means that this monstrosity is tottering to Its fall.

time last fall a trust of type foundries was formed to get the full benefit of the 25 per cent, protection. Recently the lowa State Re.lister, the leading Republican paper of lowa, wanted to buy new type and found that the price was one-third higher. This paper has a habit of discovering the deep schemes of the Cobden Club, and then shouting itself hoarse against “British free trade;” but here is what it said when it knew that the “combine” had put up the price of type: “Competition is a necessary and indispemable factor among American manufacturers, and all combines must be made to understand than when they form trusts to decrease discounts or to advance' prices, the duty on goods manufactured by the combines must be removed.” As ninetenths of domestic industries are controlled by combines, the Register's remedy would bo praetially “British free trade ” The Nebraska State Lumbermen’s Association has accepted the proposition of the United Lumbermen to consolidate the two organizations. A convention is to be held in Chicago in May to complete the consolidation, and then the trust will include practically all Western dealers. It is alreaiy announced that the few independent dealers will be boycotted. The duty of $1.50 ter thousand will, in a large measure, prevent competition from Canada.

When our forefathers made the first tariff in 1789. they selected articles of luxury on which to lay the highest duties. In this way carriages were taxed at the highest rate found in the first tariff law. But our fathers had a different idea of what a high tariff is from that which prevails now. The highest duty in their tariff was only 15 per cent We have many McKinley duties ten times as high, and some even higher. Db. Brown used to style his colleoion of extracted teeth “gum drops.”