Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1891 — Prolection's Cheek. [ARTICLE]

Prolection's Cheek.

The great crops of all kinds of agricultural products are now attracting universal attention; and already the protectionist organs are congratulating themselves that these big crops are going to make the farmers so happy that they will forget all about agricultural depression and go on voting for the blessed high tariff. The organs do not even stop here, but have the sublime cheek to claim that these big crops are due to the McKinley law. Thus the New York Tribune, the chief sinner of them all, has the assurance to say: “The expansion of production at this time is not entirely a matt rof luck. One principal object of the new tariff was to afford better protection to agriculture. It contained new duties for the express purpose of enabling American farmers to secure the home market more fully. At the same time it gave them assurance of expansion of manufactures and establishment of now industries, creating a far greater horns demand for their products. Early last fall, as soon as the new tariff went into effect, these resulti were perceived. American farmers, thus encouraged, increased their production in every direction, and so rapidly that they might have found reason to regret it if unusual foreign demands had not arisen. The encouragement of industry here was the legitimate fruit of a tariff intended for that purpose. ” But who can discover a single farmer that planted more this year of the McKinley law? Such a tarmer ought to bo found at once for exhibition purposes. Any dime museum could offer him a good salary. The idea of McKinley encouraging farmers who export an enormous surplus of their products!