Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1898 — MY POPULIST FRIEND [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MY POPULIST FRIEND

HIS WIFE TEACHES HIM A LESSON IN CONSISTENCY. How the Tariff Enhanced the Value of the Sheep He Sold in Order to Invest in Some of the Government War Bonds. In argument my Populist friend seldom knows when he is beaten. He had -chafed sorely over his gentle wife’s reminder of the vivid contrast presented by the facts of history and the dismal foreshadowings of the calamity-croak-ers whose lead he had followed for several years past. She had, you will remember, in the last conversation pointed out the splendid achievements of a .great nation in the war just closed, and the splendid outlook for progress and humanity growing out of those achievements, and had asked him how he reconciled these things with the declaration of the Populist platform: "We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, material and political ruin.” And when he had apologized for this ridiculous asseveration as among the first utterances of a new party six years ago, the good wife reminded 4iim of something more recent in the same line, when, only two years ago, he had carried a banner which declared that "a vote for McKinley means 25 cents a bushel for wheat and 10 cents a bushel for corn.” So my Populist friend had retired from the controversy hurt and humiliated. But he had been thinking of things over night, and the next day he sought to recover some of his lost ground. “Tell me,” he cried, pointing his finger scornfully at his wife, “Tell me, if you can, what McKinley has to

do with the prosperity of the farmers; point out, if you know how, where the toiling masses on the farms get one direct benefit from him and his protective tariff policy.” “Oh, husband,” and she stamped her foot lightly, betraying the impatience which she felt, “how can you be so inconsistent? Where did you get the money to buy the few hundred dollars’ worth of Government bonds, which made you feel so good? What did you sell?” “Sheep.” And he flinched before the argument which he knew was coming. "Yes, sheep. Your business sense was l>etter than your political sense, thank goodness. When McKinley's election was assured didn’t you buy sheep? Didn't you think they would go up? What made you think that? Was it because you thought that more wool or less wool would be imported unor the laws he would give us? Didn’t you know that his tariff law, his protective tariff law, on wool would shut out most of the cheap wool that was coming from the four corners of the earth, and that the law would enable our home farmers to raise wool at a profit? Hasn’t thaf made sheep go up in price? Isn’t that where you get your profit? Answer me.” But he answered not. "Now, think of this,” she proceeded. “Taking the average of all our people, the country over, it takes the wool of one sheep to supply the needs of each person; possibly a trifle more. In 1897 it took about 8% pounds to each person, ■while the average weight of a fleece of ’ wool was about <94 pounds. YA on a basis of the amount used in 1894, 1895 and 189 G that quantity would have very nearb' supplied each person. Then we have it, one person, one sheep needed. We have over 72,000,001) inhabitants, but how manj’ sheep? Ixxik up the Government records and you will find that in 1893 we had almut 47.000.000 in the entire country—enough to supply a little over halt our wool. Did the tariff reform party that was in jtowrr then try to help you nud ine by waving our home market for us? You know as well as I do that they put wool on the free list, so that It could come from everywhere; and In four years our flocks dwindled down so that In 1897 there wore only nltout 36,000,000 sheeji In the country—not enough to supply half our wool. "Why this decline? It was because the American farmer could not produce wool at a profit and compete whh the cheap wool of the world. Think of It. husband—think of It. Wo, an agricultural people, suffering hardships during those tariff reform times, looking for diversified branches of agriculture, actually sending everywhere for wool, when we could have produced It in Abundance on our own pastures. Why. that coat you have on. you don’t know ■whether the wool came from Servia, or Turkey, or China, or some other country of cheap labor and cheap living. In the last yiwr of nji.it free trade In wool policy England sold us over $28,000,■OOO worth, not raised In England, but bought of Russia and Sirvla and Spain And Turkey and Argentina and Peru

“HOW CAN YOU BE SO INCONSISTENT.”