Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 115, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1909 — How Has the New Tariff Bill Affected General Business? [ARTICLE]

How Has the New Tariff Bill Affected General Business?

There are probably no persons in the United States foolish enough to say that the tariff legislation of the last congress was perfect, and there are probably hone who would contend that the measure passed did not have some evidences of special favors. Neither would any one argue that there are not men and able men in both branches of the national congress who have little regard for the general welfare of the country but are there to represent their own interests or those of some corporation. The committees that labored for many months with the tariff measure found the most conflicting testimony from various sections of the country and every one wanted a tariff applied to himself and his part of the United States. These conflicting evidences could not be harmonized and the measure that was finally passed was the best that it was possible for the real friends of the people in congress to procure. Congressman Crumpacker, of our own distract, expressed some dissatisfaction with the result, but he voted for it because he believed that it was a great improvement over the schedules it was to supercede, and Mr. Crumpacker has been in congress long enough to know that each representative can not get just what he' and bis own district want and that when the time comes to vote, it is a matter of getting the ' best possible. Congressman Crumpacker never once lost track of the republican platform and he would today agree with you and with me that the tariff in vogue is not a perfect measure and did not altogether fulfill the expectations of the people. But we will altogether agree that there has been a wonderful lot of howling that has been poorly balanced and that many of the great newspapers are keeping it up just to aid the people in promoting an uproar and that many who say the tariff legislation of the last congress was a failure would be unable to tell you a single instance of unfairness in the schedules. This agitation is, as a matter of fact, kept going by democratic papers, who are preparing to make the tariff the big issue of their next campaign, and who want first to create a feeling of distrust and dissatisfaction among the people. The real test of the tariff is in its effect on business just as the test of the pudding is in its eating. How has it affected business? The railroads are engaged In an immense freight traffic. Every railroad hand .is employed in both the passenger and freight departments. The factories are busy and are receiving orders from all over the country. The local merchants are enjoying a good trade and there were never before so many traveling men on the road, representing wholesale and jobbing houses, and all are reporting a firstclass business. Labor is generally employed and at good wages. Farmers are enjoying prosperity and on their success depends the prosperity of all the country. Business has entirely overcome its depression of two years ago and is on a sounder basis because of the experience of that money frightened panic. This should be proof of the general wholesomeness of the prevailing tariff measure. 1

' There is one complaint left. That of the high cost of living. We would like to earn more and live cheaper. That brings up the old kick about the high price of flour from the farmer who sold his wheat at the top of the market. A farmer the other day told me that he thought he would have a. big crop of potatoes, probably 100 bushels to the acre. I told him I hoped I could buy them cheap, and the best he could do was to hope that I couldn’t. The buyer always wants things cheap, the seller or producer wants a big price, and the two can never get together. Living prices can not decrease until the price of everything grown on the farm decreases, and when that happens there will be a panic for work and a scarcity of money that will make it harder to buy at low prices than it is now at high prices. When 50 and 60 and 70 cent corn goes to fatten hogs and cattle, we must not expect to buy meat at the same price we paid when corn was selling for 16 to 25 cents a bushel. What applies to meat applies to every other article of food and to practically every article of clothing. The time was when we bought foreign manufactured clothing cheap, but the American factories * were closed and there was no money to buy with. We don’t want to bpy potatoes cheap and neither do you, if to do so means that you won’t have any money to buy with. Conditions are now generally prosperous and practically everyone employed. That is a good proof that the prevailing tariff measure is in the main all right.

A committee of fifteen colored men from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky presented former United States Foraker with a handsome gold medal at Cincinnati Thursday, in recognition of his efforts in behalf of the colored soldiers who were dismissed from the United States army for alleged participation in the Brownsville (Tex.) riot. The medal was suitably inscribed and bore the names of the donors. The town of Shipton, Kans., was sold at auctioiTto Frederick Warnow, a farmer, for $2,600. The town site consists of 32 6-6 acres, with five buildings. After the sale W. 8. Irwin 1 , former owner of the town, gave a big dinner to the thousand people at the auction.