68 The Tariff and the Farmer. 



paper." ''Eevision should be made, first, on general 

 principles, and further, with a view of its effect on the 

 combinations which are now becoming monopolies, and 

 thus fixing prices on all commodities produced in this 

 country. Politicians may as well understand first as last 

 that our people are not going to put themselyes perma- 

 nently under the yoke of commercial slavery, which is 

 the logical and inevitable outcome of tolerating the pres- 

 ent outrageous trusts and monopolies. To this a proud 

 people will never consent." 



Judge Birdsall, Colonel Henderson's successor as Con- 

 gressional candidate, declared that ''Iowa Kepublicans 

 believe in the greatest good to the greatest number; but 

 what is the situation! Our people are being depressed 

 by the greed and avarice of a few men. Home competi- 

 tion no longer regulates the prices of certain commodi- 

 ties. We propose so to readjust the tariff as to force 

 monopolies into competition with the markets of the 

 world. ' ' 



Again Governor Cummins of Iowa. He said : ' ' We 

 must tell ambitious promoters that they have got to 

 choose between their monopolies and the tariff; they can- 

 not have both." "The producer uses excessive duties 

 as a club to enforce more than a just price for what he 

 produces. If there were no tariff, or a low tariff on cer- 

 tain schedules, the shelter to the formation of some mo- 

 nopolies would be withdrawn." ''Protection once shielded 

 American labor and was a mine for lawful profit; it now 

 fosters industrial piracy and monopoly." 



In his letter of acceptance of nomination for the office 

 of Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Wm. L. Douglas says 

 in part: "Careful estimates show that the average tax 

 per family was about $111. Of this tax $16.52 per family 



