Two Of A Kind

The Kalamazoo Teïegraph and the Lansing Journal are pounding each other over the back in a way that is sitnply shameful and its dollars to doughnuts that neither of the distinguished editors who are discounting eaeh other's assertions know what they are talkinsr about. The Journal credits the hard times to the McKinley tariff and the Teïegraph transfers the charge to the account of the Wilson'law and when tneyget tired of this game of seesaw they both turn loose and wallop it to the Sherman silver purchase act of 1890. This kind of rot might have deceived the gullible two or three years ago. But thelogic of events renders the propagation, of such nonsense a fruitless task now. Ëvents that happened a quarterof acenturyago may sumetimes be very successf ully garbled, but every one who reids is convenant with the fact that we have in the last five years had two tariff laws (and are about to have another) which have differed only in slight degree and that the Sherman silver purchasing act was repealed four years ago and still the hard times are with us. Bye and bye itwill dawn upon the doctors that they have been treating the wrong disease- that our money and not the tariit is the seat of the trouble. The panic of 1893 was precipitated not by the McKinley tariff nor by the prospect ,of the passage of a lower tariff by a Democratie congress, but hy the suspension of the coinage of silver at the Jndian minls, which at once enhanced the price of gold over 20 per cent with a corresponding decrease in the price of everything else. Then the Republicana and the Cleveland Democrats'said the Sherman law, which put $4.500,000 new money in circulation each; month. was the cause of the dis tre?s. At the dictation of Wall street the Sherman law was repealed. But times did not improve. Bonds were were issued to meet go vern inent expenses. The AVilson tariff, which with only one important exception, that of wool, was the old Kepublican Morrill tariff, was enacted. still trade was stagnant. More bonds were issued. Xo improvement in the times. Then came the election of McKinley with the proposition to make the tarirft stiil higher than the McKinley 1 w, and as vet we have only promisea of better times. A great handle is made of the fact thai agricultura! produce made a marked advanee during the summer of 1890 and, altbough au American tarilï can in no wise affect the price of such produce abroad credit for that ris-e is claimed for the McKinley tariff. As a matter of fact thai rise was due to a depreciation of gold due to the dermination of this country toextend its silver i circulation at the rafe of $4,500,000 per month. It was this expansión of the currency and not the tarilf that helped the farmer. In support of this view we have a no less distinguished authority than President Ilarrison who said in his message to Congress of December 1890. "Avery substantial improvement in the market prices of the leading farm products during the year is noticed. The price of wheat advanced from 81 cents in October, 1889, to $1.000% in October, 1890; corn from 31c. to 50 l-4c; oats from 19%c. to 43c, and barley from 63c. to 78c. The export trade in live animáis and fowls shows a very Iarge increa-e of 815,000,000.00 over 1889. Xearly 200,000 more cattle and 45,000 more hogs were exported than in the preceeding year. The total inerease in the valueof meat and dairy products exported being $34,000,0.0. Notice has not been taken of theact that the general tendenoy of the market was upward from influenees wholly apart from recent tariff leyislation. The enlargemï.nt of our curmnc-y by the silver bill undoubtedly gave an upu.ard tendency to trade and had a marked effect on prices, but this natural and desired effect of the silver legislation was by many erroneously attributed to the tariff bill."