France's Reply

A short time ago France raised the tariff on meat foods, as follows: On beef, from 20 francs to 25 francs per doublé cwt.; on mutton, from 28 francs to 32 francs; on fresh pork, from 10 francs to 12 francs; and on salted beef and other salted meats, except pork, from 23 to 27 francs. A franc is 20 cents. This is a part of France's reply to the McKinley bill. That bill helps the manufacturer and hurts the American farmer; it "gouges him in every section and robs him in every paragraph." The farmers' great marketand his surest one is in the manufacturing countries of Europe. The smaller the tariff tax on European products the better is the farmer's European market. High tariffs here beget retaliatory high tariffs there:-and they strike at the farmer every time. is the American farmer ready to throw away a certain and profitable market for a chance of making one in South America where there is none at present, and for one that will not be of much benefit after hegets it? If so let him indorse Blaine's moonshine reciprocity scheme. But before he does let him read the story of the dog that dropped his piece of meat to grab the reflection in the water As the Chicago Herald says, "if the farmer wants to know how much good Blaine's scheme can do him let him try to fatten his stock on pictures of hay stacks and keep his Family warm with photoeraphs oi