A SHORT TARIFF LESSON

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, November 4, 1892.

A Short Tariff Lesson.

   Two years ago this fall, one Chas. W. Smith came to Cortland and bought the Cortland Dally Message, and after changing its name to the Cortland Daily Journal began to boom the paper. Its circulation increased quite rapidly and the proprietor of the Cortland Standard became frightened. So badly frightened was he, that in March last he commenced the publication of a daily edition of the Standard with the avowed determination of driving the Journal from the field, but all his efforts seemed to result in increasing the subscription list of the Journal. Both papers were served to subscribers at the fair price of three dollars per year and both concerns were losing money.

   Competition between these journals waged fierce and strong for several months and finally the Standard purchased the Journal and consolidated the two papers.

   After having the field all to itself for a couple of months, the Standard raised the price of subscription to five dollars per annum. Why? Simply because competition had ceased to exist. It was the only daily paper published in the county. The people demanded a daily and the Standard could supply the demand but it wouldn't do it at the old price. It had a corner on the home market and it proposed to pinch the people and it did. Isn't it plain enough that the market is controlled entirely by the law of supply and demand? Would the Standard have dared to raise the price of subscription from three dollars to five with a competitor in the field that was adhering to the former price?

   Certainly not. It has gobbled up all competition, formed a trust or combination, and the farmer, mechanic and laboring man must come to terms and pay an exorbitant price or go without a city daily. It is the same with all of America’s infant industries. When one man or a firm engages in manufacturing which proves profitable, others very soon enter the field and competition begins. To make sales, prices have to be cut and additional facilities added in order to turn out double and tribble [sic] the amount of goods to keep the profit up to the original standard and many times, competition becomes so fierce that trusts and combinations are formed, the output reduced and prices raised exorbitantly.

LAUNDRY BURNED.

The Cortland Steam Laundry Goes Up in Smoke—Several Persons Narrowly Escape—Loss Between $10,000 and $20,000.

   At about 12:15 last Friday night, as Mr. Carlos Coleman, manager of the Cortland Steam Laundry was about retiring, he thought he detected the smell of smoke. His sleeping room is in the residence of Mr. H. C. Beebe, immediately adjoining the laundry and instead of going to bed he went to the office to search for the cause. Passing from there into the engine room he opened the door into the carpet room, when a cloud of smoke and flame struck him in the face singing his mustache and eye brows. He aroused Mr. and Mrs. Beebe, several Normal students who had rooms there and his brother Charles J., all of whom slept in the second story of the house. They were all obliged to descend by sliding down a grape vine on the east side of the house.

   Mr. C. J. Coleman got out upon the roof and was so blinded by the smoke that he fell from the roof striking on the railing of the porch, bruising him quite severely. A German girl by the name of Rosa Sager, who works for Mr. Beebe, was nearly wild with fright and screamed loudly. Mr. Coleman, notwithstanding his bruises climbed up a grape vine and helped her down to the ground.

   The alarm was sent in from box 312, corner Clinton-ave. and Washington St., and the firemen, many of whom were at Hitchcock hose fair at the armory, were soon on the ground. They worked hard but it was more than two hours before they extinguished the flames. Fifty-seven baskets and three hundred bundles of clothes, all ready for delivery, were burned. The Emeralds had water first and Orris hose threw the second stream.

    The buildings and machinery belonged to Leroy Cole and cost about $15,000. The machinery was ruined.  Mr. Cole had insurance of $6,800. Coleman Brothers had $1,025 insurance and Mr. Beebe had $1,200. In neither case will the insurance cover the loss. It is supposed that the fire started in the barn which joins the laundry and carpet cleaning works. About 1000 yards of carpet, belonging to citizens, was burned.

   The burning of the laundry is a great loss to Cortland, as it was doing a large business, which was constantly increasing.

Prohibition Mass Meeting.

   The Prohibition mass meeting held in the Cortland Opera House, Wednesday evening, Oct. 28, was well attended. The audience was largely composed of Democrats and Republicans, Mr. W. B. Stoppard acting as chairman. Prof. Alpha H. Morrill, the Prohibition candidate for Member of Congress for this district, made a very acceptable speech and was followed by Rev. T. J. Bissell, D. D., who very ably discussed the issues of the campaign from the Prohibition standpoint. The prohibitionists are so well pleased with the impression made at this meeting that they do not propose to make any further efforts in the way of speeches.

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.

Every Voter Read This.

   It is supposed that every voter knows that he does not vote directly for Presidential Candidates, he votes for Presidential electors who meet, after election, and go through the formality of selecting a President in accordance with the expressed will of the people. There will be no way of distinguishing the Republican from the Democratic official ballots except by the names, and neither Harrison's or Cleveland's name will be upon any ballot. The voter who desires to cast a ballot for Cleveland and Stevenson will cast the official ballot having at its head the names which are found at the beginning of the column of this page of THE DEMOCRAT. Voters should familiarize themselves with the leading names on these tickets. The official ballot which begins with the names of William Steinway and Richard Croker is the ballot that will count for Cleveland and Stevenson.

   >Be sure that the names of William Steinway and Richard Croker head the list of names on your electoral ticket.

   >In strict accordance with the eternal fitness of things, the Prohibition ticket will be found occupying a conspicuous place in the advertising columns of the Anti-Saloon Standard.[Satire.]

   >Last year potatoes were low, because there was a big crop. This year potatoes bring a good price because the crop is a light one. What influence has the McKinley bill had on the price of potatoes?

   >It required a strong traction engine to drag four wagon loads of Republicans from Whitneys’ Point to a Republican mass meeting at Lisle recently. A good bit of extra steam is necessary to drag them out this year.

   >Hon. Dewitt C. Littlejohn, a prominent figure in the business and political world for many years, died at his home in Oswego last week. He was speaker of the Assembly for several terms and was one of the projectors and for several years president of the Oswego—Midland railway.

   >Investigation shows that in the towns of Onondaga County, outside of the city, many more names were registered on the first day than the canvass calls for. For instance in the first district of Clay, the canvass showed 186 Democrats and 248 Republicans making a total of 484. There were registered 192 Democrats only, six more than the canvass called for, and 335 Republicans, an excess of 84 over the canvass. There is no question but that the Republicans have caused these fictitious names to be placed on the registry with the intent to have a gang of repeaters vote on the names. These repeaters from Pennsylvania will swear their votes in and they will have to be taken and counted. We hope our Democratic friends in Onondaga have taken measures to have these names erased from the lists. The other towns in Onondaga county have about the same number of fraudulent names on the list.

   >H. C. Frick and Carnegie & Co. have raised an immense corruption fund amounting to about $2,000,000, which is to be used in purchasing votes for Harrison. This ought to be enough to drive every mechanic and laboring man from the party. If the election of Harrison will benefit Frick, Carnegie & Co., it will surely work to the injury of the workingman.

   >The Standard is never interesting except when it starts out to falsify the facts. It never fails to get there when it sets out. The latest that has come to our notice, is its account of the ruction [sic] that the Republican clubs of this place participated in on their trip to hear "our Chauncey" at Ithaca last Monday. The Standard claims that the members were set upon by a crowd of Democratic toughs while in that city, their white hats knocked off and their heads badly bruised. The facts gathered from some of those who went to Ithaca are as follows: There was no one at the depot to meet the boys when they arrived and they walked down the hill into the city. It was Halloween night and the High school and Cornell students, a large majority of whom are Republicans, were out for a lark. Seeing the white hats of the strangers they aroused themselves by knocking them off. Some of the more bumptious visitors took offense at the treatment and the fun resulted in a row, wherein sticks and stones were quite freely used. Later two or three toughs joined the students in the general melee. There was no politics in it and no Democrat had anything to do with it. The students are nearly all Republicans and the shindy was participated in on both sides, mainly by persons of that political persuasion. The attempt of the Standard to lay their family disturbance to Ithaca Democrats, is both characteristic and disgusting.