The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1842-09-27

Bile necessity of protection is felt throughout
the country and South Carolina, if she is
disposed to carry out her resolution of 1882,
that ga protective tariff hall not he entor-
ced within her limits" will find, in place of
the cooperation which then gave counten-
ance to her resistance, gradually growing
conviction, even in the South itself, of the
necessity of protection to sustain the true in
lerests of the whole country. Nothing is
more obvious and striking in the present as
pect of things than the fact of diminished
repugnance at ths South, to the protecting
policy,-indeed ] may say, au increasing
conviction there of its great importance and
necessity.
There is nothing which stands in the way
of a satisfactory and permanent adjustment
of the tariff upon the great Proteetive Pr'nei-
pie avowed in the revenue law of l7S9, but
the Cotton Interest, eith its unnatural Nor
hern party alliance. How long that Nor
hern alliance will be able TO sustain itself, it
would be well for its leaders to enquire -
Public opinion is pressing upon them with a
force which they begin to find 1t incOnven-
rent to resist. The people OF the North, the
Middle and the West are fast coming to see
the extent of the tribute which an alliance
with the Cotton growing interest will nm
pose upon them. And what is its demand!
Why, sir, it is neither more nor less than
thls,-that the rest of the countr, shall stand
sitH, while II raises cotton, transports II TO
Europe, purchases the products of foreign
cap Ital skill and labor transports them to our
shores, and spreads them out in all their invi-
ting forms and colours to draw from all un-
employed people unemployed without pro-
tection) their last dollar in payment for them.
This is the demandi ii was the demand in
a -. H. IL
of The country would not consent to be thus
tributary to the cotton and foreign manufac-
turing mOnopoies combined, that s. Caro- Ii
ma nulified. 1t was the power of that COM
bined monopoly aided by the recreancy of
"Northern men with Southern principles, !"
that forced upon the North n.isnamed COM
promise; and it is the same power that now
claims the compromise to be everlasting, and
would fast.n it upon the country throughout
all generations. But il ia too late in the day
to set up such claim as this. The compro-
mise has been submitted to, until il has
reached the point where revisal of the
whole system of duties was contemplated !;
and now, the people are awaking to their
true interests. They demand a tarIff-a
projecting tariff-protecting TO the interests
of all-prntecting, in the broad constitution
al sense in which the great idea was intro
duced into The preamble to the first reve-
nue. law, and in which il is hence
forth to be understood, and carried out in
the legislation of the Union.
now come, Mr.. Chairman, to the execu-
ton Of my main purpose in raising TO ad-
dress the committee. Ii was, rs | announ-
ced, to vindcate the claims of the wool grow
ers to greater protection than the bill on your
table gives them. stand here az the rep
IF h<. b.
deeper interest in this branch of industry
than any other constituency in the country
OF the 10000, 900 of sheep, according to the
returns of 1910, there were in my District,
592 737-more than one forteih part of all
the sheep in the United States. About 5000
of these constituents of mine have sent to me
their petitions for protective tariff, which
are now on the table of this committee
They furnish an illustration of what have
before had occasion to remark here, thai the
interest of a protective tariff extends far be-
yond the 79I 900 '.manufacturers and arti-
zans" who, cerlain gentlemen have argued,
were the only portion of the country TO be
benefited by protection, and that at the ex-
pense of all the rest. But very small por-
ton Of these 1900 petitioners are "manufac-
t1rers or artzans." They are farmers-the
lords of the soil, which they cultivate with
ID,
producing $50 400 lbs of wool they proda-
ced in 1910, among other things, so 900 head
of neat cattle, 1000 swine 10000 bushels
of wheat, $50 600 bushels of corn, $4,000
bushels of rye, 295, 900 bushels of oats, 2I5,-
600 tons of hay, 1852 900 bushels of pota-
toes, 0,OO0 pounds of sugar, and 1894 900
worth of butter and cheese.
Such are the people who have, through
me as their representative, laid their petit
tons on your table, for protection. And
such are the people of VERNosr, who come
here through a united delegation AMI ask
protection at the hands of this government
Tor their agricultural interests. See what
the whole State returned of the above pro
auctions in 1910. Sheep, 1852, OOO-wooI,
$500, 900 pounds-neat cattle, 1874, 900
swiue, 204, 0O0-wheat, 1876 600 bushels
corn, l. 10000 bushels-rye, 230, 900 bush
els-oats, 100000 bushels-hay, S37. 900
tons potatoes, $4,000 bushels sugar -,
4,645, 600 pounds-and S2,O0S, 900 worth Of
butter and cheese.
Standing here as the Representative of
farmers, and especially of wool growers, |
trust | shall be excused if manifest some
zeal in their behalf. leave for the present
the support of other interests to those whose
relations to them demand their special atten-
ton, and come to the great interest VIII Oh
particularly represent.
The Bill before us makes q distinction of
ten per cent between the duties on wool and
woollens-the former bring fixed at 80, and
the latter at 40 per centum al valorem. A
gainst this distinction | deem it my duty to
protest, as contrary to the established policy
of the government, and tending to the great
injury of an agricultural interest which
sound policy demands that we should cher
ish as of the highest national Importance
Let me recur, Mr.. Chairman, for a few
moments, to the origin and history of our
protecting legislation in regard to wool and
woollens.
The leading ground on which the protec
tive policy has been advocated from the first
messages of President WAsHrsGroS. and
the debates in tn first Congress, down thro'
all the Presidents to Gen. jackson, and
all the Congresses to that of 1892, is, that it
is essential to our national independence,
and especially to our independence of for
eign countries for supplies of cloth
ing, and instruments of defence in time of
war. The war of 1912 furnished an occa-
sion oftesting the correctness of this posi-