The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-01-26
The TariR Men.

g..
The Washington correspondent of
the Cincinnati Commercial shows up
the tariff men in a manne that ought
to be highly satisfactory to the people
of the West, if not to the gentlemen
themselves. We copy a few para
graphs concerning the debate on
printing Secretary Wells report.
Referring to Judge Kelley's speech
the correspondent says
The Judge began by admitting that
Wells figures were correct enough,
but so marshaled as to create a false
impression, or rather a fraudulent
conclusion. 1t was saying to the la
boring men of Europe. You must
not come here. for here the rich grow
richer and the poor poorer. Then
forgetting what he had admitted. he
began attacking the facts BY giving
some from his own observation. He
thought Congress would do a great
wrong by spreading such 3 document
before the world. This was all, and
the m~onopolists who had heard in ad-
vance hat the learned Pennsylvania
was going to annihilate Commissioner
Wells. and had gathered around him,
turned away disappointed. Gen. Gar
field replied In a happy little inn
promptu speech to this war on stats.
tics. He expressed his surprise that
the gentleman from PENNSYLVANIA
should admit away his case By con-
Tossing that Commissioner Wells fig
ures were correct. Mr.. Wells claims
to set up no theory or advocate no
policy. He has only gone to great
labor, and collected a multitude of
facts. He leaves US to draw our own
conclusions, and with these conclu-
sions the gentleman makes his fight.
General Garfield might have left
Judge Kelley's speech, with this clear
statement Of its condition, but he con-
tinued by ealliag attention to the fact
that in May last he had asserted that
the cost of living had gone up ninety
per cent, and WAGES had augmented
only sixty per cent: and now he had
the satisfaction of finding that his
OWL observations were sustained BY
this mastery array of figures, collect
ed with unparalleled clearness and
labor. Turning to page fifteen Of the
report. he read the statement that
the cost of living, food, clothing, and
shelter of families, In this country.
was seventy-eight per cent. higher
o than it was the year before the
war, while the a for unskilleG
labor had increased only fifty per cent.
and skilled labor only sixty per cent.
And all this comes of the mean, sell
fish use of this immense " Of the
General Government, that has been
welded without conscience or prin-
ciple, for the benefit of capital con
centrated In the hands of a few men,
The result is a failure~of republican
government, for under the thing So
called the rich grow richer and the
poor poorer. Let any man. reading
this, look about him and note how
capital has doubled and trebled In
the hands of a few Of his Deighbors.
while embarrassment, want, and ever
poverty, stare the masses in the face.
Look at the Savings Bank" roar
ed Kelley; " see how the savings Of
the poor have accumulated"
/ q a c that such deposits pay
only hall taxation of other
n most of the Stats. accounts "a,
that" responded General Garfield
Talk about your tariff being nro.
hibitory, when railroad iron. at the
cost of millions, is being bought n
Europe" screamed Kelley.
Il know something of that re-.
sponded Garfield. Il represent 4
large iron interest, and the reason
that our railroads are driven abroad
for iron is to be found in the fact thai
their orders cannot be filled at home
Come. now. Let any gentleman OF
this floor dare say that the rollins
mill in his District is not crowded
with work-has not more orders than
II a fill, and | am willing to listen,
The fact Is, these mills are running
to their full capacity, at their owl
prices, and realizing vast sums every
year."