Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-03-07
Another Tariff Convention.
SPECIAL AND EXCLUSIVE REPORT OF
THE OAKBUSH MEETING-PROPOSED
INTERNAL WAGON
BUILDING SUBSIDIES.

OAKBUSH, WESTCH ESTER, co N. Y, [
December Sd, 1881
Correspondence of the N. Y. Evening Post
We have had an enthusiastic Tariff
Convention in our village. 1t has been
different from ordinary conventions of
that sort where mere representatives of
the various American industries have
come together to express the supposed
sentiments of their constituents. In
this case the whole town convened, and
IL we could get the whole country to
convene in the same manner, we should
get what we want, and what leaders of
conventions do not want-an expression
of the popular wish. Our village. with
its surroundings, contains about five
hundred people, of whom one hundred
are voters These are merchants, me-
chanics and farmers, the latter class
greatly prepondersting as in the nation.
The present tariff agitation gave rise to
the convention, which was held 10 the
meeting house, as In old times, when
the place Of worship obtained this name
because it was devoted to the aseemb blage
of citizens for all purposes, religious and
secular
Mr.. Bishop Rowe. one of our mer-
chants took the chair, and announced
that the officers were: first, himself
president; Mr.. Barrow, the other mer
chant of the village, vice president; Mr..
Harrington. the wheelright and black
smith, and Mr. Leeds, the shoemaker.
secretaries. Jake Vandyke, a farmer,
arose to point of order and asked,
who pack ed this meeting?" "That's
none of your business, Jake. The ma
terial interest of the town ia what's re-
presented among the officers, as is usual
in such cases" Jake, like farmers in
General, took his reply meekly and sat
down.
"Gentlemen." continued the presi
dent, You may have all read of the
Tariff Conven lions that have been re-
Gently held in Chicago and in New
York. The distinguished patriots who
assembled in those cities have sacrificed
their time and their money solely to
save the country from the imminent
chinations of the vile free traders, who
are ,bribed by British gold. I have DO
words to express my adherence Of their
treason, Of their dastardly attempt to
reduce our people to tha condition OF
the pauper laborers of Europe, to close
our mills, machine shops, and chip
yards, and to wade to their success-the
success of their employers-through
sea of widows tears, trampling over the
corpses of their husbands, dead from
starvation. But come TO the point. The
United States and the town Of Oak bush
are similarly situated, and yet they are
not. The United States have q tariff
which keeps out the goods and manu-
factures of other oountries, and the OBJ
ject of the disinterested patriots to whom
have referred. is to keep the tariff on.
The town of Oak bush has free trade with
other towns, and the object of this meet
ing is to put stop to it. In both cases
the objects are commend bile. as shall
proceed to show. The United States are
q prosperous Nation with their tariff
Oakbush is not prosperous town with
free trade. Look how the trade prospers
In the great manufacturing towns, and
then turn your eyss to Billy Barrow
Bob Harrington, Jim Leeds, and me
Why is it we don't grow richer than we
do? Isn't 1t because you buy your gro.
Oeries to great extent down at Peek
skill and Sing Sing, instead Of buying
'em of Billy and me? Isn't it because
you buy your wagons and pl0ws there,
aud get your horses shod there some-
times, instead of fpatrOnizing Bob ? Isn't
1t because you 60 to the shoe store there
instead Of getting Jim to take your mea-
sure? Now, this thing has got to be
put . stop to, or we four will bust, and
that. of course. will be equivalent to the
busting OF the whole town. These in
dpstries that make the town must no
longer be paralyyed. In short, We must
"How are you going to get it," asked
Zeke Strong.
why, just as nations do" replied the
chairman "by either prohibiting the
people from buying anything abroad, or
by taxing them so heavily on what they
might buy that they wilt have to buy at
home. Maybe for instance, you can buy
your coffee two cents 2 pound cheaper
at Peekskill than you can buy it Of ps
or of Billy. Now, if the town will COP.
tribute three cents pound to me and
Billy on every pound you buy there, /
guess you'd have to buy at home
and thus encourage home indus
try, and 80 in the cases of Bob Harring-
ton and Jim Leeds
$50 you four fellows want to he pro-
tected," returned Zeke "Then why
don ynnl .,ssHect ,.n- a',n ..~ro Each