Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-07

| while the pOpulation'o of Europe. Asia, Africa
and the islands of the sea were pouring into
! our country. and if a foreign pauper did not
come here voluntarily to compete with Amer
lean labor he was sent for and brought across
the ocean Reviewing the history of the early
] navigation laws of Europe Mr.. Vance said
that they had been attempts founded on
| rapine. plunder and murder to aggrandize
| nations at time in the worlds history
| when the Western nations dId not under
| stand the principles OF political economy.
! With all the enlightenment of our age, and
! Notwithstanding the changes which European
| nations nave found 1t ne eessary to make in
their shipping policy as they became more
! familiar with the principles underlying COM
merce and shipping, our own cOastwise trade
| remains exactly in the position of English
| shipping in the reign of Richard IL. We had
not got 1t yet to q position where it would cor
respond to the time even of Cromwell.
| The party in power had left the country
| absolutely helpless with its high tariff. We
had no navy. no merchant marine, no fortiti-
| cations, no guns nor anything else that would
| stand for twenty-four hours against modern
! war ships and modern guns. By the imposi-
| ton of duty of 100 per cent. we might be
able to keep out foreign ships bearing mer-
chandise, but $50 per cent. du would not be
sufficient to keep out ships bearing Krupp
guns. We had neither ships nor commerce
| nor sailors. We could not long continue to
tax the American people in the
| interest of little stump monODoles,
and neither orators nor newspapers
! and contemplate cry of ''British gold" Were
| our people not capable of self-government?
| If they want free ships why should the Sena-
! tors say nay? Did not foreigners come here
! and engage in every American industry2
| Mr.. Vance read from the London Economist a
| list of some twenty great JOINT stock cOmpa-
| nies that own millions OF acres of American
| land. He also read from statistics to show
| the reduction of our wheat exports within a
! few years. owing to the development, by Eng
| land, of wheat culture in India, induced by
! our high protective tariff.
Mr.. Voorhees, favored the bin and opposed
! Mr.. Vests amendment. Mr. eall spoke in
faK Of 1fr 10
! necessary connection between the carrying
| trade and the shipbuilding interest. If en-
! couragement was TO be gwen to American
| smpOuldlng 1t might be done from
| general taxation, but if we could
| save Sl5O,OOO,O0O year now spent on
| foreingn shipping. Mr.. Call inquired why
it would not be well to save that money for
| our own ship owners, and therefore why not
| admit foreign built ships to American regis
| try. Whatever legislation was necessary to
| give compensat ry wages 10 American work
| lngmen II was the duty of legislators to devise,
| but they could not pass laws IN cOntraventiOn
| Of natural laws Labor might and should be
| encouraged by law, but its salable value
| could not be regulated in that way. That
| feature Of the labor problem depended on
| economical laws that could not be reached by
| our legislation.
Mr.. Plumb spoke in support of the bill
| After a speech from Mr. Bayard upon the
| general principles involved in the bill, Mr..
| Vests free ship amendment was put to a vote
| and lost by 20 yeas to 81 nays. Pending fur
ther debate the Senate adjourned.
IN THE HOUSE.
| The morning hour having been dispensed
| with, the House at ll:l0 O'Clock went into
| committee of the whole, with Mr.. Cox, of New
| YORK, in the chair, On the tariff bill Mr..
| Brown, of Pennsylvania, spoke in support of
| the protective system of taxation.
| Mr.. Townshend, Of Illinois, quoted from
| various platforms of the Democratic National
| Conventions to show that that party had
| always been in favor of tariff reform and had
| always declared for a revenue tariff. Some
| gentlemen repudiated the term 'prOtection"
| and took refuge behind the term ''dscrimina-
| ton" 1t would be found to be the qulnt.
| essence Of protection. If 1t was not the proper
| time to begin the work of tariff reduction
| when a Presidential election was coming on
| and the people could record their votes on the
| question, when would the proper time be?'
| Mr.. Gibson, of West Virginia, said that he
| was sorry that the bill was not in such a form
| as to do justice to his section, but it came like
| all other legislation, to be acted upon and
| amended, and to decline now to consider it
| would be TO obstruct much needed legislation. |
| He was not willing to enter in coalition with
| the Repubhcan party to obstruct wise and
patriotic legislation by the Democratic ma
! jorty. He was willing to trust to the wis
| dom, honesty, good sense and good faith of the
friends of the measure to do exact Justice to
his State and exact justice to all sections.
Mr.. Randall, of Pennsylvania, then took the
| floor in opposition to the bill He Opehed by
| stating the extreme qucknesS with which |
capital invested in large industrial establish !
| ments took alarm at adverse criticisms while |
| in common with all other interests it was
| liable to be called on in taxation to aid in the
| support Of the government. Congress owed
it to Itself that nothing like vndictive policy
should be adopted. In the nice adjustment of
business affairs there nothing more con-
ducive to success than stability. If there was
| stability it was sure foundation for conf
| dence, and as a natural result capital and la
Dor moved forward in their respective spheres !
! in content and accord and with mutual profit !
! To judge from the Incorporate language |
| and exaggerated rhetoric which had so fre-
| quently marked the debate, it would seem as
| those engaged IN industrial pursuits were
| robbers and outlaws. As matter Of fact
| they were nothing OF the sort. They were
| part (and no mean partl of the business of the |
| country, and had been united under the law
| to engage in those emplOyments and there
| fore, if for other reason, they were enti-
tied to the protection Of the law. They were
part of our resources as a nation, and to de-
elOp those resources was a test of true states
| manshp. He rejoiced in the growth and
! prosperity of every section of the country. If
| the denunciatiOns of the advocates of the bill
| were believed, the men who had built up our
| manufactures had committed an unpardOna-
| bic sin.
| ENGLAND OUR FOE AT HEART.
lie could see good reason why England
| should think so, but not why such should be
the fe ling of any citizen of the United States
Great Britain had never ceased to deplOre the
loss of her American colonies. She had struck /
| as she thought, deadly bow in 1872, and
| during our late civil war she had done her
best TO sunder the two sections. Since that
| time she had changed her policy, and instead
| Of force, resOrted to persuasion and advice.
|
| fox. The United States should remember the |
| warning to fear the Greeks, even when bring
| ing gifts. He then went on to argue against
| the pOucy OF unsettllng business interests by
constant tinkering with the tariff. Should no
| law last longer than the meeting Of the next
! Congress, and should the meeting Of Congress
! cause fear and its adjournment cause enjoy
ment, should nothing be settled for time at
| least but should doubt and mistrust ALWAYS
haunt the waking and sleeping hours of the
| people? For one he was emphatically opposed
| to any such suicidal policy. 1t would be
! madness for any party to pursue it. 1t was
! submitted to every members judgment to .ap-
ply a heroic remedy to this bill or to let it lin
| ger out sickly existence bearing in its wake
business confusion and general bankruptcy.
| 1t was not based any sound principle
| There had been apologies for it, but no de-
! fense. 1t was guessed that 1t might reduce
| the surplus revenue, but nobody pretended to
| speak with certainty. There was no attempt
| for adjustment of the tariff. 1t sliced, reck-
! less of the injury it might do to certain inter
ests and industries, as well as to the Tevenues
| lt was like the famous bed OF the old rObber
| If a man was too small he was stretched out
| to its ineXOrabe length. Ii too long he was
| cut down to fit it.
NOT A WISE SCHEME.
1t was thing of measurement and not a
| wise scheme of reduction. Horizontal reduc-
| ton afforded no remedy; on the contrary, it
| made worse what was bad before. 1t was
| pGlpable confession of inability to handle the
! intricate problem at issue, or else rash eager
| ness to do so. 1t was at once uncalled for
/ unwise and unfortunate. 1t appeared to be
agitation only for the sake of agitation, always
! a mistake. 1t was the clear dictate of COM
| mon sense to have waited until the effect of
| the last tariff bill could have been learned and
| thus have saved from all passion and turbu-
| lence OF the Presidential election a question
| in which the public welfare was so deeply con-
| cerned, and which, if possible, should never be
| made a pure partisan issue. Though this sub
| jeCt ought not to involve any question of
! party allegiance. it might be well to consider
| how far its agitation might advance or retard
| the march to victory of the great Democratic
/ party. The Southern States alone were in
/ adequate to success, and which of the
| Northern states was to accept the new dis
! pensation? He would speak plainly, and utter
his fears even in the presence of political ene-
mics. Take the four great States of Connect-
| cut. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl-
| vania. The census showed that more than
| 100000 persons were engaged in manufac-
| ture in those four great cOmmOnwealths
DEATH BLOW TO DEMOCRATIC VICTORY.
Did the gentlemen believe that reduction
| of wages potent factor in winning the
| support of those people, and especially when
| Republican orators, backed by a powerful
| press, would thunder in their ears the state
| ment that the Democratic party had been the
| main cause of.that reductions He begged the
! lightly dismiss them. This was certain; thew
| would not act without warning, and it was
| kindly meant. but not less emphatcally as it
| sprang from his conviction of its truth. IT,
| however. the ineXorable logic Of events should
| demonstrate his apprehenslons to be ground
| less, there would be no one
more willing to acknowledge his error and re-
to him it seemed inevitable that the action
of the Committee on Ways and Means would
| fall little short of public condemnation He
! deplOred that such an ill-advised step should