Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-11-03
What the Register Thinks eS Con. Goa's
Speech.

What the Register Thinks OF Con. Gours
Speech.
General COTS speech at Cay+d Square
on Saturday afternoon had very little to
commend and much to condemn it, to
thinkinking people. It's commendsble
character was in its non abusive features.
In this he emulstes his competitor Judge
Brannon, who throughout his campaign
has abstsined from any personal attack on
the General
Aside from this what does General Goff
offer in his speech to correct the mal-ad-
ministration of national affairs?
Really nothing Hestarts out by declaring
the surplus revenue is not a mistake, but a
sign of prosperity and wealth" What
fallacy. Would Gen. Goff consider it good
sign Of wealth and prosperity, if through
high taxes on his broad acres in Harrison,
the county treasury had salted away $4,000
as a corruption fund? President Arthur,
in his message to Congress, did not think as
Gen. Gcff does, when he called attention TO
the excessive taxation piling millions Of
surplus in the treasury and recommending
as an antidote to the evil that the entire in
ternsl revenue be abolished.
The comparison between the United
States surplus and the deficiency in the
West Virginia treasury Was as unfortunate
for accurate illustration as it was lacking
in parallelism. In West Virginias case
the money is still in the peoples pockets
and by proper assessments sufficient can be
collected to make up the deficit. On the
other hand, the people of the United States,
through its reckless and improv.dent ad-
ministrationS, have been and are being taxed
a hundred millions annually over and
above what is needed for the most expen-
siye government on earth. And those mil
lions can never be replaced into the pockets
of the people from whence they have
been uniustly distracted. Does it take
wise man to see the difference or quickly de-
tect the quicksand upon which the General
has built his financial edifce?
Gen. Colts lofty protection ideas are
rs fallacious as his notions as to
what constitutes wealth and prosperity" He
is no doubt sincere in what he says, although
it is difficult to understand how a man who
has been in Congress and has had any ex-
perience with the laws of trade, supply and
demand, etc. can harbor such notions and
be sincere. To put it muddy, his views on
the tariff are so CtOpian that the REGISTER
doubts ifthere be another Congressman in
the country which takes such an advanced
position His tariff mania goes so far as
to lift him several atmoSpheres higher
in the way OF protection, than
any man who has vet come to the front
He says he would build such a wall of pro-
hibitiOn tariff that not thing of a manu-
Gactured character could come into the
country What would be the result2 A
few wears of fenormouS profits TO few capi
taiiSts who would have the monopoly OF bus
ness, and the vast preponderance Of con
sumers would be taxed 70 support the Gov
ernment and taxed to make these profits.
Overproduction, stlgnatiOn in business,
no work to employees and want
would rapidly follow making such a
chaotic and wretched state of things that
the Chinese wall Of pcohiJitory tariff would
be torn down quicker, ard he and his inn
rraatiCal notions would BE- submerged
forever
Gen. GoA' says he would 10 all this
for the workingmen The REGISTER started
out nv saying it thonght the gentleman sin
,rre out some Of his utterauces make It
hard to believe For the General Is sane
and intelligent and learned and has had
experience in Congress. His party in its
platform says: 1t stands pledged to cor
rect the irregulari'ie.. OF the tariff, meaning
it must he reduced The commission ap-
pointed to investigate persons and papers
for information uu the subject and report
to Congress- reported that It must
ne reduced. Even 4. W. Campbell
strong tariff man in an editorial on the
Coming Tarf Commission IN New York
expresses these views on the question ofthe
tariff. which may be found in the lntelli-
geuucer OF November II, i5Si.
1T advocates discriminating tarif-a
tariff. in other words, that viii pro-
duce revenue to the government and
afford what is known as Incidental pro-
lection TO American manufacturers. We
conceive that this Is the true and proper
function Of a tariff, and therefore we favor
such revision of the present tariff as will
better equaIize the duties it imposes,
With all this array Of evidence that Gen.
Goff is no. in uuision with his own party
and therefore il sincere, placed in
the useless pyedicameut of being a
party unto himself what use then would he
be in Congress anyway? If the General
had defended the Democratic bill to ex'
c.ude pauper European labOr-a bill which
was defeated By Republican Senate-the
Generals sincerity would have stood out
in much fresher contrast to his silence as
proof Of his sincerity.
The REGIsrys shall not accuse Gen.
Goff of demogOguerv, at this time. Others
msy if thev so desire, but the REGISTER
shall not. His sincerity then is the point
| from which he should be condemned; there
fore can Democrats have an iota Of doubt
that such an utopian and impractical posi-
ton as Gen. Goff takes, does not absolutely
| incapacitate him from representing this
! district in Congress.
Compare his words with the broad practl-
cal sense contained in Judge BrannOn S Ian
cuage used in bis Island speech. from which
| he has never deyiated. and not Democrat
| in the district can have two opinions tor
I ,.I,r, he cbaU % - his y~tp