The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-16

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consume anything that is produced, but | claim
protection is best for You think more.
great deal, of cheap shoes than you do of the
shoemaker while in America we think more Of
the artist than of his work"
After describing the wrctched condition of
the lasorers in Birming CHAM and surrounding
towns, he said: God forbid that American
labor should ever be embodied in any production
that should be cheap enough to be sold to the
industrial towns that surround Brming CHAM"
Much was heard about free trade He denied
that the free trade Democracy of this country.
a represented on this floor was in favor of free
raw material. Under the present tariff, every
element of raw material which could be dis
covered was already the free list. The pend
ing bill put twenty thirty articles on the free
list, but not one OF them
the brine which was pumped out. Coal
i'll the earth, selling at certain rate
per ton. 'unsight, unseen" was raw material;
but when thousands and hundreds of thousands
of dollars have been expended in making it &C
cessible to mans use, it was not. Alcohol was
raw material and only two Observation-Disclosures.
Hewitt and Randall-were in favor of putting it
on the free list. What was charged for the use
of natures solvent, for which the wit of man
had yet discovered no substitute! Before the
American farmer could advance his raw ma
terial-corn-one stage in manufacture, he had
to pay 80 cents peck The same was true of
tobacco. 1t was tax on the producing and
trading classes. In the race for cheapness, pro-
ducton left prosperous countries and found
its way to the most oppressed Of those whose
people would work for the smallest modicum of
food and clothing. The United States had en-
tered on the work of banishing manufactures,
and he asked that the tariff rates be reinstated,
as he hoped they would have been by the major
ity of the last Congress- By abolishing the duty
on quinine and salt the largest manufacturer
of quinine in the country had been obliged TO
send all his stock abroad, and to employ cheap
German labor and cheap raw material in its
m By putting a duty of
md tlY,
plates, the United States had succeeded in es
iabiishing manufactures, but by the displace-
ment of commait had happened that only duty
of IL 10 cents had been imposed The effect of this
had been to strike down the industry. The
sapient Secretary of the Treasury had held the
word highest in the last tariff law meant
Lowest" and on account of the ruling the wire
rod makers were importing wire rod, pretty well
made, from the other side of the water.
Mr. Hewitt. of New York, suggested that the
Republican and not the Democratic party had
done that
Mr. Kelley replied that if the % percent
Democrats in the last Congress had united with
the Republicans, the tariff on wire rods would
have been placed at such rates as to enable
Americans to manufacture them.
Mr. Hewitt-Would you have allowed us to fix
the thing in a conference committee!
Mr.. Kelley-Yes, sir; no Democrat would
serve on that committee save Mr.. Carlisle, who
served quietly in order to observe what was
done.
was Republican performance
Mr. keley-The conference had to deal with
the materials you sent US. Are there Repub-
hcans in this House who propose to reduce duty
on wire rods 20 per cent? Who voted for it to-
day-Republicans or Democrats! Don't let us
talk about what occurred a year ago. Let us go
back only two hours.
Mr. Kelley then repeated the assertion he had
made, that production had outrun consumption.
Every reduction of wages diminished
the power of the masses to consume, and mag
nifed the evil from which the people the whole
industrial world, were now suffering. This evil
could not be mtigated by a 20 per cent reduc
ton in tariff too light on a good many
articles which should be produced in the United
States, nor by blow at the agricultural inter
ests. The south of Russia was now engaging
Americans to erect elevators. to build factories
for American agricultural machinery, and to aid
in the construction of railroads to seaports. and
if the farmers of America did not care for their
interests, and did not strive by proper legis
lation to diversity their agricultural products
their markets would be gone In comparison
with the prices they now received for wheat
they would receive price little more than nom
inal He could see but two means by which our
markets could be increased, with third means
glimmering in the future-stop all importation
of cheap labor; send back to whatever country
they came from the men women who had
signed contracts in foreign lands or on shiphoard
TO work at lower wages than the wages of the
American lahorer; see that wages were kept so
high that the public schools might be well
sustained and children reasonably well
educated. Let not American homes become
degraded Protect American motherhood against
the degradation of becoming drudges He adj
vocated the production of sorghum in the West.
and especially in the Southwest. as a means of
diversifying the labor of the American farmer
and enhancing the sale of his productions Let
the country be isolated. 1t was unlike any other.
1t was not a monarchy or an empire 1t was
free republic, every human being belonging to
which was a citizen. with the rights of free
man, and with the duty before him of helping to
maintain a government which could only live ms
long virtue, intelligence and Independence
characterized its citizens, and this it could not
do if it was to begin an tinholy race for the
'cheap and nasty
Mr.. Mills was the next speaker Reduction of
taxes must come ON some things, and the ques-
tons presented for decision of Congress were as
to the articles on which reduction should be
made What article commended itself most
strongly to consideration? What article should
be cheapened in order that consumption should
be increased among the peOplel Was it whisky
or food! Was it whisky clothing! Was
it whisky or implements of labor! The
tax came from three classes--dstilers, holders,
of government securities and national banking
interests; and they were arrayed against the in
ternal revenue because all three were deeply in
terested In maintaining the national debt. The
pending bill was extreme in nothing. 1t ex-
ceedingly moderate 1t woul prove a substan
tal relief from taxation to the people; but that
was only one-half the good thai would result
from Its passage. 1t would remove distractions
III the way of expectation of American agricul
tural products; it would increase importation; it
would increase expectation: it would increase
the value of EXPORTS it would decrease the price
of manufactured products He reviewed !
the tariff legislation of the country to
show that the condition of the industrial classes
was better and the community at large more
prosperous during the low tariff epoehs than
during the maintenance of high protective tariff
rldCulPd the
labor were affected to any material extent by
acts of Congress. Wages were affected only by
demand He contrasted in forcible language
the present depression Of our foreign carrying
trade with its f0urishing condition previous to
the God grant that the time may
come. and come soon. when our commerce |