Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1885-01-10
Randall on the Tariff.


favor of internal taxation says:
Now, having said to you that l want
TO get clear of the internal revenue
taxation, you have rational right to
ask in what way l would collect the
public money would transfer it, or
remit the raising of the revenue, to the
approved mode Of collecting it from
duties put on imports. While all con-
cede the fact. for the republican party
concede the fact, as SO does the demo
cratic party in its platform assert, that
the present tariff needs revising, there
is great dispute among the people OF
the country as to whatNay these changes
should be made. I am free to say that
have never been able to find in the
constitution of the United States any
power which gives to congress the right
to levy duties for the sake of protection.
In other words, | have never been able,
with great study, to find a Justification
for revenue tax to accomplish protec-
ton for the sake of protection, and yet
ne have people in the United States
such legislation would promote monop-
oiies. would result in class legislation
which |, during the period of my public
life, have always resisted. We have
three sets Of thinkers in our country at
| this this time. One class want prohib-
itory, high tariff duty; another class
seek 10 have free trade established and
the third class, 10 which claim to be-
long want duties SO levied OH articles Of
| import that when they come in compe-
titiOn With those manufactured in our
country they shall have such duty
placed upon them as will result in pre-
venting their importation. BY this
equalization money invested in manu-
factories in the country would not he
| injured, and the labor of the United
States would be saved from the dcgrad-
ing level which the pauper labor in Eu-
rope has reached. [Vociferous and pro.
longed applause. And so long as /
have a right to stand in the councils of
the Union l will never, by any word,
act or deed, impoyeri,h the revenues of
the producing class in the United States
and help TO reduce it to the miserable
condition of European pauper labor. |
| wish to say that the moment we resolve
To collect our revenues through the
agency Of the tariff, that moment YOU
secure such levyiTg Of duty upon foreign
produce, we will bring no injury to those
engaged in producing the same article
| in the United States. And let Inc tell
you now it is more ma tier of an arth-
me ,ical sum that any body can do. The
imports of the United States are about
| $500, ,0O0,000. Two hundred millions, or
two hundred and ten millions, is receiv-
ed from that source, which would give
Ian average rate of duty upon foreign
products Of 40 per cent, and if YOU will
in an intelligent, business-like make
the duty on some articles higher and
the duty on some other articles lower, a
general average can be maintained so as
to secure two important objects. First.
revenue sufficient for the support of the
government of the United States, and
second, an amount sufficient to incident
ally protect every industrial interest in
the country. Now, free trade, in my
Judgment, is absolutely impossible be-
| tWlnn fpn ri xrha . 10
rate of interest in the one is lower than
the business rate ofinterest in the other,
or where lower wages are paid for the
same service in one than in the other.
| For when lower rate of interest exists,
and lower wages are paid, that condi-
ton of things will come around, and will
bring merchandise to the country where
the higher rate of interest prevails, and
it belongs to the country where the
higher rate Of interest prevails to adopt
one Of two remedies. They must either
lower the legal rate of interest or adopt
the doctrines enunciated in the last
democratic platform, made last July at
Chicago, by filling up the gap between
the cost Of the article in the foreign
country and the cost of the article in
this country. The platform enunciates
no new doctrine. 1t was maintained bv
Mr.. Madison, it was maintained by Mr..
Jefferson, by Jackson and James X.
Polk in that celebrated letter to my own
townsman, John X. Payne, in 1914, and
upon which letter James X. Polk and
George Nj. Dallas carried my state.
have during the day had an opportunity
Of visiting some of the manufacturing
establishments of this city and | have
been greatly struck with the advance
made and with the perfection reached
in this particular and l look on the
coat Of armor of Tennessee and say to
myself in will not be long before this
people will add to that and place be.
tween the two the word manufactures,
so that it shall read agriculture manu-
factures and commerce tell you we
have right in the south to live we'll.
Every nation on earth struggles to that
end and why not the south? You have