Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-10-21
JAMES G. BLAINE.
He Talks of Protection and the
National Debt.

PITTsBURG, October 20.-Blaine was intro
duced to a crowd OF over ten thousand here
to-night. He said in substance: A crisis in
the tariff system of the United States IL rap
idly approaching. For a long series Of years.
ever since the close Of the war. we have
had a vast debt to be paid. However large
the national revenues, its surplus could al
ways be profitably applied to the liquidation
OF our national obligation. We have de-
creased that debt so rapidly that there re-
mains now but little more than two hundred
millions OF dollars OF it, mere than can be
paid within this century, and all OF that
falls due within four years from this date
Its maturity, thus rapidly approaching, may
be said to be
EVEN NOW IMPENDING,
So that the matter is one that must be taken
into consideration at once, because the re-
naming 500, 600 900 or $500, 900 600 go over to
the twentieth century. Under q wise
administration of the Federal governments
by the Republican party the credit OF the
nation has increased so rapidly that United
States bonds, which were at par but seven
years ago now command nearly 100 ana
holders will not relinqulsh them to the
therefore be assumed as certainty that
their payment is postponed until the next
century, and they fall outside OF the pree-
ent power of the legislature OF this nati0n-
Applause. When, therefore, you shall
have diminished the total volume oil the
OBLIGATION OF THE COUNTRY
To the amount of 100000, 900, now almost
due, what are you going to do with the sur
plus which flows annually into your treoe.
ury? What disposition are you going TO
make of the large amount which each year
you have been accustomed 10 apply to the
payment of the national debt. The protec-
tionists answer: LIT us SO reduce our rev
enue, that with wise discrlminatton. the
American laborer, in his daily earnings.
may be protected by national law. and keep
that In view as primal object: (Cheers-)
This Is a question that impends for your
de cision. and after a patient constdsrsti0n
of the probable consequences to result froza
that decision, venture the assertion that
there has not been, since the
NATIONAL ELECTION OF 1860.
A financial crisis so urgent and pressing
as the one which will be upon the American
people within the next two years. cannot
manner in which 1t should be regulated,
but can say this, tina. unless 1t Is SO ad-
justed as to continue the doctrine of protec-
tion, you. gentlemen. viii see hard times
in this country. Blaine dwelt at length
upon the magnitude OF the misunderstanding
interest of the country and in answer TO At
tacks upon his tariff ideas by the London
papers, compared the starving laboring
people of London to the prosperous working
classes of this country. He devoted some
time 10 the discussion of the injury TO
the general working public resulting from
the extremely low wages paid colored Ia
boring men in the South and the recent
notice taken of the mater by the General
Assembly of the Knights of Labor.
DENIAL.
Blaine denied that the Republican party
10 its system of reconstruction. started out
with the idea of forcing the South to take
negro suffrage. The Republican party re-
ferred the South to the provisions OF the
Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.
which prevents men whose hands have
been made bloody ON the field OF battle
against Union men, from taking part In the
government until Congress by a TWO thirds
majority shall release them from that disa-
bility. In that amendment was the pro-
vision that if the negro was excluded from
voting he must be excluded from the
basis of representation. Ten Southern
States scornfuily rejected the condition.
Tennessee alone accepting 1t. Then the
Fifteenth Amendment was passed. which
gave suffrage to every man iu the United
States who was duly naturalized or born on
this soil. Negro suffrage was now abs0-
lutely destroyed. The South took thirty-nve
to thirty-eight representatives in Congress-
and the same number of Presidential
electors, by fraud and violence, ana counted
them in the Democratic column. We ought
to be able to make solid North as they
have made a solid South