Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-08-26

TO be allowed to send in the saws and mill
gear that manufacture the lumber. Oh, no,
we must import those from England and
when you 60 through the whole treatv every
article of manufacture in the United States il
excluded. Our market is to be open to their
raw products and they take the whole list OF
their manufactured articles from Great
Britain. Now, gentlemen, it is already init
mated through the Presidents message that
this kind of a one sided reciprocity treaty
follows in the wake of the fishery question.
which is TO be adjusted by an international
commission if Congress can be induced to
pass it. On that question the democratic
party is on one side and the republican party
is on the other. Thus in the whole field of
protection or free trade we find the republi-
can party on one side and the democratic
party on the other. / would be glad in any
audience that stand before to find one per-
son who would rise and tell me of one single
issue in Maine. one single material interest,
one single manufacture, one article that a
farmer needs, in fact, in the whole broad
domain of the State one thing that will come
to any portion of our people by reason of
abolishing the protective tariff. | would be
| glad to have one mentioned. | can point out.
| think, by the score the ill effects, the disad-
vantages, the distractions and the losses that
will come from destroying the protective tar
| ff. We stand face to face with that issue.
| II is not brought here for political effect. Ii
is not brought here for mere campaign use.
| 1t is not brought here merely 10 catch votes.
1t comes before the people directly and un.
avoidably-the moment you are asked to
| elect representative in Congress The peo-
| pie of Maine are called upon to elect four
representatives in Congress. They are called
| L., sLct ,L,l1 II,
a senator of the United States, 40 that in both
branches of Congress the voice and influence
of Maine are to be decided in the coming
election on this engrossiug question of a pro-
tective tariff Let me now say word per
sonal although dislike to bring any per-
sonal act of my own into public speech.
! | have been met since | came into the can
vass with circular everywhere distributed
through the State, charging me with having
advocated the distribution of the whskey tax
among the people of the several states, and in
doing that am charged of being guilty of
something very hostile to the temperance
cause. The United States today gets l00,-
0O0, 900 of dollars from the whiskey tax. Two
dollars out of every seven that the govern
ment gets comes from that source. Do you
think that wrong? Did you ever see the use
of any article increased by putting heavy
tax on it? Do you think putting u heavy tax
on whiskey has tended to increase its con-
sumption among the people? No, it has con-
| stantly decreased it, and the consumption OF
strong drink has steadily decreased within the
last few years. 1t has decreased much in
| the last sixty years, not by reason of the tax
wholly. Today the people of this country do
not consume more than one-sixth part per
capita of strong liquors which our grandfath-
ers consumed. Four years ago movement
was made by some republican and democrat
| ic members of Congress to abolish the whis-
key tax and let whiskey 90 free, not only on
| the ground that il should have any immunity
| from taxation but on the ground that we
didn't need the tax and for projections sake
| the tax had better be kept up on foreign ar
| tcles of consumption. If the national gov
ernment do not need the one hundred mil
| lions of tax don't you think it better be kept
on whiskey, even if the states had to take the
money sWould you give it a license to roam
everywhere and leave it without tax or re-
| straint, or don't you think it might very
wisely be turned inlo some good purpose by
holding it under taxation, and if necessary
increasing taxation. until you could tax it
out of existence if it were possible? Cries
of good and applause and | should as a
citizen of the United States. voted, l be-
if the day comes when the national govern
ment needs the tax no longer would rather
keep it on it and distribute it among the
States than to increase the tax on the poor
mans house and on every farm and
on every article of property in
this country. l say we could use
that to good advantage, and | believe it is
according to the most orthodox religion to
make the devil serve the cause of good
therefore. instead of apologzing for that act
| say would do it again.
A country is never in danger of losing an
important advantage so much as when it has
become entirely accustomed to that advan-
tage. | see before me a large number OF
young men who have grown up since the war.
majority, large majority of this vast
audience took no part in the affairs when the
war opened. We passed at that time from
free trade to protection. This generation has
grown up with protection. They have seen
this country advancing with gigantic strides
in prosperity, and they think that is the
normal condition of the country, and that il
be no more changed than the organic law
of the land. Now if it didn't cost
too much, if it didn't involve too large
sacrifice of the great interests,
| should like for five years to see this country
under free trade and make the generatonwhict
is in danger of not appreciating the bless
ings of protection, fight battle while on the
other side. Give the protective tariff the sg-
gressive instead of the defensive. Let the
people try free trade. Let the labor organi-
cations of this country try for a time tht
wages they would be paid if free trade were
to rule in this country. Let them realize
what is paid in England, and if free trade
were adopted that they would have to take
the same or nothing. Let all these younl
men who have been reared in the lap of lux
ury, or at least with all the surroundings o
| comfort and affluence, try the other side
while Let them go back and find thi,
country where the republicans found it wher
| Lincoln was inaugurated, and for FIVE year
try the condition of affairs we were in wheI
the war broke out. Probably in the fortune
of this world, as providence wills it, we ma,
do, | am sure that the gentlemen who nov
speak lightly of it and vote lightly upon
and pay no attention to the vast advantage
that are included in that policy for them
selves. they will wake up some fine morning
and witness different picture.
said yesterday and l repeat it, want Il
say it to every man engaged in what is calle'
the labor organizations of today. hope ther
| is some here who do me the honor to lister
to me, and want them to ask me how ar,
you going to keep up the standard of you
wages? How are the great multitude o
American workmen, mechanics skilled AM
unskilled, going to keep wages above tn
average stand of European wages il you tax,
| tho nrotaafiva tariff IL any man vii