The Portland daily press., 1886-08-28
MR.. BLAINE LEWISTON.

Plain Talk About Questions In Which
Laboring Men Are Interested.
Speeches Which Can Be Profitabiy
Read by Every Maine Voter.
LEWISTON, Aug 27.-The Republican cam
paign meetings in this city today were very
largely attended, each numbering about
$500 people. Mr.. Blaine did not arrive from
Poland Springs to participate in the after
noon meeting till $50 o'clock, but the audi
ience in the meantime gave close attention
to the remarks of Gen. Gibson, and to Con-
gressman Dingley, who presided. Previous
to and during the afternoon meeting a
printed circular was distributed among the
audience by some Of the Third Party people,
and copies of the same were also thrown
upon the speakers stand The circular was
entitled 'sMr. Blaine Defines His Position,
andswas as follows:
Mr. Blaine IN his speech at North Berwick, de-
clares himself in favor of government liquor taxa
ton, and distribution OF the liquor revenue
among the States. Would not this result in fas-
lening the liquor traffic upon the republic? How,
as Republican Prohibitionist can he advocate
such doctrine? Since government taxation OF
the traffic recognizes the sale OF liquor and de-
mands compensation for the privilege OF manu-
faeture and sale, does not Mr. Blaine place him.
self in the light OF an open advocate OF natlcnal
license law?"
Gen. Gibson said, in opening his remarks,
that some people wonder what interest men
from Ohio have in Maine election that they
should come and participate in it, 81 am
from Ohio" he said, "but l am also an
American citizen and come here in the in
terest of what believe to be right, and that
is to urge you to send back to Congress
every member of your present Congressional
delegation and also to elect a Legislature
that will return to the Senate the Hon. Eu-
gene Hale. 1t is necessary that these men
should be returned because of their influence
in keeping the protective tariff upon the
statute books"
Referring to the action of the Democratic
party and the present administration, he
passed in review the endeavor made to pass
the Morrison bill, and then discussed the
action of the Secretary of the Treasury in
keeping the money in the Treasury instead
of paying the bonds. When the war broke
upon us this nation was fifth in rank among
the nations of the world in point of credit,
and sixth in poiLt of wealth. When Grover
Cleveland took possession we were the
most prosperous nation in the world, and
our credit was above par He then spoke to
the young men present and urged them to
rally to the support of the party which took
the most pride in its history.
When Mr.. Blaine made his appearance up
on the grounds, Gen. Gibson closed his re-
marks, and called for three cheers for Mr..
Blaine, which were given, and the applause
continued till Mr.. Blaine mounted the stand
and was presented to the audience by Con-
gresham Dingley ''as man who is so well
known that he needs no introduction to any
audience in this country" This was follow
cd by renewed applause, at the close OF
which Mr.. Blaine began his speech.
Mr.. BIaine's Speech.
In speaking of the protective tariff and of
its relation to the interests of labor, Mr..
Blaine said the free traders of this country
all got started wrong in reading the old
books of political economy. They read in
Adam Smiths wealth of Nations" that
England produced woolen goods and iron,
and France produced silks and wines. They
had better trade mutually, instead of Eng
land taxing the products of England. But
suppose you set France and England togeth-
er and suppose you add Spain, Italy, Ger
many, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland,
and Belgium, you then have a minor frac-
tion of the United States, you have not the
half of it, The United States in point Of
climate can produce all the articles that all
those countries will produce. We not only
can produce silks, and woolens, and iron, but
cotton, and sugar, and hemp, and every 9TH
er article which is needful in the manufac-
ture of almost everything under the sun.
Therefore, the free traders have never really
understood the question, or seemed to com
prehend that in respect to the trade of the
world the United States stands differently
from that of any other nati,n 1t is not
simply a nation; it is almost a continent
and when you come to argue that we had
better exchange things with another nation
that produces it better, there is no such ma
tion. Almost the only two articles that we
are not equal to the production of with any
other nation in the world are coffee and tea,
and coffee we do not tax at all. SO, when
we meet an article that we cannot produce in
this country, like tea or coffee, we put 1t on
the free list. There is nothing to protect.
You cannot produce tea and coffee in this
country by putting on protective tax be-
cause the laws of the Creator and the char,
acter of the climate are against it. But
wherever you find in the length and breadth
of this land an article that can be well pro.
duced in this country, and. can be produced
in this country as well as in any other, then
why not give it protectionP And that leads
me further to remark that when you have
given protection to every article that you
can produce, you then Immediately have ano
enjoy, as the people Of the United States
have and enjoy today, the largest amount OF
free trade for the largest area Of territory
that has ever been enjoyed by any natloI
under the canopy Of heaven. Let me repeal
| that England herself today does not enjoy
free trade over as large an area OF country
| as the United States docs, because the
United States, within her own limits Of
| three and half million square miles, az
| large as the entire continent of Europe, has
| an absolute free trade to degree that vas
never known in any government since gov
| ernment was knewn among men,. EnggIant
| has no free trade with her colonies. They
| tax her products. England cannot export al
| article to Canada without being taxed at thu
nsssa dnst9an n hpRFe CHS crF rRnt the sEtsf6fh
| and the woolens, and the shoes that are pro
| duced in Auburn, are sold throughout th
| length and breadth of the United States
| without being taxed at any frontier, withou
custom houses, without inspection fee, even
| Therefore we combine within ourselve
| having protection against the rest of tn
world, on the largest area known in the bis
| tory of the world, the absolute benefit Wha
can come from free trade. Now, the onl,
| question is that, having this large area il
which Lewiston's cottons and ginghams ant
all her products circulate freely, do you wan
to open that to England's cottons? Tha
is the question. Are you anxious to shar
the free trade of three million and a half 0
square miles, and of sixty millions of peOpl
with the European nations? Do you thin
it would conduce to the prosperity of Lewis
ton, to the prosperity of Auburn, to tn
prosperity of the State of Maine if we er
large that free trade by permitting Englan n
and France and Germany to take part in i
and to have as free access to our market q
our own products have to this market?
you think so you are in favor of taking 8
least half the wages off the workingmen {
this community, and putting them on th
same basis as the workingmen of Europe
| and that is where the sin and the crime {
the Democratic party comes in against tn
workingmen of the United States, that the
are willing to expose them to the compel
half the wages the men are getting IN Tn
city, and this State, and, therefore, when,
have ever had anything to say upon the Ii
Dor question, although there are gre;
many subsidiary things that may be SAID, u
the one grand governing thought, the on
absolute influence that rules and contro
the whole subject is the protective tarli
and you take that off and the workingmen
the United States may make as many con
binations as they choose, and as many Q
| CARNATIONS as theV choose and as man