St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-10
Unanswerable Arrangement
of the Frauds and Falla-
cies of Protection.
Burdens Heaped Uponssthe
People to Make Them Poor, {
the Government Rich.
How the Minnesota Farmer
Suffers by the Tariff at
Home and Abroad. 1ei
The Ohio Ex-Congressman's
Eloquent Lecture Given
Last Evening.

| Eloquent Frank Hurd. or
How earnestly he advocates his re-
| form.
How deep and widespread is the in
tereSt in the subject of the tariff.
The fact that Harmonic hall, Minnie
apolis, was packed full of people last
evening, dark. gloomy and disagreeable
as was the night, was the best evidence
of the universal interest felt in revenue
reform and the highest tribute to the
reputation of Hon. Frank Hurd, Of Ohio.
1t was splendid audience, composed OF
about as many Republicans as Demo-
Gratis and embracing the leading men OF
both parties. 1t heard splendid
lecture. too, an able exposition OF an
economic question to the study of which
| Mr.. Hurd has given nearly lifetime.
| 1t was not free trade speech literally,
| for the speaker conceded the necessity
of tariff for revenue purposes, but 1t
| was the utter demolition of the protec-
| tive fallacy, and it was greeted at every
pause with uproariOus applause. There
was no attempt at fine language, but the
| facts had native eloquence that could
not be checked; the peroration was
| masterpiece Of effective word painting.
Thomas PEBBLES delivered the first
| lecture of the evening. 1t was short and
embraced the objects of the Minneapo-
| lis Free Trade club, and an appeal to
| all interested in this great issue to join
| it and lend their interest and their
money, In the absence of President
| LELAND he introduced Mr.. Hurd, in a
| few. we'll chosen words.
Mr.. Hurd began very deliberately to
quote Gladstone in that Americans
| bear federal taxation with great pa
| DEMONSTRATION that in other countries
would meet with such opposition that
would turn out ministers and over
| turn governments; yet Americans SIM
ply smiled at the oppression of their tax
| system. They had become familiar
with the methods of arranging taxes,
| though not since '64 had congress made
| a law regulating taxes for any year;
and yet under that same law
| the taxes of 1887 are gathered.
| Under the stress of gigantic civil war,
| this law was passed to meet the enOr
nous expenses, but there was prom
| Use that when the war was over these
| burdens should cease. The war is over
and the baby of AppOmattOx is a voter
| to-day. Over the graves of the fallen
dead twenty-five cycles have come and
gone, and the brave survivors, have
been absorbed into the daily current of
ton, designed for war, continues
in peace, and we are paying
out money now as when the
battles were raging about Richmond
and Sherman marching to the sea. A
child might publish the result. On and
on the surplus grows. $150,0OO,0O0 this
| year, nearly 300,00O,000 of totalt The
result is the withdrawal of money, the
people poor and government rich, bust,
| ness stagnant and no money save which
corrupt statesmen make In Washington.
And see the schemes to spend the Sur
| plus. Where the carriOn is. there
will the vultures be. A debAuch-
ing :Of:the public conscience efisues;
corruption in every, branch OF the pub
| lie government. The surplus must 60
business demands it and honesty COM
pels it. The two ways Of accommodating
are through the internal revenue and
the tariff. Shall the tax be taken off
whisky and tobacco? No, for they are
| luXuries, and with the tax off. they
would cost just as much. The reduc-
| ton of tariff taxes opens the only way
| to reduction of the surplus.
The method of raising revenue by
| tariff and the differences between purely
revenue tariff and protective tariff were
| told, and the speaker said he would only
| touch that part relating to protection,
| as he would concede the necessity of
| tariff tax to the extent of the needs of
| the government, economically admins
tered. Who of you knows. he proceeded,
| how much you have contributed to the
n OnVa1nmnnfC q va
| your city and state tax receipts, but
! Philadelphia lawyer cannot figure out
how much your government tax costs
| you. If he could, there would be no
| such thing as a $500, 100000 surplus,in
| the treasury. Humorously the speaker
referred to the manufacturer who gem
erously asked the protection tax,
so it would increase the
price of the imported Article
and compel his American friends, whom
he loves, to buy from him. The man
who consumes finally pays this in
creased cost. The man who buys no
imported goods pays this increase just
the same, and bears the burden of the
instance, who has sold sugar for 500 a
hogshead, secures tariff of 500 on
imported sugar; the result is that every
purchaser of hOgshead of sugar pays
500 to the treasurer of the United
States. But does the domestic manu-
facturer retain his price of 800? Not
at all. He raises at once to $3.50 or S196
| If it were not so, would he and his kind
keep the high-priced lobby at Washing
ton, as | have seen them, for fourteen
years to secure these tariff measures?
How prices followed the tariff the
speaker showed and classified the re-
duction of prices during past years was
| in spite of protection and not because of
it, and was the result of improved ma
chinery and transportation. Increase
to buy and consume is the alpha and
omega of protection and its very fQunda-
ton stone. Let this point escape
no protectionist. The average duty on
articles of necessity to the laborer are
over 60 per cent. The average wages
in this country are $500, but will say
$500 year. Fifty per cent of it goes
through the law into the nav of pro-
lection and this protection not only does
not give you cent of the $500. but
robs you of the 5000. 1t means
half your earnings confscated, half your
time lost, half your life robbed from
you. What would the difference
mean? 1t would mean better furniture
for your home, better dresses for your
wife. better clothes for your children
and better food for your table,. But
worst of all, this robber tariff steals, YOUR
opportunity to save, and you spend all
and then comes the helpless depend
ence of old age: and there are to-day
10000 families living on the charity of
the world, because the protective tariff
stole away their earnings in the day
when they were strong.
There is partnership between the
| government and the manufacturer
through the protective system. When
smith earns dollar who has a higher
right to it than he? 1t is the hope. the
aspiration of that day. 1t represents
| bic toll bic swat 6ic cuffor;nor for