The Portland daily press., 1888-05-04
AN OBJECT LESSON TO CONGRESS.
Mr.. pIngIey Tells How Protection
Has Benefited Coastwise Trade,
While Without 1t, Our Foreign Ship
ping has Steadily Declined.
Free Trade Doctrine Admirably Pre-
sented by mr.. Wilson.

means committee, opened tbe tariff debate
today. He said that the opponents of the
bill represented the issue to be between free
trade and protection. 1t was rather an ef-
fort of the people to recover the right to tax
themselves.
He eclared there was no statesmanship in
the Republican party to deal with she sur
plus. Every Republican speaker bad diff
ferent plan. Most of them would cheaper
the drunkard's whiskey, and cigarettes to
drain the brains and manhood Of young men,
while increasing the tax on the clothing of
the drunkard's wife and children. Mr. Kel-
ley called the Democrats Bourbons and in
the next breath advocated the policy Of Col
bert and Napoleon. Protection acted on the
rule of the Ohio politician to claim every
thing. Whatever we had gained by the
growing control over the powers of nature
from science invention and the rapid SETTLE
ment of great continent, its mineral and
other resources, from the enterprise and in
dustry of the people, all these It claimed as
its fruits, although it had no more to do with
them than with the motions of the planets
and tides. But the things for which it was
chiefly or partly responsible It stadiously
tagonismlofcapita and labor, the 90 0C0 strikes
and 1000 lOckOuts in the past six years,
the long industrial depressions. and the
building up Of great wealth by favoritism,
by which to retain its privileges 1t was
ever ready to corrupt the ballot box, iutimi-
date voters and allow the rapid centraliZa-
tion of manufacturers in few great corpo-
ratlons, and their recent fusing into formida-
| BILE trusts.
Mr.. Wilson argued at length against the
claim that the tariff made or maintained
wages. He discussed trusts in their bear
ing on the consumer, laborer and people in
general, In discussing the question. of
| wages, he referred to the remarks OF Mr..
| Allen, OF Massachusetts as to the prosperity
| of the wage earners of Lowell, and COM
pared the condition of Lowell operatives un-
der the Walker tariff and the present to the
the disadvantage of the latter. Quite tilt
followed between the speaker and Mr..
Lodge, Of MASSACHUSETTS. Mr.. Wilson con-
trasted the prices paid in the same line OF
| employment to show that The tariff does not
regulate the price of labor and stated as the
| result of the contrast that man in Maine
was only worth two-thirds of man in con-
| necticut.
Mr.. Boutelle inquired as to how high the
wages OF farm laborers in West Virginia
| were.
Mr.. Wilson-Not as high as they would be
If they had protection Off
Mr.. Boutelle-I want a candid reply, or
want the gentleman to retreat ignominiously
| from the question.
Mr.. Wflson-I cannot yield for speech,
but accept the gentleman as full explana-
tion of why a man in Maine is worth only
two-thirds Of man in Connecticut.
Mr., Boutelle. reiterated his question, and
Mr.. Wilson declined to answer Continuing
he said. 'The fight will go on. There will
be no industrial peace in the country until
the tax laws are established upon basis fair
to all. We will keep the country rocking
from ocean to ocean until we secure justice
and fair dealing among all citizens. You
may strike down that tribune of the people
| at the other end OF the avenue who, putting
aside all ideas of prudence, spoke out that
| ringing summons that rallied the people as
the leaders Of the fight as you struck them
| down in the last Congress and in previous
Congresses. Those who hold the standard
may fall, but other hands will take it up and
| move forward. The spirit of our intelli-
| gence is behind US. The spirit of liberty is
| behind us. All we can copy of the destiny
and greatness of this county urges us for
ward, and, in the language of your speaker,
| whoever may falter, whoever may fall, the
people of the country mean that its glorious
| destinies shall be preserved ana transmitted,
unimpaired, to posterity; that the country
shall not belong. to monopolists on the one
| hand or communists on the other but shall
| be, as designed to be, of the people. for the
| people, and by the people,"
| As Mr.. Wilson concluded, he was raptur-
onsly applauded by his friends, while many
Republicans joined in the compliment, amid
cries of 'Vote, vote" The members then
crowed around Mr.. Wilson and warmly con-
graduated him upon his speech
Mr.. DingIey, of Maine,
discussed at length the Presidents and Mr..
Mills's assumption that protection on
imported articles produced here
| to the extent of our wants,
was a tax which increased the burdens of
the consumer to the extent, or nearly to the
extent of the duty. He argued that
such duties benefited the consumer
by encouraging home industries and Sc
curing products for less labor or service. He
asked on what ground bill, (which professed
to remove taxes on the necessaries of life,
had placed duty of 100 per cent on South
| ern rice and 6S per cent on Southern sugar
| The bill proposed to place WOOL lime wood
| pulp, manufactured lumber and Canadian
| farm products on the free list on the ground
| that they were raw materials, but left the
| duty on such articles as coal and iron ore.
| Why should the labor of the farmer in pro-
| ducing wool, potatoes, beans, etc, and the
labor of ,workmen in manufacturing lum-
Der, wood pulp and lime be unprotected?
He denied the charge that the protectionists
| were hostile to foreign trade, They opposed
surrendering the home market, the most val
liable in the world. The home market con-
| sumed more products per capita than the
| United Kingdom consumed and exported.
| Our foreign trade exports had increased
since the war as never before because the
people had been more prosperous and bought
more articles that they. could not produce.
| True, our foreign carrying trade had declined,
but no more rapidly since the war than six
| years before. The decline was due, not to
protection, but to the want of protection. 1t
lad been the only unprotected business in
| the country since 1850 COntending on free
trade principles with foreign vessels, it had
| been driven to the wall while at the same
time the protected coast wise trade fiourished.
This wonld serve as an object lesson to Con-
| gress and the country to stand by protection
and extend it to shipping in the foreign trade
by means Of direct aid.
M. Kinney, of New Hampshire
said he cane to the discussion of the ques-
tion not as a free trader. He believed that
the best means of collecting the necessary
funds was tax on imports, but he believed
they should be levied, so far as might be, on
luxuries and that the necessaries Of life shall
be placed ON the free list, as far as possible.
He was not in favor of any radical change in
the tariff laws for the business Of the co un-
try was on a high tariff basis and any radical
and sudden change would disturb business
interests. He was the last man who would
interfere with manufacturing interests, for
he represented manufacturing State, but as
| the people's representative, he would vote
for the interest of the whole people. He
Strongly advocated placing wool on the free
list. declaring it would work little injury to
the sheep grower while it would greatly
benefit of the wool manufacturers to give
cheap clothing to the people. 1t was about
time for the gentlemen ON the other side to
stop CRYING out that the Democratic party
was seeking to bring disaster upon the coun-
try. 1t was only trying to carry out the
fundamental principles of the government
and apply equal rights to all communities. 1t
was marvellous to witness the love of the
other side for the American laborer How
was that laborer protected? Why, it was
about the only thing in which we did have
real simon pure free trade
The committee then rose and the House
adjourned.
UPON THE horizon