The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-08-30

| Not dollar in the treasury not a cent.
You came to New York and undertook to
place upon the market 81, 2OO, 900 at 12 per
| cent interest, and could not do it, selling
the bonds Of this country at IS cents on
the dollar. Not gun in the arsenals not
a ship on the sea all sent South. Nothing
but rebellion, treason, bankruptcy and
wrong was the legacy inherited from the
democratic party, and she had been in
power 50years. The republican party has
had control Of this country for Q!
years, and when we transferred
we presented you with the grandest
nation beneath the sun. At peace with
itself and the world the nation whose
greenback dollar had 100 cents in it. Do
you know that the greenback dollar, born
out of the necessities Of the republic, pro.
tected by the loyalty of the republican
party, travels with the circuit of the sun
to-day and finds discount nowhere ? 1t is
as good in Hong Kong as in Washington,
as good in Frankfort on the Main, the
money centre Of Europe Il know for
have tried it, as right here in Burlington,
as good in London as in New York, II
Berlin as in Chicago. Your bonds bear
ing interest at the rate Of four per cent
are selling to-day at 2715 cents above par.
makes the dollar Of the bond worth to-day
in the money markets of this country 42J5
cents more than it was in 1860. The DIFF
ference, my democratic brethren, is be
tween coming in and going out.
Now, there are several ways to get rid
of the surplus / will mention one or
two. One is to take it, right or wrong
that is the New York way Another is to
take off the internal revenue tax from.
tobacco, which is $50, 900, 900; take off from
the spirits which enter into arts, manu-
features and medicines $40 900 900 more,
which makes 40,000,000 take off from
sugar S5S 200 more, and you have $03,
10000, having then touched only three
Industries. will tell you something else
we might do: We might give a pension
to an old soldier now and then. 1t would
not hurt us any but, oh, how it would
make the birds sing to him In the evening
of life. We might give bread, raiment
and shelter to the widows and orphans of
the heroic dead who fell in battle. 1t
would not impoverish, but, oh, how it
would enrich them and fill the horizon OF
their lives with a new song and new hopes.
We might build a fort now and then along
our 10000 miles of seacoast, so that our
maritime towns and cities could not
be captured by foreign invaders.
We might open up our inland
waterways OF river, canal and lake, 30
that the products of the West could be
brought to the markets by rival transpor-
NdllOu Ol WdltI tul lhuu dllht. we ullKuJ
rebuild our navy and create a new mer-
chant marine, so that the commerce of
this mighty people might be carried to the
markets of the world not in English
French and German bottoms, but in
American bottoms, built out of our lum-
Der and our own steel and by the genius
and skill of our wOrkmen.
Take the great industry of steel rails.
Up to 1872 we imported all the steel rails
t1GpI in thia pOnnfrv In 1897 mid hU
tie ton 500. In 1871 Congress placed a du-
ty OF S2S per ton on steel rails. We then
commenced to manufacture, and as our
product increased the importation Of steel
rails decreased until this year we can buy
steel rails for S3l.5O per ton, $3.50 more
than the duty. Now if Judge Thurman
is correct, the duty should be adjusted to
make the price OF steel rails $3.50 per
ton, instead of $3.50, Let steel rails an
swer Mr.. Thurman.
Take another industry, files In 1870
we imported all our files at from 80 to 81
per dozen. We now have $50 file works
in this country, employing thousands of
men, and to-day you can buy flies for $3.50
per dozen that in free trade times cost us
g.
Take another and new industry, soda
ash, that is largely used in the manufact-
ure of glass and which used to cost rs
S24S per ton. Four years ago we put
duty of s. per ton on this article and we aG
once began to manufacture it. Some
New York capitalists went to Syracuse
where they have plant worth a million
and a half Of dollars. They manufacture
1854 900 tons of soda ash annually and at
$50 per ton less than when we had free
trade. Let soda ash answer brother Thur
man.
Take another industry-woollen goods
and invite the laboring men Of burling-
ton and Vermont to think of this. In
1860 we had in this country but few wool
len mills to-day we have unnumbered
looms, employing 5000 men and women
and consuming 50,OOOOO0 pounds Of wool
per aunum. Just before l started from
home went into several stores to make
inquiry about the sale of wooden goods,
One man said to me II have been on this
corner 10 years, and at no time could you
buy woollen goods as cheap as you can to-
day." The duty to i,I-ay on woollen goods
ia So per cent
Now, let ali tbs SHzwer to the supposed
case Of Mr.. Thurman. / make the asser-
ton, and | challenge contradiction, that
commodities in this country Of every
kind Are from % to so per cent cheaper
than they were before the protection sys
tenn went into effect. There was one
thing that Judge Thurman did not allude
to, but l will. Every article imported
comes into competition with an American
product and brings foreign labor and cap
ital into competition with American labor
and capital. Now, last year we imported
$3.50, 0O0,O 900 worth of duty-paying goods
which ought to have been manufactured
here. Had they been, thsre would have
been less idle men and walking delegates.
The effect OF importing these goods was
to displace an equal amount of American
goods. In Germany, Belgium and France
the price of labor Is one-flfth what it Is
here; in England one-half and in Aus
tralia one-fourth. Now, we can manufac-
ture these things just as cheap, If you
make the price of labor as cheap, and,
men of Vermont, remember this You can
make these goods as cheap only as You
make labor as cheap.
/ might stand here till the sun rises and
say no more than l have said. II you