Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-08-28

Stlil IuOlo ueCausc uo WhS u tfuo, uuOolh
promising Democrat, said to them, =
will throw down the gage O
battle, and, President or NJ
President. will fight the next campaign
Applause And it is on that summons
thst he calls the great American people te
stand by him in the fight until we put the
last one OF these trusts under our feet.
Applause
Let me give you one illustration Of how
these trusts work. Let me show You one
form of your present tariff system. We
have in this country a system of taxation
upon sugar. We tax sugar on an average
somewhere between 80 and 85 per cent
pound. According to our present regula-
.tion the tax upon granulated sugar Is
about 2 8 ola cent per pound, running up
to 81 cents on the finer grades Of cut-loai
and other sugars. Now, when You go to
the store Saturday night with the iDjunc'
tion Of the old woman to bring her ten
pounds of sugar, you pay about 80 cents
ioFsten pounds of grauulated sngar, and
you think you have 80 cents worth ol
sugar. You have got 81 cents worth OF
sugar aud have paid 38 cents tax, and you
had better not let the old woman know you
have paid the tax. Laughter. She will
make free-trader out of you pretty quick
if YOU DO that. She has got too much
sense to think there is anything in that
that is for the good Of the laboring man.
OUR CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR.
"Well, now, we consume in this country
about three thousand million pounds ol
sugar. If sugar was cheaper we would
consume four thousand million pounds,
for we all take sugar in ours. Laughter,
Tea and coffee ! mean of course. About
one. tenth OF the raw sugars Of the country
are raised in Louisiana. The Others come
from abroad. A little less than year ago
q man in Louisiana who produced raw
sugar, or a man who brought raw sugar
from abroad-from Cuba, Porto Rico, and
the Hawaiian Islands or Brazil-found six
teen or twenty buyers in competition, and
he knew he got the market price for his raw
sugar. When the merchant went to buy
his supply there were sixteen or twenty
refiuers competing on Change to sell hin
their sugar, and ne knew he bought it at
the market price, but these great sugar re-
finers being wise in their day and genera.
ton, and understanding the benefcent
operations of the American tariff, said
Why should we engage in this competition
for the purchase of raw sugars and the sale
OF refined sugars? So they went into what
they called tIust - a private affair
Laughter that neither Grover Cleveland
nor any other private citizen has any right
to talk about. Why do they call these
things trusts? 1t is the old story of honor
among thieves. 1t is confidential agree.
ment.
THE SUGAR TRUST.
"Sixtesn of them went into trust and
put all their property into the hands OF
eleven trustees under one management, and
the seller or buyer had but one man to
deal with. Three thousand million pounds
of sugar consumed in this country, at one
cent pound, which was the figure agreed
upon by the trust, means profit of $50,
that for the interest of the laboring man?
Furthermore, the first thing these fellows
did was to shut down five of the refineries
aud turn the laboringmen ont to curtail
production. Now you can see how they
spring up under the shelter OF the tariff,
aud you can see how they affect the
labonngman You see how they affect
the producer of the raw material.
You who belong to labor organiza.
tions, how can labor organize against such
combination as this? One of the most
distinguished Republican speakers in Con,
gress, the Hon. Benjamin Butterworth, OF
Ohio, said in his speech on the Mills bill
Capital can wait for its dividend, but labor
cannot wait for its breakfast Applause. ]
told him / thanked him for the express
sion, and there was no gathering of my
fellow citizens in this political campaign
before whom appeared that did not in
tend to repeat it to. Capital can wait for
its dividend. Mr.. Carnegie can shut up
his mill, can 20 off to Scotland with his
tallyho, can take Mr.. Blaine along with
him, can buy Cluney Castle and wait on
i,s luxurious furnishings for his dividend,
because he has already got it in his pocket
by six months operations of his works un-
der the tariff system; but the lsborers OF
Mr.. Carnegie when turned out cannot
wait for their breakfasts.
ONLY AN OBJECT.LEssoN.
Now, fellow-citizsns, this is only an
ohject-lesson of how this great tariff to-day
is curtailing the opportunities for employ
ment of American labor, ,,is organizing these
great trusts and combinations of capital
to keep down the people, and keep them
in subservance to it, and it is against such
system of taxation as this, in the inter
est of American labor, in the interest o
cheaper food, cheaper necessaries of life, in
the interest of wider fields of employment
better wages, more constant employment
and in the interest of the independ ence Of
labor against such combinations that the
bill prepared by the Committee of Ways
and Means, carried through the House IN
der the Leadership of Col. Mills, and cham
pioned before the people to-day by the
Democratic party, comes before the great
American people in this campaign"
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