Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1888-05-26

Thls was an issue which left the past behind
and looked only to the present and the future.
1t was an issue that appealed neither to race
nor to geographical lnes-an issue which the
House could discuss and divide upon as each
member should honestly believe was for the
best interest OF the Individual citizen and the
country at large. He congratulated the country
that 1t had that issue now, and IN that spirit he
welcomed the issue sharply made by the Pres-
dent Of the United States in this bill.
Proceeding to discuss the merits of the bill,
which he called q revenue Tor tarff measure,
Mr.. Mckinley said that wool, foreign pro-
duct the like of which was produced at home
in quantities large enough to supply the do
nestle consumption, was put upon the free
llst While sugar, foreign product the like OF
which was produced at home, but in insuffci-
ent quantities to supply the American con-
sumption, was left upon the dutiable list, and
therefore the tax was added to the cost Of
sugar to every consumer in the United States.
Wool was placed upon the free list
because the tax upon it would pro-
tect the producers of this country. The
revenue-tariff system put duty So low as
to stimulate foreign importatons. This was
conspicuously illustrated in cotton bagging, the
duty on which this bill reduced so low as to
prevent their manufacture in this country, as
was the testimony of every manufacturer from
Missouri to South Carolina. Take from the
bill the internal revenue provisions. the S24.-
100000 reductions in tobacco and in special
licenses, and you would make not dollar OF
reduction in the Treasury. The S27,O00,O 0O
duction expected to be effected by the free list
would be more than Offset by the increased
revenue which would result from the lower
dut es
Proceeding to point out what he called some
of the ridiculous features OF the bill, Mr.. Nc
Kfley said that the duty 81 steel billets had
been increased from as per cent. to G3 per cent.
10 V01Orom Thnrahv rou Sipc ipor IF
Il to = per cent. on every pound Of wire fencing
that inclosed the farms of the West The duty
on cut nails made from steel bullets was re-
duced 25 per cent, while the duty on raw ma
terlal was increased 45 per cent. He declared
that the bill was sectional in that every cotton
planter could get hoop-ron for his cotton ties
free OF duty. while the farmers of The West
must pay for the same iron IL cents q pound
if he wishes to bind his thatch or his pail.
There were other strange features tC the bill
1t placed a duty IF cents q pound on white
lead, while orange mineral made from white
lead was reduced to ~ cents pound Coors
and paints were made dutable at 20 FER cent,
while the manufactures of them We're dutiable
at IL per cent.
What in the world had the bill done for the
people anyway? What did it give the farmer?
Every thing he raised was put Oh the free list
and every thing he bought was dlttable except
sheep dip. Tin plates were made free. They
wore made of 91H per cent. Of sheet iron and
2Is per cent. tin. Tin plates were made free
and sheet iron was dutable ut ? cents pound
He night spend two hours pointing OIL such m
cons.stencies, but he left that for he five
minute debates
Turning to the revenue part Of the bill, he
criticised the provision repeating the law which
authorized the destruction Of Illicit stills, al.
lowing them to be preserved for future VIOLA
lions Of the law The bill also provided, in case
tod fo,, 1I,;t
the judge should look after his Well-being and
comfort while in prison. That provision did
not apply to any other class Of criminals. There
was one feature of the bill, which was not by
any means its worst feature but which of itself
was enough to defeat the entire measure, and
that was the substitution Of the ad-valorem
system Of assessment for the specific system.
There was not a single nation except England
that imposed ad-valorem rates imported
articles and England had abandoned that ex-
cept upon one article, for the reason that there
can be no honest administration Of the revenue
law as long as the value Of the imported article
was to be left to be ascertained by experts
thousands OF miles away from the point of pro-
ducton.
Passing on to a discussion Of the general ef-
feet Of the protection system on the people, he
said he cared not whether the present prosper
Gus condition OF the country was the result OF
protection or not. The fact that that condition
had come with protection ought to make Con-
gress hesitate before it abandoned the system.
New England prosperity was due largely to the
protective tariff, and her prosperity had been a
positive benefit to every one of the &c. OOOO0J
people of The United States. He cited statistics
to show the large amount of the farm
products OF the North and West which were
consumed in New England, and asked if New
England was not better market than old En-
gland for the people OF the United States. The
cotton production alone that went into New En-
gland in 1856 WasssO per cent. greater than all
our domestic exports TO the United Kingdom.
The principal trammel the American
manufacturer was the high price for labor and
ii the Democratic party intended to enable our
manufacturers to compete with foreign manu-
facturers in a neutral market it could only do
it by reducing the scale OF wages in the United
States.
1t has been asserted that the wages of Amer
lean labor were not higher than those of Euro
pean labor. He read letter from Mr. Bar
bour OF the Barbour Spinning Company of
Paterson, N. j., who was also interested in a
flax mandatory in Ireland, in which he said
that the 1,4O0 Americans in Paterson get as
much wages as the $500 employed in Ireland
This bill, commented Mr.. Mckinley, "pro
poses to equaliZe American production with
European by bringing down American wages,
and give you notice that you can not do it,
He also read letter received from the Singer
Sewing Machine Company of Elizabeth, N. j.,
and Glasgow, stating that the wages of the
American workmen were S35,0O0 against $751;
900 to the employees in Glasgow, where there
were one-third more laborers employed.
Mr.. Herbert Ala.)-" Can the gentleman give
us the price that q sewing woman pays for her
machine in Scotland and in New Jersey?'
Mr.. Mckinley-"I am told the prices are
about the same. If any thing the machine in
Scotland costs a little more than the machine
in America" Proceeding, he said that the
country was ready for free trade the moment
European producers would bring their labor up
to the American standard. That was the free
trade the country wanted. Gentlemen talked
about cheap clothing. Cheap clothing was too
narrow for National issue. He had never had
any complaints from men in his district that
their clothes were too high.
Mr.. Morse (Mass.)-''They did not buv of
me-" [Laughterl.
Mr.. McKinley-"f they had bought Of the
gentleman from Massachusetts it would not
have made any difference. The gentleman will
know his own goods (producing a suit OF
clothes). The chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee talked about the labor man
who worked ten day for 81 day and then went
to buy suit of clothes for $40. He found he
could have bought it for $40, but the robber
manufacturers have been down to Congress and
had 100 per cent. put upon the suit and he has
TO 90 pack 1or ten Gays more OF toll and the use
of his muscle to earn the extra $40 to buy it. A
gentleman who heard that speech sends me a
suit of clothes hold in my hand the bill-tJ
D. Williams bought of Leopold, Morse g. Co..
To one suit Atwood clothes, $10.' Laughter.
And I never knew before Of gentleman en-.
gagged in that business selling without profit
This is the very $40 suit Of Atwood described
by the gentleman from Texas which can be
bought IN Boston, Chicago, New York and other
cities for $40 at retail-40 per cent. cheaper
Mr.. Mckinley then turned to the tariff on the
poor mans blanket, and quoted from the books