The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-04-29
A Running Debate Among the
Representatives.
AT A LAUNCHING.
teotion for Convict Labor >
Some Fun-Etc.
house

resentatlveS went to Philadelphia
day, to witness the launch of the
Yorktown, and there were butlthirty-fivs
members present when the House me-
this morning. and immediately went
| into committee of the whole on the
tariff bill.
Kerr. of Iowa, approved the reduc-
ton of the reyenu IS by the abolition Of
the internal revenue tax The time had
come, he thought, in the history OF the
American government for the nation
to declare, hencefOrth, that it would
take no share in the profits OF the sale
of alcoholic liquor.
Tarsney. of Michigan, said he and
the gentlemen on his side of the House
We're not free traders; they were lair
traders. They were nos seeking to
pull down the custom houses of the
country. They proposed TO continue
the custom house taxation
but they would revise the
| existing laws so SIS to bring
the taxes down to the base line OF
necessity of revenue, and in SO revising
the laws splaoe the 0uty the highest
on the Injuries of life and the lowest GU
life = necessaries.
He YVES constantly interrupted by his
colleague (Mr. O'DonnelD, wi b state
ments as TO the great prosperity of
agriculture and manufacturing in
Michigan under the protective tariff,
and the colloquies between the two
gentlemen upon the subject of the con-
dition of Michigan afforded much
amusement to the other members pre-
sent.
The 'scussion then took colloquiai
turn and the subjects of free trade, pro-
lection, wages of laboring men, fisheries,
ship-bu1ding, etc., were touched upon,
and at times the questions and answers
caused great merrlment among the few
member present.
O'Neil, of Pennsylvania, said ytsteT-
day morning he had received letter
! rom young lady about to graduate,
! in which she said she had been
designated 10 speak at her commence
ment exercises, on the protection of
American industries, so that this aUes-
ton even entered into the household of
American families.
| RicharosoB, Of Tennessee.-Did the
young lady ask you for protection?
Milliken-lf the young lady had asked
you for protection. would you have
been free trader then?
O'Neil then declared, with emphasi
that he was protectionist of the pro-
tec.ionists, that he wss protectionist all
over, declaration which was received
with laughter and applause.
Ford, OF Michigan, characterized
Philadelphia as an overgrown country
village, and contrasted its slowness
with the building activity of New York
This condition of affairs. he said, arose
because the citizens of Philadelphia
had not depended, as the citizens Of
New York had. on their own enterprise
and thrift, but had been fed on the
public.
O'Neil suggested that the gentleman
must have been in some remarkable
/ condition when he visited Philadelphia
or must have had his eyes closed. The
manufactures OF Philadelphia amounted
to many millions more than those of
| New York.
Russell, of massachusetts,, referring
to the condition Of the protected State
of Pennsylvania. stated that the affairs
in the coal regions of that State were
shame and scandal to human civilizs-
ton.
Baine declared that the wages paid
were annually more than the entire
wages paid in all the States repre-
sented by the southern contingent on
tie ways and means committee.
Breckenridge said the concrete repre-
sentative of the protective system was
ga ard of the Pinkerton detectives at
the Edgar Thomson steel works. for
the purpose OF enabling the Hungarian
immigrants to work, while American
workmen were kept out at the point of
the gun. That was the concrete picture
of the state of wages in Allegheny.
Baine declared that that was
mistake Detectives were there, but
the men they sought to protect were
not Hungarlans. The Hungarians
that were there were not skilled me-
chanics and could not do the work re-
Breckenridge inquired what wages
the workmen at Ihe Tompson steel
works had been receiving?
Baine replied that they had been re-
ceiying So day.
Breckenridge said that the average
wages of the Pinkerton detectives was
IS day. They received that rate of
wages to prevent a breach of the peace
by men who received. So day.
Reed, of Maine, said the gentleman
from Kentucky had drawn the picture
with the American workmen in the
cold and Hungarian workmen protected
by the Pinkerton detectives. The gen.
tleman had pictured that as the final
result of protection, when it vas only an
incident ia a great dispute which went
on either under protection Or free
trade. The gentleman wanted to con-
trast the wages of men temporarily
employed with those received by per-
manent employees. He (Reed) thought
it ought to be pointed out that such
methods of arguing this question of free
trade or protection were somewhat
petty in their nature. The question
was, what system secured the greater
wealth to the country and higher wages
to the workingmen.
BaBreckenridge ssid that Allegheny
County had been depicted as scene of
protective development and had shown
the result of that development. He
denied that it was an incident that he