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

This 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 llnes-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 Presi-
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
list, while sugar, foreign product, the like OF
which was produced at home, but in insutf1ci-
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 a duty So low as
to stimulate foreign importations. 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, 900 re-
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
Kmley said that the duty ~ steel bi1lets had
been increased from 4o per cent. to 63 per cent
ad valorem, thereby causinguln increase of from
a to q 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
terial was increased 45 per cent. He declared
that the bill was sectional in that every cotton
planter could get hoop-iron for his cotton ties
free of duty, while the farmers of .he West
must pay for the same iron ~ cents pound
if he wishes to bind his thatch or his pail.
There were other strange features tc the bill.
1t placed duty Vt cents pound on white
lead, while orange mineral made from white
lead Was reduced to ~ cents pound COlOrs
and paints were made dutiable at 20 FER cent,
While the manufactures of them were dutiable
at 16 per cent. ...e
What in the world had the bill done for the
people anyway? What did it give the farmer?
Every thing he raised was put on the free list
and every thing he bought was drttiable except
sheep dip. Tin plates were made free They
were made of 97A per cent. of sheet iron and
2h per cent. tin. Tin plates were made free
and sheet iron was dutiable at 2 cents pound.
He might spend two hours pointing OUT such in
constituencies, but he left that for The 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
a man was arrested for Illicit distilling, that
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 single nation except England
that imposed ad-valorem rates on 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-
duction.
Passing on to q 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
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
positive benefit to every one of the &c. OOO,OO0
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 a better market than old En-
GLAND fnp no 10 ~ ho NH
cotton production alone that went into New En-
gland in 1856 wasaO per cent. greater than all
our domestic exports to the United Kingdom
The principal trammel on the American
manufacturer was the high price for libor and
II the Democratic party intended to enable our
manufacturers to compete with foreign manu-
facturers in 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 q 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 1,400 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 $4,000, against $751;
O00 to the employees in Glasgow, where there
were one third more laborers employed.
Mr.. Herbert Gala. j.: Can the gentleman give
us the price that a 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 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. $50
Mr.. Morse (Mass.)-"They did not buy OF
me-" [Laughterl.
Mr.. McKinley-"If they had bought Of the
havemade any difference The gentleman will
know his own goods (producing suit OF
clothes). The chairman OF the Ways and
Means Committee talked about the labor man
who worked ten day for 81 a day and then went
to buy suit OF clothes for $40. He found he
could have bought it for &c. but the robber
manufacturers have been down to Congress and
had 1OU per cent. put upon the suit and he has
to 90 back for ten days 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 I hold in my hand the BILLY
D. Williams bought OF Leopold, Morse & CO.
To one suit all-wool clothes, S10.' Laughterl.
And 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-4O per cent. cheaper
than in 1860 under low tariff and low wages.'
Mr.. Mckinley then turned to the tariff on the
poor mans blanket, and quoted from thebooks
OF blanket-man curing firm to show that