National Republican., 1888-03-16
SENATOR TELLER TALKS
And Tells Democratic Senators That
They Are Sinking the Issue.

Tie Presidents message was the text
for an able and interesting speech yester-
day by Senator Teller. It was listened to
with marked attention by senators and oc.
cupaD,s OF the galleries.
MIR. Teller said he had noticed that the
senators who had spoken on the Presidents
side OF the subject had shown dispo.
eitiOn TO avoid the real Issue presented by
the President, aud had attempted 20 make
u appear that the message was not OF the
character which everybody (outside OF
official circles at home and abroad had de-
Clartd 1t to be.
IL wonld not DO for the friends Of the ad.
ministration to assert that this was az at.
tempt on the part OF the President aud his
fritbd6 10 modify, revise, or correct the
tailfT. No such iUtent on the part OF the
President could be gathered from his mes
cage. IL had been received everywhere, at
home and abroad, as an attack, not on a
defective tarin, not to remedy incOnss.
tencies, but to destroy the protective sys.
tenn.
The President himself had spoken Of thi
system ss vicious, ineQuitable, and illo4i-
cal. His former Secretary OF the Treasury
bad spoken Of II as brutal method. De
| Tenders Of the message In the senate and
tltewhere had spoken In terms OF opDro
| tiium, contempt, detestation, not OF the
I
! gfuities, but of the protective system.
| IL was therefore understood (outside Of
! the Senate chamber) to he an attack on a
| system which protected American labor
| and American manufactures against com
! p, tition with foreign labor az d foreign cap.
| ital. " had been stated the other day by
the senator from Georgia Mr.. Col0uitt)
| that the Democratic party had always been
a free trade party. He Mr.. Tlllprl denied
| that statement.
George Washington had been pro
pUurCcd protective tariff NAV; but he knew
that HE Democratic friends did rot care
much for that, because they did not regard
George Washington as having had correct
views Of the fundamental principles OF
government. franklin, Hamilton, Jefler-
sop, Madison, and Monroe had been all pro.
tectye tariff men. In fac, there never had
been Democratic President (until Grover
| Cleyelabd) who had not, at some stage OF
HE political history, been I'm open advo.
cate Of protective tariff. In the national
Democratic platform OF lS72, when the
Democrats Nominated the most active
| progressive, protective tariff men or
the coutiLeht Horace Greeley, II
was stated substantially that the pro
tective taiin was question to bt
left to congressional districts without an,
interference whatever from the executive
In 1876 when the Democrats nominated
1ildcn the party had declared Itself, 70
the first time in It's history, In favor o
"tariff for revenue only" watch wa
synonymous with tree trade. In 1850 II wa
impossible for any one to say what tn
Democratic platform intended to say o
the subject.
In 1854 nobody supposed that the Dem
aCratic party in its platform intended l.
announce the doctrine OF free trade. No
body could say that IL attacked the doc
IL. a l,at
supposed thHt the Executive elected on tina
platform would ever have delivered th
message which Mr.. Cleveland sent to Con-
giess last December.
Mr.. Teller went on to contrast the pros
perlty Of the United STATES under the pro
tective system with ts condition uude
low tarill regimes, and said that II the pro
tective system were wicked, vicious. an
Illogical, as asserted by the President, IL wa
somewhat sir Cular that the country shout
have SO prospere1 under It.
When twenty five years OF y nerica
history were examined. no man, high G
low, was justified (he said In speaking OF
system OF political economy which ha
wrought such results as vicious, llogica
iniquitous, or brutal method. The Anne
ican people had oeressed faster than an
other people in the world. Let the senator
: who talked about free trade point him
any patton who had accumulated money 4
this patioD bad. In what other country wa
labor so well paid so much respected
What other people had engaged In su'
magnificent enterprises and arcomplishe
: them? Did senators on the other side war
English methods to be adopted in tn
country? III Goglishmen were better o
1 than Americans why did they MT stay
4 EnglancY Why did they come to tn
country And when they came, why dt
they never return! t.e was no. ashame
to point to the great results OF twenty sew,
years Of experiment under the protectiN
system 10 show that /. was neithsr viciou
illogical, nor iEequtasle, hut that IL hJ
brought TO the people Of this country
, richness, a contentedusss, anh glo
which no other system had brought upc
| any other pponlp In the world