Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-09-19
AU Excellent Speech.

In response to an invitation from the
Club, Mr.. J. II. Alexander addressed the
Cleveland and Thurman Club, Leesburg,
on Saturday evening last, in strong and
practical speech which showed he had Civ
en- the tariff his study and was prepared to
discuss it. His style was plain, pleasant
and at times eloquent as he warmed up to
his subject. After an appropriate intro
ductory he impressed the fact upon his
hearers that in the affairs of life, and in the
ways of the world every individual, COM
munity, State and nation, endeayor to take
care of themselvas-the element IN our ma
tion we call selfshness was the main spring
of action-the stimulus to enterprise and.
the moving power in the accomplishment
of all the great achievements in the world.
And there was much human nature in man.
kind here as elsewhere, and we should
have the wisdom and good sense to follow
the dictates of our nature in taking care of
ourselves. Who, here in Loudoun, in any
way needs high tariff, whose business and
individual interests here require that they
should be taxed to help the manufacturing
classes beyond tariff to raise the revenue
to run the government and meet its obli-
cations? Certainly no sensible farmer can
say that his interests in the production of
laborer here can believe his wages will be
in any way affected by high tariff, and
upon whom the only effect high tariff can
have, will be to make him pay a high tax
on his salt, his sugar, and nearly every ar
ticle of clothing he wears. Our brick layers,
ur masons, our carpenters, our timers,
blacksmiths and farm hands are only effect
ed by the tariff in paying the tax it imposes
upon them. The tariff in no way reaches
their labor and all they know of it is that
it makes them pay more for everything
they buy-forces them to pay over 40 per
cent of their wages to help make richer the
wealthy manufacturers of the country
without returning to them one scintilla of
benefit for it. The tariff, if it affects any 1t
is only those engaged in the manufactures.
He thowed that the surplus revenue in our
treasury amounts to tax of about two dol
lars and half per head of our population,
and that Loudoun's share was about sixty
thousand dollars, and that we were bearing
the burthen to help those who were richer
than we are, and who could make three
dollars in their business to our one. He
was a protectionists so far as to protect our
own people from this excessive taxation.
He was protectionist so far as to protect
our farmers and dairymen from free oleo-
margarine which the republicans would
give, with free whiskey and free tobacco,
by repeating the internal revenue laws. He
explained the meaning of the tariff, what
it is, and how it acted. Now when we
pay AZ per cent to the government on i'm
ported goods, we pay four or five times
that much on the enhanced price of goods
made in this country, as we purchase about
five times as much homemade as we do
foreign goods This tax is wrong and op-
pressive, the government don't get that
money, and it is paid as bonus to the
manufacturing classes-it is taxing one
class of our citizens to make another class
rich. When government undertakes the
business of forcing one class to pay tribute
to another, it departs from its true mission
and becomes an oppression, and the party
which sustains such doctrines should be
voted down.
His speech was full of good sense and
sound reasoning. He was warmly applaud
ed by the audience. ce.-Leesburg Washing
tonian, Sept. Sth.