The Bozeman weekly chronicle., 1888-06-06
TARIFF.
Extracts from a Speech made by
Mr.. John Luce.

We regret our inability to give in full
the speech of John Luce on that all i'm
portant subject, the tariff. However we
herewith present extracts that will go
long way towards proving its excellence
ITO admit that government has the
right to take the earnings out of the pock-
cts of fone class of citizens and to deposit
them to the account of another class of
citizens engaged in particular business
or line of trade, is to admit that the
government may take anything that is
yours and give it to your neighbor, or to
distribute the wealth Of the country
among certain classes and 80 equalize
their conditions or their financial for
tunes. To admit this, and 1T follows as
the night the day from the very exist
ence of tariff laws, is to admit the dam.
nable doctrines Of Socialism and to invite
with open arms to our shores the swarm
ing herd who would undermine every
institution upon which hinge the rights
of life, liberty and property.
Let us look at the comparatively high
er wages. in this country, than in Europe.
I submit that it is the condition of this
country. without reference to any laws
of man, that is the sole cause of the rates
of wages. We are told, with the hypoc-
risy that characterizes the Protectionist,
that we have the grandest system of free
trade, between the States, in the world
and that our Tariff makes home market
for all our products. We admit that it
is grand system of free trade but will
the gentlemen on the other side answer
this question when they follow me? D,
not forget in your anxiety to suppress
the truth in this matter. Tell me why
under this system of free trade, the wages
Of the North West are so very largely in
excess of the wages of the East? Is it
the benefit derived from the beautiful,
glorious tariff that gives lis more than
our neighbors on the Atlantic Coast?
Out of 80, ,OOO.O 900 Of population we have
Il, SOC. 900 workers ;of the sex 5000 ,OOC
are engaged in agriculture and less than
5000 900 are engaged in manufactures
Now, Of all that is raised, by the farming
class, this admirable home market, abou
which we hear the protecronist rave
consumes just about two thirds. Whers
does the other third 80? Out into thu
markets of the worl l. to compete will
the production Of the high priced labo
of Australia and with the production
from Southern Russia, Turkey and Egyp
with there pauper labor. But by reason
of A merican ingenuity two men in ILL
nois will do the work of one hundre,
paupers who use the fail of hundred
years ago, 30 we compete with our un
protected food products whilst our man
ufacturers demand mere protect ion
Now. these foreign markets regulate tn
price of this surplus of food which w
export, and as the wages of these toiler
upon our farms depend entirely upo
the price they get for their food RAISED
SO, foreign markets of which Liverpoe
is the chief, determine the wages of thes
farmers. Thus it is briefly stated, ths
the laborers upon the free land of thi
country determine the price of wage
The protectionist takes the country as h
finds it, with comparatively undevelope
resources, with soil which for fertility an
productiveness surpasses anything tha
the world can show, with the bowels
the earth filed with metals only waitil
for the hand OF man to snatch the
! therefrom with the richest beds of CO
that any country ever had or will hay
with climate that combines every q