River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-05-24

which ne called revenue Tor tarW measure.
Mr.. Mckinley said that WOOL foreign pro
duct. the like Of which was produced az home
/ in quantities large enough TO supply the do
nestle consumption, MAS put upon the free
list while sugar. a foreign product, the like Of
which was produced at home, but in insuffci-
I ent quantities TO supply the American con-
/ sumption, was left upon ths dutiable list and
therefore the tax was added to the COST Of
sugar TO every consumer in the United States
l Wool was placed upon the free list
I because the tax upon it would pro
/ tect the producers OF this country. The
revenue-tarin system put duty so low as
10 stimulate foreign importations. This WAS
cOnspicuously illustrated IN cotton bsgging the
/ duty on which this bill reduced so low as 10
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 provis 'oas, the ss4-
5OlUO reductions IN tobacco and in special
licenses, and you would maks not a dollar OF
Z reduction in the Treasury. The S37,0lO0J1 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
/ CT the ridiculous features of the bill Mr. Me
I kinley said that the duty on steel billcts had
/ been increased from IS Per cent. 10 6s per cent
al valorem, thereby causing an increase Of from
I "a to y Per cent on every pound OF wire fencing
/ that inclosed the farms OF the West The duty
/ on cut nails made nom steel Bullets was re-
/ duced % per cent, while the duty on raw ma
/ teTial was increased - per cent. He declared
that the bill was sectional in that every cotton
4 planter could get hoop-iron for his cotton ties
| free Of duty, while the farmers Of the West
must pay for the same iron Is cents pound
il he W shes TO bind his thatch or his psil.
There were other strange features TO the bill.
/ II placed duty Of cents q pound o. white
lead, while orange mineral made from white
/ lead was reduced 10 Ia cents round CoioTs
/ and paints were made dutiable at - per cent.
/ while the manufactures of them were dutabe
/ AT Is per cent.
/ What in the world had the bill done for the
/ people anyways What did it give the farmer
Every thing he raised was put on the free list
and every thing he bought was dutable except
sheep dip. Tin plates were made free They
were made Of 911s per cent Of sheet iron aud
"a per cent tin. Tin plates were made free
/ and sheet iron was dutiable at cents pound.
/ He might spend two hours pointing out such IN
/ cons .stencies, but he left that for The i've
minute debates.
Turning TO the revenue part OF the bill. he
/ criticised the provision repeating the law which
/ authorized the destruction OF Illicit stalls. al
/ lowing them TO be preserved for future VIOLA
\ tons of the law The bill also provided, in case
! man was arrested for Il cit d.stilling that
/ the judge should look after his wel-being and
| comfort while in prison That provision cid
U
was ono feature of the bill. which was not 10y
any means its worst feature, but which OF Itself
/ was cnOJ gh TO defeat the entire measure. aud
| that was the substitution of the al-valorem
/ system OF assessment for the specific system.
I There was not o single nation except EngIani
I that imposed ad-valorcm rates on imported
articles and England had abandoned that ex
/ cept upon one article for the reason that there
/ can be no honest admin strat.on OF the revenue
4 law 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
4 duction
/ Passing on 10 a discussion Of the general eff
/ 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
/ protection or not. The fact that that condition
/ had come with protection ought TO make Con
/ gress hesitate before il abandoned the system.
+ New England prosperity was due largely TO the
protective tariff, and her prosperity had been
4 positive benefit TO every one Of the 61oG001l
4 people OF the United States He cited statistics
/ TO show the large amount OF the farm
I 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-
I gland for tie people Of the United States. The
/ cotton production alone that went into New En-
/ gland in 1856 was - per cent. greater than all
Z our domestic exports 10 the United Kingdom.
! The gentleman from Texas had said that in
imrortatjon must be encouraged. Last year
there had come into the United States s6s3 O10,-
1 00O of products and manufactures. How much
( did the gentleman want that increased Forty
million dollars worth OF manufactured iron
and steel had come in. That represented the
4 labor OF G, $50 men working for 80 days. That
was taken from the American laborer every
4 day of which he could have performed the
work. He did not know what other gentlemen
might think, but he would not permit single
I ton of steel to come into the United States il
| our own labor could possibly produce it. This
| Government was made for Americans. native
born and naturalized, and ewes product that
competed with ours that came into this coun
| try drove just so much American labor out
The principal tramme oil the American
manufacturer was the high price for labor, and
I II the Democratic party intended 10 enable our
manufacturers TO compete with foreign manu-
facturers in a neutral market it could only do
l il 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 letter from Mr.. Bar
bour of the Barbour Spinning Company OF
Paterson, N J.. who was also interested in
/ fax mandatory IN Ireland, in which he said
! that the 1,4O0 Americans in Paterson get as
, much wages the 800 employed in Ireland.
/ This bill, commented Mr.. Mckinley, pro
4 poses to equalIZe American production with
European by bringing down American wages.
I and give you notice that you can not do IT.
I He also read q letter received from the Singer
/ Sewing Machine Company, OF Elizabeth. y. J.,
and Glasgow, stating that the wages Of the
I American worlSmen were $4,000, against SIS,
/ 0D 20 the employees in Glasgow, where there
/ were one third more laborers employed.
Mr.. Herbert la Can the gentleman give
/ US the price that a sewing woman pays for her
machine in Scotland and in New jersey
/ Mr.. McKnley-"I am told the prices are
/ about the same. If any thing the machine ir
/ 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 "
/ 10 the American standard. That was the free
I trade the country wanted Gentlemen talked
/ about cheap clothing. Cheap clothing was toe
narrow for a National issue. lie had never haC
I any complaints from men in his district thai
( their clothes were too high.
( Mr. Morse Mass. They did not buy o.
J me-" [Laughterl.
/ Mr. McKinley-'If they had bought Of the
I gentleman from Massachusetts il would MOI
I have made any difference The gentleman vii.
know his own goods producing suit o.
( clothcsl. The chairman of the Ways and
4 Means Committee talked about the labor mar
/ who worked ten day for 81 a day and then went
I 10 buy a suit OF clothes for $40 lie found he
/ could have bought Il for 30, but the robbie
I manufacturers have been down 20 Congress ant
/ had 100 per cent put upon the su ana he has
I to go back for ten days more Of TO and the US
/ of his muscle 10 earn the extra $40 10 buy H. :
I gentleman who heard that speech sends me
suit OF clothes. hold in my hand the bill
I d. win ans bought OF Leopold Morse 8 60
To one suit Atwood clothes. $40 tLaughterl
And / never knew before OF q gentleman en-
gagged in that bustn sss selling without a profit
This IS the very II suit OF all-wOOl described
by the gentleman from Texas which can b
bought IN Boston, Chicago New York and Othe
cities for 80 at reta1-iO per cent. cheaper
than in 1860 under low taFid and low wages
Mr.. Mckinley then turned TO the tariff on thu
I poor mans blanket, and quoted from the books
I Of a blanllet-manufacturIng firm 10 show TIA
blanket that sold in IS . for 80 could be bCushf
/ now for s5.si aud that which sold for sl3 foI
T sGsD In IS the spinner got &c q week, now EL
Z got si5 The weaver, in 1862 got g. the IN
] skilled flasher Si.51, ana the skilled &c. To-day
! they get $40 % and SIC.
When Mr.. Mckinley concluded he was greet
/ ed with round after round Of applause. anc
/ was Immediately surrounded by his party col
/ leagues, who were profuse IN their congratula-
tons
In a Reflective Mood.
A man stood waiting on the corner
/ Of Woodward avenue and Sproa. stree.