The Bozeman weekly chronicle., 1888-04-11
ANTI-TARIFF ARGUMENT.
Views Of Congressman Knute Nelson Of
Minnesota,

Congressman Knutc Nelson Of NIinnc-
sofa spoke in the House last Friday on
the tariff subject. In the rours, of his
remarks, Mr.. Nelson reci,el the large
surplus and asked shal! we g,t rid Of it
by extravagant expenditures or by
reduction af taxation "''. lie reviewed
Mr.. Randal's measure for making the
reduction on whiskCy md tobacco, and
objected to it. Tobacco until recently"
he said. "has not been considered one Of
the necessaries of life." After sreakin.
of the selfish greeI Of the New En-. land
manufactures" he read Mr.. PillshMry's
letter which assured him that 20 per
cent. OF the Democrats and - per cent.
of the Republicans in Minnesota agreed
with him that the tariff should be-
lowered. Mr.. Nelson then continued
1.-THE truth is, that if fair protective
tariff is just, Us believe it is, it
CAN AFFORD To PLANT IrsEEF
OF the truth that the main cagsc for
lower wages in Europe is to be found in
the greater density of her population,
and in a greater uver-supp1y OF labor
than here. Comparisons are worthless
unless conditions are similar, and in this
instance the conclusions claimed prove
too much. England is called free trade.
Austria, Germany, Italy and France are
as decidedly and l.ighly protective as
this country, In respect to the density
of population, cnst of living, interest on
money, and cost of land, England is
more on a par with those countries than
our own, and yet in England the
WAGES ARE MUCH HIGHER
than on the continent Hear what S.n.
ator Frye says in his speech delivered at
Boston on "What Saw in Europe" and
mind, he Is an unwilling witness: Il
say, from all my observations made there
and they were made as carefully as l
could make them, there is only one
country in Europe that comes within
one.half of our wages; that in Germany,
France, Belgium and Switzerland they
are not one.third OF our wages, and in
Italy not one quarter" To zee the true
force of this statement, just imagine
there were no such a country AS the
United States, and then by all laws
of inductive reasoning you would have
the
STRONGEST KIND OF ARGUMENT
| in favor of free.trade England, as against
the high protective tariff countries OF
the continent on quarter of the wages,
Senator Frve has unsuccessiully, but
naively pricked his own bubble, but he
can find good illustration nearer home
The Minnesota and Dakota farmer is
not directly protected in his operations
in the sense in which the manufacturers
of iron, steel, cotton and wooden goods
are, and yet the wages of the agricultural
laborers in Dakota and Minnesota are
relatively higher as compared with
agricultural laborers IN Europe than in-
dicated by the indirectly-prote"ted i'll
industries mentioned, and mach more
certain and regular, and far
l LESS 81 IL tLtNiN Aii'NS.
Under this belief l haye introduced q
bill putting sugar, molasses, rice, sail
coal, lumber, manila, jute and sisa
grass and twine from the same on the
free list" A letter was read from Mr.
Brown, of Rock River Valley, Minnesota
showing that the tariff on binding twine
made it heavy tax on wheat raising
taxing it nearly cent? per bushel
Mr.. Nelson concluded as follows: Ii
the face of these platform pledges, in th
face of these admissions from unwilling
witnesses, in the face of the large, over
: growing and threatening surplus takel
from the people by taxation and used b.
certain banks without any consideration
therefore. and in the face of the faI
: that so many of:h, largest neccssaries
life
ARE LOADED DOWN
4 with the highest kind of tariff taxes,
makes me sick at heart to think tina
there are leading men on this side of tn
chamber who can find at this jnnctul
and under these circumstances no oth'
+ field for tax reductions than the intern
!; revenue on spirits and tobac,o. surci
l these things are not the diet ON whic
: the poor man keeps his famll
W orthier, better and juster, it seems
my mind, would it be to give our peop
-the toiling masses-cheaper foo
cheaper fuel, cheaper clothing, al
cheaper shelter, cheaper because releas
>. from the unnecessary bondage of hi
!. tariff taxes. l will put free sugar, fl
i. coal, free salt and free lumber agail
No. free whiskey and free tobacco under a
- circumstances, and So will the gr,
mass of American people