River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-10-04
BLAINE IN NEW weak.

Has Done tor the worklag-Men Of the
United states.
Nh CHAIRMAN. General Harrison has
he remarkable faculty Of c0ndensinS a
Vhole argument within the dimensions OF
proverb. 1t was the faculty which was
, striking feature in Benjamin Franklin.
nd Abraham Lincoln possessed il in a re-
hsrkable degree Never was happier
rgument more felicitously stated than
when General Harrison said Of free traders
hey were studying maxims instead OF
markets. In single phrase he exhibited
he weakness Of the whole argument They
peak Of theories and they reject practices.
n a word, I wish to speak tonight Of the
ariff
In this country, from the inception Of
he Government 10 this hour, one great
essen has been taught 1t began under
Washington with aprotective tariff, which
vas increased by twelve separate enact
nents until up 10 the war OF 1912 it was
doubled. Up to that time there was not any
difference in this country between the old
Democrats and Republicans who were all
n favor Of tariff. The division came first
n the act of 1915 after the war of 1912
Then there happened exactly what Mr..
Cleveland threatens this country with
he lowering Of the tariff and a disaster to
he country That lowering Of the tariff
'ame and disaster fo ] wed, and from that
line till 1924 was the worst period that this
COUNTRY has ever seen. In 1924 the first
protective tariff bin was passed, and II
here are any Democrats within the sound
u my voice / beg them to listen while
itate who voted for that bill In the first
place Senator from Tennessee ma I'D An.
rev jackson. In the next place a senator
rom New York Martin Van Buren,. Next
Representative from Pennsylvania named
James Buchanan. Three men, afterward
Democratic Presidents Of the United States,
roted for the bill, and beside these a Sena-
or from Kentucky, A. NJ johnson, after
ward Vice President
Besides there was a great host of the
Democratic party. Four years later.
when they made the tariff still higher,
those men were still in the Senate and
House and repeated that vote, and in ad
lition to those | have named was silss
Wright, Senator from New York and the
iblest man the Democrats ever sent to the
National council That tariff brought IN
limited prosperity TO the country. That
was going on from good to better, and
from better TO best, when just at that time
here came athwart the National sky an
tAhAGAAt ANA tNAA tVHh - thAhbhhf NhN
mad started a. protectionist, had forced
his way to the Presidency. But, though
master Of the Democratic party in the
South, his mastery broke that party. He
found they would not have free labor in
the South, but slave labor and they did
not have free manufactures, and therefore
he was not interested in the tariff. And
therefore, up TO 1S3S the Democratic party
was deceived and had established the ad
vocacy of the extension of slavery and free
trade
These were the two great leading inspi
rations that gu ded that party in break NC
Town the tariff of 1924 and 1923 and estab
tishing the tariff of 1888. Then, again, Just
as under the low tariff Of 1910 came a inan
,ial crisis, 80 that of 1897 and the country
was again Frustrated. How was it re
lievedl BY the protective tariff of 1872
II had been thrown into such a desperate
degree of might almost say-deprecia
ton that everywhere men we're out o
work and were glad TO get work at twenty
FIVE cents day under the Administration o
Martin Van Buren,, the Democrat OF thi
State Of New York II was relieved by thu
election Of VIII am Henry Harrison ant
his election gave US the tariff Of 1872
Well, that lifted the country as il b.
magic, and when the Democrats nominatet
Polk against Henry Clay he was com
PEELED TO write in bad faith, and with no In
tention Of keeping IT, that he was in favor o
a certain degree of protection, and in ba'
faith expressed IL in what was known as thl
Kane letter. He was defeated and Polk wa
installed, and then, despite the pledges o
the Democratic party they broke down tn
protective tariff Of 1852 They broke i
b~rf hn = Of C4nDrvn NJ
Dallas. who was elected Vice President a.
a personal follower Of Polk They brok
il down without as much az one Democrat
ia blush, and then followed much the sam
thing-there was disaster all through thi
country.
You will hear that the Democrats set th
tariff Of 1916 as the proof that low reve
nue. tariff answers the interests Of tn,
country better than protection. Well
now, at that time the Mexican war brok
out and burst up $3.50, 900, 900; tue Irisl
famine occurred and called for the ship
ments of enormous loads Of breadstnffs
there was a revolution in Europe and grea
disturbances all over the European CONT
nent. from London to St Petersburg, an,
BY reflex action there was prosperity il
the United States. We made the discov
cry Of gold in California, and that awak
ened all the trades through the country
and by the time they decreased England
France and Italy fell into the Crimeal
war, which lasted until 1856.
From that on for ten ysars the tariff &C
vOcates had series of happy accidents
The country fell into panic in less than
year-in 1S57-that Frustrated all the grea
industries Of the cOuntry-all our indus
tries Laboring men were without worl
-
things never was cured till protectiv
tariff came and the country sprang int
prosperity again. From that time till thi
we have had a protective tariff In 1856
this country had the blessing Of pro
tective tariff and there never had been in
ancient or modern history in this hemi
sphere or in the other, IN any continent o
in any isle Of the seas, country that 70
twenty eight years has been as prosperou
as the United States Of America is now.
And now Mr. President, following tn
precedent of the Democratic President
the man whom the voters Of the Unitet
States made Chief Magistrate of tn
Nation appeal to you, the voters Of tn
United States, to you, the voters OF tn
State Of New York, and to You, the men o
this great city Of New York, in an especia
degree to say to Mr. Cleveland that, witt
all his Administration he has not tn
power to destroy the protective tariff
Now, my friends, am running hastil
over a century Of the history Of the tariff
and I say, without fear of contradiction
from any well-informed and honest Demo
crat, that these three things are true:
First-That there has never been a pro
tective tariff in this country that did no
bring prosperity.
Secondhand protective tariff in thi
country has never been broken dow
without bringing adversely.
Third-That there has not been since tn
time of CalhOun-over sixty years ago
there has never been a Democratic AID
miuistration in power that did not tr'
20 break down the tariff.
Mr.. Cleveland denied, when he ran il
1854, that the protective tariff was the ID
sue and leading Democrats in New Yorl
and slsewhere-Mr Randall, 81 Pennsyl
vania honorably and sincerely-pledge'
the American people that the adven
OF the Democratic party 20 power wOul'
not in the least degree affect the tariff
THAI pledge was given four years ago
Now you may see how that pledg
has been kept. The American people ar
to-day in a death-struggle-one that ma.
not be decided for the next twenty -fiv
years-whether we shall surrender gu
protective policy aud reduce our working
men to the level Of the working.men o
Europe or whether we shall maintain tn
same system that has brought so powerful
an aid 70 the prosperity Of every working
man aud manufacturer IN the land. Tha
is the question we are 20 meet.
On nv return from Europe I landed a
this mort a month ago I had the uleasnrl
Of making a brief speech then. said q