National Republican., 1888-03-16
VIEWS OF JUDGE KEiI.EY
In Regard to the rariT Legislation and
HIS Poaltion.

-, htHCys Oh IehuelINhuIdi III resuIu "
the action Of the majority of the commit.
tee on ways and means and his position on
the tarifI question, will explain itself
WA,uINGroS. D. G., NAB. l3, 1SSS.-.
Con. A. X. MCCLURE, Editor Times, Phila.
delphia, Pa-Mi DEAR COLONEL: De-
urived as we are OF mail and telegraph
facilities by the prevailing storm, we are
grateful for the receipt this morning OF the
Philadelphia papers OF yesterday. On open
ing the Times hasteued to read It's Leading
article under the caption OF "Practiaal
tariff legislation and was grleved to liud
that YOU had accepted misrepresentation
OF my views, which ] regard rs serious
enough to Justify me In begging you to
grant me sufficient space to make another
attempt to correct. My justification for
asking this privilege OF you is found In the
following paragraph In the article re-
feired to:
Asthc issue stands to-day Mills has II bill,
Randall has a bill and the Republicans have
nouc Mills and Randall arc al war even he.
Nond the question Of tariff revision aud rev.
cpuc reduction, and Judge Kelley, the IAtner
NJ the House. announces that he nnf htspAry
vi disregard their pledges aud resolve thenl'
selves into do .DOthings or obstructiOnistS.
not only have never given expression
to the purpose here attributed to me, but
when such statement had been tele.
graphtd to the Boston GIybc, ! FASTENED IN
coptravention Of the rule OF conduct which
has prevented me from rising TO personal
explanations when gr'evOusly tempted
thereto, TO rise to a question OF privilege,
and not only disavow the statement, but
declare that had uttered no expression
from which such conclusion could be fdi,ly
drawn.
/ When converting with representatives. NJ
the press from every part OF the country
during the last month or more, have not
hestated to refer 10 what | regarl MS the
revolutionary proceedings OF gentlemen
who have assumed to he acting as CON
mittee, Of which am member, while eN.
Guiding me from their deliberations, ani
Withholding from me knowledge Of their
/ purposes and methods OF procedure. la
! these interviews have not hesilated to lie
nource these proceedings as Revolutionary,
aud to say that under these circumstances
there was nothing for me and my Repu1i-
/ can colleagues on the committee to do but
wait and cIiticise. In this opinion ! an
confirmed by the experience OF The
/ hour in which write 1t is Tuesday
morning, the appointed time for regular
meeting OF the committee OF ways and
means, but no meeting of that committee
/ IL being held, and Mr.. Mills, It's chairman,
Yesterday justified the gentleman whose
I luty II Is to issue notices for such meetings
] In having withheld notice for the regular
meeting for to-day. In justification OF this
proceeding, we are told that meetings at
this time would be useless, as the treasury
I officials have not given the junto's tabular
statements referred to them a ilna! re
,,iou. Allow me, my dear colonel, to beg
the further privilege In this connection Of
putting myself right before the country as
to my duty In the pending controversy on
revenue measures. 10 view Of the all.
embracing taxes imposed during the war on
the productions of American capital aud
labor however employed, | saw that the
abolition OF these taxes must be all essen
tial preliminary to any lasting revision OF
the tariff, inasmuch as duties compensatory
for the burdens laid upon our Industries
ly the internal tax or excise system would
involve readjustment Of the tariff with
each successive material reduction OF these
internal burdens.
II is now twenty years since, In 1865,
expressed these convictions IN q co igres
sional speech; and IN 'ne tariff discussion
Of 1872 ] made an elaborate speech on
May on the question, "snall the Inter.
nal taxes be T. 'rpetlatel or abolished 2"
OF which more than $4,000 copies were
subscribed for and distributed under the
frank OF members throughout the country
And when in 1881 the maEiacturers OF the
country assembled IN convention in the
great hall OF the Cooper Institute, and did
me the honor to invite me, among others,
10 address them, ! chose the "reducttoGn
OF internal taxes" as my theme. la
the course OF my remarks | warned nv
hearers Of the financial dangers they would
invite should they fail to relieve domestic
enterprise and industry from the weight
United States from the possibility OF tht
accumulation Of a surplus which wou d
suhitct the business OF the country to th,
absorption by the treasury OF the III,
blood Of trade and commerce and their ow o
l IN. hn tats. Gf ~ atN.fa fNft
ury officials.
With such record as this cannot be-.
lieve that those who know me
can believe that / am capable OF
playing the part Of au distractions,
at a time like this, which is fraugh,
with unusual financial gravity. During tht
last i've years, 1888 TO 1857 inciusi-e, tb,
O9I, or more than 10000 per annum, aud
that the total Indebtedness Of these bank
rupts amounted to S161 ,GS1 ,G20, an average
OF $l53530, ,5S4 per aunum.
You will not, my dear colonel, believe
that can look with Indifference upon the
blasted hopes and wrecked estates Of more
than 10000 OF my countrymen annually
and the loss to the enterprising merchants
or manufacturers who have given these un
fOrtunatcs credit OF more than 800, ,00U, ,00C
annually, assuming that the bankrupted
estates have averaged payments OF 33 per
cent. Of their Indebtedness.
The control OF the volume OF money IN
circulation among the people OF country
is an Influence, tine power OF which for evil
cannot be overestimsted. The reduction OF
the volume OF greenbacks under the mis-
taken policy OF what were called the reve
nue. reformers of those days, from Si00, 900
COO to s346, 100000 produced the crisis OF
1873. which, though financial crisis
would have become political and social
erisls bad not Congress prohibited a
further contraction of the volume
Of greepbacks which, without
discussing the question as to whether
anything but gold or silver may, in the
highest scientific sense, be money, were
performing the functions OF s Si4GO0O, ,OOl,
and are now interchangeable with gold and
silver at par, In fact aud use they were
money. The contraction OF the currency
then impaired the bened2ent effects OF d
protective tariff; and the locking up by
the present admi ,istration of 500, 00C
Of bullion FOR the redemption OF green
backs, In case their holders should be
stricken with insanity aud make run on
the treasury for their redemption, together
with the steadily accumulatng surplus will,
II not checked aud reduced, produce like
result in the immediate future.
With 1880 came the return OF prosperity.
The removal OF the government tourniquet
from the volume OF circulation permitted
the revival OF trade, and our benefcent eys
TEN Of protection gave to AmerlC an enter
prise and labor the benefits Of that revival.
But row 1t is proposed by the President,
aided by what cannot help regarding as q
revolutionary junto Of congressman, to re.
tain the financial tournlquet and open our
markets TO he freely AoUded with foreign
productions, This Is policy which will
oppose and obstruct by all the forces at my
command. To oppose, obstruct, ard
finally defeat such revolutionary and un.
patriotic Vaccinations as have referred to
would, In my judgment, be an achievement
Of which any lover Of his country might
well be proud. But while engaged in this