The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-02-03
Pressages of the Conflict Of
Protection and Free Trade.
SENATORS KENNA & SHERMAN.
"The Senator from Ohio Dismisses the
Solemn Warning of the President
With q Wave of the Hand"
SENATE.

presented petition from the president
of the Johnson & Fuller Manufacturing
Company, of Madison, Wis, for the
abolition of all import duties on agri'
cultural machinery, such as plows, har.
rows, and hay and harvest machinery
Among the bills reported from com
4 mittees, and placed on the calendar,
were the following: ?
To provide for an Indian school at
Carson City, New.
Giving to the Washington & Idaho
Railroad Company the right of way
through the Cmur d'Alene Indian res
ervAtion. =
Authorizing the construction of a
bridge across Red River. - -. -
Among the bills introduced and re-
ferred. we're the following:
BY Butler, to provide for justices of
the Supreme Court tor New Mexico,
authorized TO determine the validity OF
Spanish aud Mexican and grants.
Dol n gave notice that he would,
next Tuesday, call up the bill for the
payment of the Oregon and Wash
lngton Indian war claims of 1855 and
1856, and address the Senate on the
subject.
Riddleberger made several attempts
to expedite business so as to reach his
resolution for consideration in open
session OF the British treaty, but the
Plumb resolution for an investigation
of the condition of the postal service
took precedence, and debate on this
resolution was resumed. ...
The Senate decided " hen it adjourns
to-day it will be until Monday.
At > CLOCK to-day Senator Kenna
secured the floor to reply to the tari&
speech OF Sherman All circumstances,
he said. justified the belief that the
speech was exhaustive OF the resources
of the Senator from Ohio. and the party
of which he was leading representa-
tive, which could be invoked III criti-
cism Of the Presidents message. The
Senator from Ohio dismisses the solemn
warning Of the President with wave of
the hand. He had treated the large
and growing treasury surplus as a mat
ter neither requiring attention nor
iustifying apprehension. The great
statesman whom Sherman had quoted
did not share such an opinion. Sher-
man had garbled the words which he
quoted from President Jefferson, so as
to Justify bis own opinion. Jefferson
had solemuly invoked a change in the
organic law of the land to avert the
danger of g surplus. General Jackson,
Daniel Webster and succession of Re-
publican Presidents and Secretar-
les of the Treasury, had shared
the apprehension expressed by
President Cleveland. Republican
statesmen, voicing such opinions, have,
not been denounced as free traders.
The voice of responsible officials OF the
I'D ~,
sion OF the dangers which President
Cleveland has called upon Congress to
avert. No patriotic American, except
ing possibly, Sherman himself, calmly
contemplates the necessary withdrawal
and boarding of money. Senator Sher
man has protested more vigorously
against the Presidents declaring that
the internal revenue should not be done
away with. In 1867, Senator Sherman
himself had expressed much the same
opinion that he now so severely
criticizes. In 1870 and 1872 he
had eloquently and foreibly maintained
much the same views. Senator Sher-
man had charged that the Treasury
surplus was due to the Presidents fail
ure to exercise his legal functions.
This charge was based mainly on the
fact that the President had opposed
the SnlUpluS OpOu SUCH
criticism the President could well af-
ford to meet the issue. Senator kenna
then proceeded to the discussion in de-
tail OF the effect upon the revenue and
upon the domestic interests of a iudic-
ious revision of the tariff, disputing
almost every economic PROPOSE
ton advanced by Sherman. and
maintaining that the Presidents
suggestions pointed the waV
nor only to relief from bu rdensome tax
atoms and excessive revenue, but also
to increased prosperity and correction
OF innumerable evils without disregard
for any of the established interests of
the country. The true solution of the
difficulty, be said, is fair and just
medium which shall produce the rev
enues which the country need, no more
nor 20 less, according to the plain
dictates of common honesty as
declared by the last Democratic |
platform in report of fair
ness to all interests. Sherman had |
laboriDg man, and to give hum equal |
opportunities in the great struggle of !
life, would be to degrade him. To show |
tie Senator's inconsistency on that |
point, he referred to the law of July, |
1861 and 1854. passed under the special |
patronage of Sherman, allowing immi
grafton under contract. In very recent |
wears the honorable Senator voted |
against a bill to restrict the immigra-
ton of Chinese. He afterwards pleaded |
for limitation of the term of exclusion |
to five wears and finally voting for the |
last DILL He insisted that skilled labor
in China should be excluded from
its operation, while our excess ofimport
duties had the tendency TO build up and |
foster a monopoly. 1t has had a like
tendency to invoke free competition to
labor, and reduce workingmen to a
minimum OF compensation: Yet labor
ing men are blandly told that they are
to bind themselves, hand and foot, for
ever and forever, to a system which
gives them all free trade and competi-
ton, and to others, the privileged few,
monopoly and profit. He (Kenna) was
mistaken in the intelligence of the
American laborer, if it allowed that con
dition longer to exist. A bill to reform !