National Republican., 1888-03-30
THE MILLS TARIFF BILL.
what is Thought of the Tramer by II
Constituent.

Constituent.
The following communication from
constituent of Congressman Mills appeared
in the Dallas Texas Morning Ne,cs of the
21st instant:
ALBANY, Ten, March 16.--I have read the
amusing letter of =. X. l.. in the Ne,Us of yes
terday. lie says he has just read Mr.. Millss
famous tariff bill, Of which he complains
nightly. So have Just read that bill, aud
the point that particularly attracts md atten-
tion In il is this, namely: That he seems to
single out every rising industry of the south,
of Texas particularly, with the view to place
1t in injurious and perhaps destructive com
petition with foreign industries Of the same
sort 1t seems that southern industries and
Texas industries are the particular objects
of his assault, above all others.
Claiming TO be the most southern
of all southern men, he fights south
ern interests with most marked
hostility. Thus he lets foreign wool in free.
Sow there is no man who has sense enough
to lead blind goose to water but knows
that this will drive the Texas wool grower
completely to the wall and destroy his bust
ness. 1t will likewise destroy all American
wool growers, and that business becomes
extinct in the United States. Now, Is the
foreign wool grower n blind fool? When
he secs that he has monopoly of the Amer-
can wool market, with no American wool
grower to make him afraid, will he not abuse
the power that he has and make us pay tre-
mendous prices for his wool? If he does
not, then he has not the human nature that
other men have. So woolen goods will cost
us more under free trade than under the
highest tariff that Congress could enact.
Mr.. Mills said in his Providence speech
that under free trade wool is high-priced.
The statistics show that he did not err in
this. Low tariff or free trade has indeed,
had that effect after q while. And why :?
Because it cut down the American wool
growers, and the foreigner, taking advan-
tage Of the position, charged us the last cent
he could get. The American, under such a
state Of affairo could not start up again,
knowing himself to be absolutely at the
mercy of the foreigner. And so also free
trade or low tariff makes woolen goods
high-higher than they are under the highest
tariff we have ever had. Very many igno-
rant and prejudiced people will say that this
is not true. Very well, but it is true, as the
statistics show.
Mr. Mills also takes off most of the duty
on sugar, reducing 1t very low. This knocks
the sugar planters of Texas and Louisiana;
lays them out ''as cold as any stone"
Sugar will probably be little cheaper for
little while, but only till the foreign sugar
grower has witnessed the last expiring thrOcs
ing he has a clear field In the American
market, he will stick II on to us all he wants.
consider this reduction in the sugar duty,
II il should be made, as particularly unfOr-
tunate at this juncture. i saw some sugar
lately made from sorghum. II was fine
sugar 1t is now proved that sorghum is
valuable for sugar making. In Texas sor-
| ghum is far richer in saccharine matter than
| any other sorghum grown in the United
| States Hence II will make more sugar and
better sugar than any other sorghum. Hence
here is an industry of great promise about to
TO be inundated on the altar OF free trade,
and Texas will lose more through this i'm
notation than any other state.
Mr.. Mills makes coal free. Texas is now
| starting out to develop coal mines, but
should this hill pass she'd better wait lit
| tie. He also largely reduces the duty on
iron and steel. Texas is about opening as
| fine iron mines as can be found in the
world, much of the ore being OF the Bessi
mer sort, from which the best steel is made
Large sums of money are being invested in
this direction, and If let alone Texas would
soon have great foundries and flourishing
manufacturing cities. But all this must be
stopped. Birmingham, Chattanooga, and
| Admission must 90 also. We must kill of
| our own industries In order that foreigners
may come in and fatten on us at will
| Couging us for every cent he can get out OF
us He will be charging us $50 q ton FOR
| steel rails again, as he did before Congress
started the manufacture of steel rails in
| America by putting heavy duty on the
foreign product. We now get ali the steel
rails we want at about $50 ton under Il
high duty, when we had to pay.S150 per ton
under no duty.
hope the Neus will publish these lines
and thus let It butt against them If it can
1t can't butt worth cent against them, fol
they are facts. There is no subject OF
which such dense Ignorance prevails in tn,
south as on the tariff. There are just oceani
of such ignorance, and we owe II to the poll
tcians Of the sectional sort that 1t is so
But this ignorance is not going to last for
ever 1t is gradually going away.