The Penn's Grove record., 1888-05-19
An Eve Opener.

"hh
For weeks passed the Mills tariff re-
form bill has been considered by more
than Il hundred speeches for and
against it. OF The many tariff speech
es delivered Congressman W. l.. Scott,
the thin voiced millionaire from North
erd pennsylva liza, who spoke for two
hours on the bill last week, has the
credit OF having made one OF the bile
contributions to the discussion, and
one OF the hardest Tor the protection
lists to answer. The gentleman WAS
houored by two distinguished visitors
Outing the delivery of his speech, Mrs.
Cleveland and Postmaster General
Dickinson who sat in the Executive
gallery.
He opened his speech with Il defense
of the true principles OF taxation aS
taught by political economy. Our ma
ton with rich resources should not
shrink from the struggle for possession
of the worlds market and continue
forever to trade among ourselves, un-
der the insane delusion that We are
growing rich By the process. Those
who advocate such are BOurbOns look.
ing to the dismal shades ul the dead past
and imposing upon the energies of men
by ignorance, rapacity ana tyranny lof
the benefit oil the few.
The bill intends to stay the mount
ing surplus OF the treasury and to re-
lieye the uverburdened industries of
the country from excessive taxation,
the proceeds of which do not pass into
the treasury but go directly TO support
grasping monopOlies which combined
in i~ndefensible and atrociously oppres-
siye trusts. Elsewhere men thrive by
buying cheap and selling dear but hear
the BOurbons' assumption is that the
true way to advance the interest OF the
industrial class is to take their earn
ings into the pockets OF IA favored few
monopoliZing American markets under
a protective tariff, and regulating both
production and price. We have no
constitutional power to lay a tax which
carries nothing TO the Treasury, but
which draws money from One mans
pocket to put it in the pockets OF anoth-
FL.
In speaking of Mr.. Randalls' bill lie
said instead of relieving the tax-ridden
people, clamorous for relief, it increas-
rs Tile DlllutI VII tNVil ltiuOtINs tiNT
ironworker as well as the farmer. 1t
increases the duties on iron over So
O0O, 900, and on tin plate $1,000, 600.
1t raises the duty on IRON and steel
from 40 to 60 per cent. These are on
ly examples of this unjustiiiable mon
ster intended to delay the justice which
the country demands.
Said he Il hold VT have 10 consti-
tutional power to lay a tax which Car
ries nothing to the treasury, but which
draws money from one mans pockets
to put it in anotier's pockets. Appre-
ciating the fact that during the past %
years under the present system vast
sums of money had been invested in
protected industries it would be uii-
wise to readjust the conditions which
would cause serious loss. Keeping
these objects in view, it had sought,
first, to relieve these manufacturing
industries by placing on the free list,
as far AS it possibly could, such arti.
cles rs were essentially necessary to
them TO enable them to compete, not
only in their home markets, but in the
markets OF the world. The present
bill proposed to reduce the surplus by
placing wood, salt, hemp, chemicals,
. metals, wool &c, ON the free list to the
amount of y millions and reduce the
tariff OH other necessaries OF life TO the
amount of 31t millions, also reduce the
internal evenue "a millions.
The effects OF the bill will Ire to not
reduce wages but to lessen the cost OF
necessaries of life. Protection, so cali
ed, will add no penny to wage workers
pay or give one days additional labor
in a wear, but il will rob him ont of an
undue proportion OF his earnings to pnr-
chase the necessaries of life. No class
bear this fiscal burden so heavily
as the farmers. 1t is not in the power
of the government to protect the farm
Ell in what he sells, but it can impover-
ish him by imposing a high duty on
what he has to buy. One of the strong
arguments that the pr0tectioni>t made
to the farmer was the home market
that protection was alleged TO insure
for his produce. 1t was Il falIacy
and a fraud, and intelligent farmers
would not be longer deceived by it.
The farmer has to sell his produce
i'll the markets of the world as the
price is regulated by what the surplus
bring in London. He sells wheat foI
IL cents "a pound but if lie wants to
buy an iron beam he has to pay 80 cents
"A pound. The profits of the Carnegies
was $40 a ton on steel rails. or 3 mil
lions il year They have reduced wa
ges 10 per cent, employed European
pauper laborers and Pinkertom detec-
tivos to protect them. when they have
1,N,, .f tho innf.,pU door llaH natural
gas for fuel, which cannot be eXcelled
for cheapness. He vas not surprised
the proprietor could rent a castle in
Scotland in which to spend his sum
mer. Under these circumstances lie
could SET very little hope for the future
of the wage worker in this country.
He next took up the question OF tree
wool on which there is now a tariff of
10 per cent. Taking the statistics of
the number sheep and the pounds OF
wool raised to each farmer in PennSyl-
vania in 1850 and allowing that 10 per
cent. reduction in the tariff would be
SO much reduction in the receipts of
the farmer for his wool, which would
not follow, there would be "a loss of S .G0
to each farmer. Ac ;ording to the cen-
sus of 1880 the yearly consumption of
wooden and wOrsted goods was $3.50
per capita or S32. 80 in a family. The
proposed reduction on WOODEN goods
was % per cent. of cost or n saving
to EACH family of 81 ~ II year, or "a net
saving to the sheep raistr Of $6.S2 per
year.
In conclusion he said:
ave the majority of the Ways and
Means Ccmmlttee are here in defence
of An,a,Enan ministry W. alnna ntfar