Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-19

I
s.,;': e. i a. ; S,;sls% W/II
for specific duties
was alone sufficient WILLIAM MKINLEY.
to warrant the rejection of the bill
Under an ad valorem system honest admins
tration would be impossible Every Euro
penn nation had rejected it, The customs
officials of the United States were unanimous
in their condemnation of the ad valorem sys
tenn. comprehensive review of the history
of the country will show that the domination
of protection principles ha d always caused
prosperity; their overthrow or neglect had
always brought ruin. Mckinley cited nu
merous examples of American and foreign
manufacturing establishments of similar
character, which showed the American
wages to be often three times large N
those of the European workWen.
Leopold Morse, inteIrupting with some
questions about wooden clothing, Mckinley
turned the laugh upon him by producing a
suit of Atwood clothing purchased from
Morse's store in Boston at price which an
swered the question, and also, as Mckinley
said disposed of Mills fearful tale of the
workingman toiling for $50 suit.
Mckinley then continued at length his com
parsons tending to show the increased wages
of American lahorerS under n protective
tariff He concluded with the statement that
the verdict of the people had never been
given for such bill as this, and that if the
Democratic party would adopt it MS their
platform the result could not he other than "A
crushing and overwhelming defeat. He
challenged the Democracy to make this
issue. No Republican had any fear of.the re-
suit
Mckinley concluded amid burst of APP
/ a ~ L.
Republican side, and Breckenridge of Ken
lucky took the floor. He said
We do not pretend that This bill Is n scientific
measure, II is a hill framed to meet the present
condition, not To fit any particular theory. The
changes proposed 10y this bill designed to give
the farmer, by whom all provisions are raised, "A
market for his breadstufTs, and for materials,
which is only profitable when he has prosperous
manufacturer for n purchaser; TO the laborer,
tie hope Of a constant market; and to the manu-
fActnrcr, freedom from unnecessary burdens.
We have, Therefore put upon the free list, as far
as We felt it just the materials necessary for
the manufacturer. We have reduced the rates
wherever we have touched them, to point that
gives 10 the home consumer the hope of fair com
petition whenever demand may he made by an
internal trust TO advance the prices beyond fair
consideration for the article to he sold, and yet
We have left the rates that the protection al.
forded is greater than any necessity, and makes
all competition of foreign manufacturers upon
terms of great advantage to the Aperican manu-
tacturer
II was determined, in respO nse to what seemed
to be the sentiment of large part of the country,
TO propose a repeal of taxes on manufactured to
bacCo The COMMITTEES have thought it wise to
repeal SO much Of the internal revenue statutes as
were not necessary to the proper administration
Of the system and the collection of the revenue
under it. Our belief was that TO exempt fruit
brandies and alcohol used in the arts was indi
rectly and hypocriticaIly. hut effectualy, to de
StrOy the internal revenue system, and if this
to be done. we preferred to do it, or have it done,
openly and thus fix the responsibility for it upon
those who accomplished it. The venerable gen
tlcman from Pennsylvania Kelley may be as
sured that no criticism he may permit himself to
make upon Kentucky will be held to he any AN
swer to the bill under consideration
Breckenridge having denied the statements
about Kentucky made by Kelley i'll his
speech, said:
When the gentleman's speech is read by the cit
izens of those counties called 'paupersN by him,
who have held in afIectionate remembrance the
name of my venerable friend, they will think, if
they do not say, "Et tn, Brute, and fear they
will not remember that the last word is in Latin
and is a word of two SyllableS.
IL this bill goes into operation, one of its ben
Efficient resrilts,-aHd not the least, will he the
of American politics from the dom
nation of the SO called wOol'grOwerS, and the
freedom of the representatives of the people
in the name of the million of hockmasters. | am
not one of those who ascrbe TO the protective
tariff all those troublesome problems which press
upon us for solution But there are evils which a
tariff either produces or uniting with
other causes, aids in producing. Thirty years
ago the American flag was seen in every port.
All this has changed; partly it has been caused
by the substitution of the iron vessel for the
wooden vessel but largely by Il system of tax
alton which rendered it impossible for an Ameri
~.
nual freight paid on our foreign trade to foreign
ers has been variolsy estimated from SI40,000,-
900 TO 500 10000 This enormous annual tax,
now paid to foreigners, ought to have been ours;
and the aggregate sum which we have thrown
away in our selfish folly since 1850 is much larger
than our public debt. The advocates of the pres
ent tariff system vehemently deny that this
gradual and fatal decay has been caused by it,
They can not deny that a remedy this policy
has been wholly notifications. Since 1866 this de-
cay has gone on. Under the protective system we
can hope for no relief from il.
Breckenridge then went into long phil
osophical argument showing the advantage
that would accrue from policy of free
trade, and in conclusion said:
Seventy per cent. of the cotton which |
England turns into finished product |
ind sells all over the habitable globe grows upon
American soil Her annual increase of receipts |
,ver the price that she pays for our cotton is
he manufacture of this cotton should be ours. |
Dur citizens ought to take this material |
aised in fields, turn 1t into the finished pro-
luct in factories owned by American capital, |
where American operatives receive the wages |
hat would be just proportion of the profit of |
his labor The legislation of the country having |
or its object the public good and freed from the |
domination of private greed, would successfully |
,rapple with the progress which will present, and a
rec people be represented by free representatives
lether owned, seduced nor terrified by organized |
interests.
The applause which had been literally in |
erspersed throughout Breckinridge's speech, |
grew into a storm when that gentleman con-
'luded and took his seat. Cheer followed |
'heer, the ladies in the galleries waving their
and Breckinridge's colleagues
'ushed forward enthusiastically to grasp his
land
They Talked All Day.
WASHINGTON CITY, May 10-The house
pent the whole of yesterday in debate on the
ariff, the speakers being Randall Mckinley
md Breckenridge of Kentucky A night ses
ession, however, was held at which thirty
i've private pension bills were passed and
adjournment was reached at 1880
Left Her Money to Good Purpose.
BosToN Nav 10 The will of Ada Au-
yusta Draper hequeathes $4,000 each to the
Sew England hospital for women and chill
lren and the Boston university, and after the
a. =