The Portland daily press., 1888-08-22

l ucT mas Dctu HlOob RAOOAkdl Win HCA
| gifts Her hills and valleys have been made
the storehouses Of richest treasure. Coal
and iron mines wait impatiently the touch OF
labor and capital, and tempt both with prom
col lovish profit.
Raw materials are found at every turn to
invite the skilled artisan to transform them
INTO the finished product for the highest uses
OF man. She possesses the hbres In rich
abundance; her skilled labor should weave
1t Is said that there is nothing grown in
any OF the States, except Florida, that Geor-
ga cannot prohtably produce. She has coal
anu iron deposits, marble and building stone,
cotton and the cereals Nothing but her
own ~. a9iiy, notnlng but blindness to her high
est ana best interests can keep her from the
| Union. ''"''' " WV
Whether we discuss this question from
principal, from statistics, or experience, we
| must reach the same Conclusion. All lead to
the same conviction. Let me give Won some
important evidence from high and undonbted
sources, which confirms the argument which
have been making
President Fillmore said on December 2.
1851, In his message to Congress, speaking OF
the condition Of the country:
"The value Of our exports Of breadstuas and
provisions, which II was supposed the incentive
OF low tariff and large imp0rtatiOns from abroad
would @ d. have greatly augmented, has fallen from
20 S2l S4S ,653 In 1851, with strong probability
amounting almost 70 certainty, Of still further
policy which dictated low rate Of duties on ioT
elgn merchandise, IL was thought by those who
promoted and established lt. would tend TO bene-
NJ the farming populatlo OF this country by I'M.
creasing the demand and raising the price Of az.
rcultural products In foreign markets. The fore
6at no sach result has followed nS tbe
this policy"
Again he said in his message Of December
| 6, 1852:
without repeating the arguments contained in
my toImer message In favor Of discriminating pro
teetlve duties, deem II my duty 10 call your at
tention 70 one or two other considerations Affect
ing this subject. The first Is the Ell
goods upon our currency. Most Of the sold
9i Caiiornia, as fast as II Is coined finds its way
ebasad 70 IN EtSSsops tS na IN payment for goods Pur
ing establishments are broken down by competi-
.lon with foreigners, the capital invested in them
zens are Thrown cut Of employment, and the farm
er 70 that extent Is deprived Of a home market
place. the destruction of our manufactures isaxes
the foreigner without competition In our market.
ana ne consequently raises the price Of the article
cost OF iron imported from England"
In December, 1857, President Buchanan.
In his annual message to Congress, said:
"The earth has yielded her fruits abundantly
ana mas bountlfully rewarded the toll OF the hus-
Dandman. We have possessed all the elements OF
material wealth in rich abundance, and vet not
wlthstanding all these advantages, our country in
its monetary interests Is at the present moment
In deplorable condition. In the midst of unsur-
passed plenty In all the productions, and In All
tne elements OF natural wealth, we fad our man
fractures suspended, our public works retarded
our private enterprises Of different kinds aban.
doned, and thousands Of useful laborers thrown
out OF employment and reduced TO want"
This testimony would condemn "a reve-
nue. tariff" in any court Of the land. II ought
70 force like verdict from the great jury Of
our countrymen.
One Of the chief complaints against the
protective system is its alleged hindrance to
ioreign trade ana foreign market for our
own products. 1t Is argued that il we could
import raw material from other countries
Tree, and manufacture such raw material
into products for use, we could export them
az great profit and thus secure Standing ia
the markets OF the world. This IS wholly.
as believe, illusory. 1t is without sub,
stance. We have an example of free
raw material in certain line Of manufac-
tqres-that Of leather for boots, shoes.
etc: IN leI2 hides and skins were made free
without custom house burdens. Thev have
nad Tree trade" in their raw material nov
Ior sixteen years. This industry has been an
excepuonaily successful one, and yet you
cannot avoid being surprised when / say 10
you that in those sixteen years we have been
able to export but per cent Of the leather
production Of the country.
But II free raw material be necessary 10
secure an export trade and the foreign mark
cts, then | answer that our manufacturers
today have substantial free trade In FOREIGN
raw materials which they make into the fin
lshed product in the United States, provided
they export it.. Sections 3019, 3O20 3O2i and
~ Oh the United States statutes provide for
the remission Oh duties on all foreign ma
terials used in manufacturing for the export
trade. The law Is positive that all articles
manufactured for export from imported ma
terials, upon which duties have been paid.
shall, when exported, be entitled TO a draw.
back Of 90 per cent of the duties paid on such
raw materias. some use has been made Of
these laws. The remission of duties In 1884
PAID upon imported material manufactured
Ior foreign markets amounted to 81, 256, ,63s. |
On some articles the drawback is equal to |
the duty paid, but in no instance where ar |
tlcles are imported to be manufactured here L
cent. - p0A
And yet we are gravely told by the tariff
that we cannot reach foreign
markets on account Of the high tariff on the 1
raw material, when, In fact, for foreign
trade, foreign raw materials are practically /
Tree, ms principle was recognized as early
as the administration Of George Wash |
lngtan, and has been enlarged and made ap-
plicaDle to all imdorted materials, the draw
backs varying from 90 to 100 per cent. What |
becomes then OF the cry for free raw
materials In the presence Of this fact? The |
truth Is, we are not so much concerned
about the foreign market as we are about |
the home market. The latter is the best.
and we have not yet been able to control IL
ana until we DO, that should be our chief
concern. But If any of our deople are sigh
ng for foreign market and value 1t more
highly than our own, they can import
foreign raw material practically free Of duty
md after advancing into the higher forms Of
worlds markets. Taxed raw materials do
lot now stand in their way and il Is hypo-
,risy to claim otherwise.
The markets of the world" In our present
are snare and delusion. We
VIII reach them whenever we can undersell
competing nations, and not sooner Tariffs
10 not keep us out and free trade will not |
make 1t easier to enter them. Let me give
Tou brief exhibit Of some of our foreign |
he year ending June 30, 1887, we bought of |
dexico, the Central American States, |
5ritlsh Honduras, and the governments Of |
he West Indies and South America, pro |
ucts to the value Of S172. .46S, ,526, and we
OLD these governments Of our products
bout 80 l-3 per cent in amount Of what we |
ought OF them. or about $50, ,000, 900; and as |
showing that our protective tariff did not
roduce this uncomfortable balance against |
y need only state that more than one-half
I the products we bought were not subject
0 any tariff tax at all, but were admitted
rec Of duty.
Upon what terms can we adopt revenue |
arih system In this country? In one way |
hiJf Wy dCtCpblub anu Il
to all the discomforts and disad-
antages Of our commercial rivals. The |
hief obstruction in the way Of revenue
arif are the wages paid American working
len, and any return to that policy involves |
reduction Of the cost Of labor. We cannot |
ford, Mr.. President to have cheap labor in
le United States Cheap labor means cheap
len and dear money. L would rather ele- | I
ate and improve the condition Of my fellow | O
tizens than increase the value OF money | 7
nd the power Of "money-bags." This Is |
'publie of free and equal citizenship. The
)vernment Is in the hands Of the masses, | q
lelr well-being, their intelligence, their
reparation for the civil duties which rest
pom them, depend largely upon the scale Of 4
dustrial wages. 1t Is essential, therefore. 4
latthe best possible wages attainable shall
secured and maintained. This is vital |
I'd fundamental We can not without
ave danger and serious disturbance-we
lght not under any circumstances-adopt a |
)llcy which would scale down the wages |
I'd diminish the comforts Of the American
orkingmen. Their welfare and indepen-
snce, their progress and.elevation, are close
related to the welfare and independence d
Id progress Of the Republic We have got
pampered class in this country, and we
ant none. We want the field kept open. |
o narrowing OF the avenues; no lowering | 1
our standard. We want no barriers rails, Q
against higher and better civilization. a
he gateway of opportunity must be omen
all, to the end that they may be first Who |
n hQ frs fhak /