The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-18
LAB0R'SLUXURIOUSL LIFE
EDMUNDS DRAWS A FANCY PICT-
URE OF THE CAT

of the Senator's Imaginative Flights
on the Tariff Question-Messr Nc
Pherson and Vance Inclined to Stick
| to the Facts
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE Senate this
afternoon resumed consideration of the
! tariff bill at paragraph 147. referring to
| Taggers iron. This paragraph, and two
preceding ones ION the same subject, were
passed over informally without action.
The next paragraph, the 14Sth, was as to
spikes, nuts and washers, and horse, mule
or OK shoes of wrought iron or steel" inn
| posing a duty of l $40 cents per pound.
Mr.. Vest moved to amend by reducing the
rate to g cents per pound. After discus
sion the amendment was rejected by a vote
Of 10 yeas to 81 nays
The next paragraph, the 10th, was as to
wheels or parts thereof made of iron or
steel, and steel-tired wheels for railway
| purposes" (wholly or partly manufactured,
imposing rate of 219 cents per pound, and
OF ~ cents per pound on ingots for the
same without regard to degree of manufact-
ure. MIR. Mcpherson moved to amend by
making the rates cents and q cents per
pound respectively.
NEW GROUND OF THE REPUBLICANS.
Mr.. Mcpherson called attention to the
fact that the republican senators had aban-
doned the idea of defending the bill on the
ground of protection to American labor
and had taken the ground of protecting
factory interests
Mr.. Edmonds argued that there
was partically no such thing
as raw material Taking a car wheel
to weigh 300 pounds and to be worth so
many dollars, 90 per cent. of those dollars
represented the labor put into it. Whether
the result was properly divided between the
laborer and employer was another question,
which no tariff could fix except in the sense
that the more of the foreign articles there
| are brought in the less of such articles will
be produced in the United States.
WHERE THE RUB COMES IN.
Mr.. Mcpherson said that nobody denied
that good deal of labor was involved In
the manufacture of car wheels, but after
the iron ore and coal and limestone were
mined and brought together, and iron made
out of them, that pig iron was protected at
the rate of Sc. 72 per ton. That, he argued,
was far behind the relative difference be-
tween the wages at home and abroad
American labor was as much better than
foreign labor as the pay was better.
Mr.. Edmunds disclaimed any intention of
contributing to endless discussion on the
bill. He did not know whether Mr. Nc
Pherson's statement as to the relative
superiority of American labor was true or
not, but he assumed that it was and he
drew a comparison between the enviable
condition of the American laborer as COM
pared with the condition of the laborer in
Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany,
or Spain.
WHAT THE AMERICANS HAVE.
The American laborer, he said, had a
house, usually his own; a carpet on his
floor; glass windows; a piano, or some
musical instrument, and free schools for
his children; he could eat fresh meat
every day if he wanted to;
supplied him with something else, and he
had wheat bread, he could go to church,
| and he had everything which contributed
| to the comfort and welfare of the human
race He had vacations and excursions
| and everything that the richest men in
| America had, and he was generally much
| happier and slept better than the rich man.
| He was as well clothed, and his wife and
children were as we'll clothed as the richest
man in the United States and his wife and
children.
Mr. Enmunds' argument was replied to
by Messrs. Mcpherson, Vance, Vest and
| Reagan.
WHERE COTToN's PRICE is FIXED.
Mr.. Edmunds put a question to Mr..
| Vance as to where the ruling market on the
| price of cotton would be if all customs du-
ties were abolished. Would it be in New
York, Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah,
or would it be in Liverpool.
Mr.. Vance-Suppose you forbid all
| foreign trade, where would YOU get revenue
| to support the government?
| MIR. EdmundS-I will answer the senator s
| question, though he does not answer mine
| Mr.. Vance, will attend to your question
| later in the day.
| Mr.. Edmunds-A good deal later
| Laughter In the first place, such a thing
| does not exist. l am not proposing any
| law against importaUions. But if we had
| an absolutely prohibitory law against i'm
| portations, we have a continent here and
| would have means of consumption and
| production just as far as now.
| | am not for that at
the present moment because the laws of
| bring 1T on, and the continent of North
| America, composed of the United States of
America, will regulate the price of every
thing in the world.
MR. vANCE's REPLY
Mr.. Vance then responded to Mr.. Ed
| mund's question, and said that the market
| to fix the price of cotton would be Just as
now. Liverpool, until New York became
the great center of trade for the world.
| SuRReSUlVelY as TO
the position of the senator from North
| Carolina ON the subject of the duty on rice
| Mr.. Vance replied that rice should share
the fate of every other product If there
was universal free trade, it should apply to
| rice, but if other articles were protected,
| rice should be.
In the further course of the debate Mr..
Vest referred to the democratic senator's as
| being represented as enemies of the country.
Mr. Frye-That is 50.
Mr.. Vest-It is impossible for the senator
from Maine to think worse of me on this
subject than do of him. / think that if
he has contract to carry this country to
utter ruin he is carrying it out
to the best of his ability and
honestly believe that no is robbing the
people of the country, on whose welfare
depends the welfare of the entire republic
propose to fight every item in the bill if
it takes till March 4, but win make plain
to the American people that this whole
Senate bill is in the interest of piling up the
fortunes of manufacturers at the expense
of the consumer
A discussion on the general merits of the
tariff was carried on by Messrs. Blair and
Teller on one side, and by Messrs. McPher-
son aud Call on the other side. The latter
declared himself in favor of the passage of
the bill, with reasonable rates of protec-
tom as early as possible.
After a long general debate, Mr.. Nc
PherSOns amendment was rejected