The Portland daily press., 1888-09-04
Veteran Republican Club.

There was a large attendance at the meet
ing of the Veteran Republican Club last eve
ming. President Perry presided and in
troduced Mr.. L. b. bennett who spoke on the
tariff. Mr.. bennett spoke as follows:
A tariff for revenue only is a tax Mr..
Thurman Is right, so far as a revenue tariff,
"pure and simple" is concerned. And this Is
the tariff which all anti-pr0tection Demo-
Gratis advocate. 1t is the Democratic tariff.
Mr Thurman, in his speeches, says, "that
q tarit is tax upon everything we wear
our feet" Let us be charitable enough to-
wards his intellect to believe, when he says
this, that the "Old Roman" has in his mind
Democratic revenue tax.
Yes, it is true, land pity It's, tits true, y
revenue tariff is a tax, oppressive and con.
tlnuously disastrous. A mere revenue tariff
would email upon us all the evils which
come of a competition which cannot be de-
fed, nor resisted. 1t viii proyincialize any
country, that permanently adopts it. Shy
lock said after judgment which forfeited his
wealth.
You take my house when you do take the prep
That doth sustain my house; you take my life
When you do take the means whereby live"
A tariff for protection as well as rev enue
Is benefcence.. Such is the Repub lican
tariff. 1t furnishes the requisite cash for
the United States Treasury, because no
tariff which is not so high as greatly exceeds
the point of ordinary protection, will ever
be prohibitory, so long as the rich have a
taste for foreign articles Of new styles and
A protective tariff is beneicence, because
1t employs every hand, every brain and every
dollar Of capital in the land in the creation
OF wealth, in the production Of every neces-
sary, OF every comfort and luxury Of life. A
tariff for protection Is a beneficence, becaus Sc
it provides better and dmore food, better and
more clothing, better houses and schools; it
Is benehcent because IL furnishes labor; and
labor Is the benefcent Greater Of all the
means of living. Everything we use Is the
product Of labor, save land alone. 1t is labor
above all things that blesses mankind. The
busy are happy. Yes, the Republican tariff
is benehcence because il benefits everybody
IN this land. 1t falls upon the nation, not
like the oppressive tax of a mere revenue
tariff, put like the grateful rain, and the land
is green with productions, and blossoms
with the smiles Of its people. The fields,
the hills, the steams, the great lakes and the
oceans that give everlasting boundaries of
protection to either shore Of our vast conti-
nent, all rejoice with happy throngs of busy
men, women and children, intent upon the
pursuits OF happiness, and content with that
activity, which at once enriches and sup
plies all the sources Of comfort and happ mess
A protection tariff Is not only benefcent,
but necessary law. Human nature has ad-
siyely by the practice Of protective policies.
The policy OF production has the same foun-
dation that the law Of melun et teum (mine
and thine) has.
The rights Of property are not more sacred
than the rights of the laborer who created
that property. If foreign people have no
right to came here and take our property,
then they have no right to come here with
their goods and take away our market and
our labor from the toiling millions Of our
now prosperous land.
The destruction of our protective system
would be in violation of the supreme law OF
national self preservation.
The American system has has had for its
advocates all OF the great Americans except
Calhoun.
His great intellect clearly saw the adyan-
tages OF protection, and he advocated IT, un-
I'll he found that the North would be bene-
ntted, more than the South, and he then
changed sides in the interests Of slavery.
Even James Buchanan, who could not see in
our constitution, authority to coerce rebel
Nous State. could see the beneficent effects
OF protective policy upon the industries of
his own State.
The Mills bill, so called from Mr.. Mills of
Texas, is not different from any theoretic
enactment looking toward free trade. A
brief examination of it discloses its theoret-
ical character. A tariff schedule should be
made by experts. and in the light Of existing
facts.
Think of this great nations taking tariff
amendments from the State of Texas. There
Is many town in New England that has
more capital invested in manufactures than
the entire State of Texas. There are three
counties in the little territory of the glorious
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, either of
which has more capital invested in manufac-
lures than the States Of Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida together.
The State of Massachusetts has more Invest
ed in manufactures than all the Southern
States by more than thirty-six millions OF
dollars. III the Southern members of Con-
gress knew more of Northern manufactures.
and the causes of Northern prosperity and
industrial development, they would not be
unanimously opposed to a system which has
produced the results have named. Ii Is A
sad commentary upon their statesmanship.
that they cannot recognize the very facts OK.
isting before their syes, which Calhoun clear.
ly foresaw, half century ago, would come
to pass under policy Of protection.
But to what pitiable.category is the North.
ern Democrat consigned who has had The
Plainest object lessons before him since his
birth. -
The question of the beneficence of n pro.
tectlye tarin for this country has long since
passed beyond the boundaries Of Legitimate
debate and takes its place among established
Iacts. IL has become as historic as the blum.
uerS OIL the Democratic nartv