St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-29
ROUSING MEETING.
Seventh Ward Democrats Listen to
Hon. Eugene N. Wilson.
A TALK ON WAR TAXES.
Regulations for the Democratic eau
cuses.--Points Political Picked and
Gathered Here and There.

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an enthusiastic one in all respects.
Chris. A. Gallagher opened the
meeting and held the audience
for nearly half an hour. The Republic
cans were raising great cry, he said.
over the fact that the Democrats were
advocating a reduction of the high war
tariff, because it would seriously inter-
fere with the plans of the monopolies,
which are getting rich at the expense
of the working people. In referring to
the state campaign he held Mr.. Mer-
ram up as man unfit to hold the office
| OF governor. and showed how he was
| spending money to secure his election.
But" continued the speaker, ''Mr.
Merriam cannot buy the people of this
| state, as he will find out in November"
In closing Mr.. Gallagher paid high
tribute to Mr.. Wilson, who had always
proved himself a true friend of the
workingmen.
Music by the Harvester Works band
followed, and then Mr.. Wilson was in
troduced. He was greeted with pro-
longed cheering and applause, which
he acknowledged by graceful bow.
- have just returned from the farming
district" said Mr.. Wilson, land l will
tell you that the farmers and the labor
men are fully alive to the question of
tariff reform and the reduction of the
tariff. They have lost all faith in the
Republican party and want no more of
1t III theirs. Now, taxes at the best are
hard things, but where they are I'M
necessarily high, as they are now, we
have right to complain.
THE TAX WE NOW COMPLAIN OF
is the tariff. A tariff is tax placed on
imports, and when it is very high it
checks all imports and raises the price
of things made here much higher than
they should be. When the war came on
1t was necessary to raise the tariff in
| order to get money enough to pay the
I government expenses. So all the man
ufactured articles were taxed, as were
the railroads and all the corporations
which made money out of the people.
This was called the war tax, and we
were promised that when the war
ended it should be taken off. But this
| promise was not kept. The tax was
taken off of the railroads, the insurance
companies and upon the rich people,
but the tariff tax, which affected all the
poor people, was not only not taken off,
but was raised. In 1870 bill to re-
duce this tariff was defeated in con-
gress by the carpetbaggers and the East
VI IL
platform down to the last one
has promised a reduction of these
taxes, but only once, that in
1888, has that party made any effort to
reduce it. Even Mr.. Harrison, the Re-
publican nominee, was in favor of a re-
| ductiOn then, but now he is changed
and says that no reduction is necessary.
The Democratic party has always tried
to get this tariff reduced, and all honor
to the four Minnesota Republicans who
voted for tariff reduction at the last
congress. The Republican platform,
adopted at Chicago, was an insult to ev-
cry man who wanted reduction of the
tariff, and that insult will be remem-
bered at the election. The Republican
party knows that levying a tax
LARGER THAN ABSOLUTELY NECES-
SARY
| is wrong, and causes untold injury to
every wOrkingman in the United
| States. That same party has promised
to take the tax off of whisky and to-
| baccO, while the Democratic party has
| promised to make your clothing and
| your neceSsaries of life cheaper. The
tariff does not affect the workingmen
of Minneapolis, for there are no pro-
| tected industries. Out of the millions
| of working people i'll the United States
employed in the protected industries, and
| yet the Republican party wants you to
| vote for Harrison in order that the pro-
| tected industries labOrerS may be pro-
| tected. But If you protect these few
| hundred thousands you do not protect
| the millions Of unprotected labOrerS.
| These protected industries employers
are the men who are bringing pauper
European laborers here to compete with
honest American labOrers. When you
find you must get higher wages to live
decently your employer tells you that
| you can quit if you want to, for he has
few hundred foreigners who will
work for half what you are
getting. That's protection for you.
| These protected industries do not pay
as big wages as unprotected industries.
There should be just enough tariff to
make up the difference between the
| cost of manufacturing goods here and
in other countries. That's all the tariff
we want. AS Democrats we think we
can cut the tariff down big bit from
where it now is. The fact is, we are
troubled with Overproduction, and the
monOpolists are doing wrong in keep
ing up prices and discharging their en-
| plOyeS.
Mr.. Wilson spoke on trusts for some
| lluiCs NAiOhih6 hOh OiNy OPCldbCQ
how they worked against the laborlng
men. His illustrations were apt and
clear. and his audience fully appre-
ciated them. In former times, continued
Mr.. Wilson,
THIS WAS CALLED CONSPIRACY,
and the men could be indicted for doing
it, but now they have the great Republi-
can party back of them and think they
can do as they please. Everything goes
to show that this high tariff is not
necessary, and any man who gives the
matter moments thought will vote the
| Democratic ticket this fall.
In closing let me say that the reduc-
ton of this tariff is necessary to all the
working people. Diamonds are taxed
only 10 per cent, while the goods the
poor people are obliged to have are
taxed all the way from % to IA per
cent. All the articles used by the poor
people are taxed the highest, and the
| people of this country are beginning to
wake up to the fact that something
must &c, and that soon. The Democrats
are not asking for free trade, but for
| fair trade and the lowering of the tariff,
so that the workingmen will not have
to pay three or four prices for all he
gets for use in his family. -
| Mr.. Wilson's speech was warmly APP
plauded. Short speeches by j. NJ.
Eustis and William Hosp closed the
meeting.
A SEAL SACOUE -.