Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-09-21
n TARIFF AGAIN.
FURTHER IN REPLY TIC GOV STEWARDS
PEECh


FURTHER IN REPLY TO oov STEWARDS
SPEECH.
MIR. BattelPs Letter Continued.l
We give next the opinions of John
Stephenson, the great car builder, also
taken from the New York Times, which
says:
"John Stephenson, who built the first
tram car for the first street-car road es-
tablished anywhere in the world, in this
city, for the New York and Harlem
Railway company (Fourth-Avenue) in
1881, is the latest convert from Republi-
canism to the party of Cleveland and
tariff reform. Mr.. Stephenson is now 10
years old, and has voted for every Rep
ublican candidate for the Presidency,
from Lincoln to Blaine inclusive, but he
his firm determination, if his
life is spared, to vote this time for Cleve-
land and Thurman. Although he never
took a personal interest in politics beyond
that of fulfilling his duty as an American
elector. he was for year after year elect
ed school officer of his ward. serving 20
years in that capacity. He served an
apprenticeship in coach building, me-
chanical engineering, and designing, as a
young man, and in 1881 established the
business of which he is now the head.
and which has grown to be the largest
establishment of its kind in the world.
$50 a Times reporter he said yester-
day: Il have determined to vote for
Cleveland and Thurman, notwithstand-
ing the fact that | have heretofore been a
supporter of the Republican candidates
for the Presidency ever since there was a
Republican party. But the Republican
party has outlived its usefulness, and in
advocating the maintenance of the pres
ent high ~tarifl-higher even than during
the war-it aims a blow at the business
interests of the country. I have been in
this business over 81 years and have sold
street cars in every civilized country in
the world. Three years ago / made for
the London Tramway Limited)-the
corporation owning all the street car
lines in London on the Surrey side of the
ever made for that company, and l have
made but a few since that time for any
European customers. The tariff on the
raw materials that enter into the con-
struction of street cars makes the goods
so expensive that the Europeans prefer
to make their own cars, although they
cannot begin to make them as good and
and light and strong as we do.
"'The principal articles of foreign pro-
duction that enter into the manufacture
of street cars are iron, colors and uphol-
stery goods. The iron is taxed about so
per cent, the colors about so per cent,
and the upholstery goods and tapestries
about 60 per cent. Since they have had
any patterns to work on, the Europeans
have begun to manufacture for them
selves, and, although they cannot pro-
duce so good and durable an article, they
can build cars that look like mine so
much cheaper that they prefer to build
their own. Even thus, however, they
continue to send to me for many of the
parts of the cars which they can't pro-
duce to their satisfaction at home. |
still am able to sell cars in some of the
South and Central American States and
in Mexico. But with the tariff on raw
materials wiped out l should be able to
do a much larger business in all parts of
the world and to employ a much larger
number of men. | 10 employ about
400 men, but the season is dull or | would
have 500 men at work at this time of the
year. The American workman has al
ways commanded larger wages than his
foreign competitor because he has always
done more and better work, and the ques-
ton is not how much money do you
handle on Saturday night but how
much comfort do you get for your work.
When l was at work at the bench every
tool | used, from a brad awl to a broad
axe, was of English manufacture, and
clumsy and expensive too. Now, all our
tools are better made and cost less than
the English tools. The advantage is all
with the American workman. He lives
in a free country in which the cost of
government is less than a fourth of what
1t is in any of the countries of Europe.
His labor is not directly taxed, but under