The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-05
SHERMAN'S PARTY SHOUT
A WEAK ATTACK ON THE PRESI-
DENTS MESSAGE.

voorhees, Replies and Knocks the
Prons from Under the Claims of the
Man from Ohio-The Absurdity of
the Protectionist Policy Again Held
Up to the Light
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4.-The Senate to-day
took M the resolution for the distribution
of the Presidents annual message and was
addressed by Senator Sherman.
Mr. sherman criticised the message for
;ts failure of all reference to foreign rela-
tions and to interesting questions on ma
ticnal affairs, and for postponing all things
celestial or terrestrial until the surplus reve-
me be disposed of. Itwas an extraordinary
message. There was nothing new or strange
about the Treasury surplus. President JEFF
ferson and President Jackson had met it in
their dav, and the Republican administra-
tions had on many occasions since the war
crapped with it, either by payment of the
public dsbt or by reduction of taxes.
RANDALL WAS THERE.
The Democratic. party has had control of
tbe House of Representatives for many
Years and had not originated or proposed a
reduction of the taxes. The only RepUbli-
can Congress in ten years had, by an act of
March, 1855, largely reduced both internal
taxes and customs. Why had not the Presi-
dent followed the custom of his predecessors
bv using the powers conferred on the Sec
retary Of the Treasury and applying the
surplus to reduction of the public debtf
IF the President had regarded the surplus as
danger why had he not brought his inf1u-
ence to bear upon Congress TO provide re-
g tr. txrl,N- had -
gress applied the remedy:
sHERMAN'S OWN ANSWER.
The only answer was that the controlling
majority of the Democratic party would
not allow a bill to be reported unless it CON
tanned provisions which would greatly in.
iu;e or destroy domestic production. If it
had been the desire to reduce taxes without
reducing American production, the task
was easy: but the Speaker OF the House had
used his enormous power with the hearty
Sipport of the PRESIDENT to prevent even
the reporting of such bill. Even without
reduction of taxation, the surplus revenue
might have been applied for great
national objects, but for the vetoeS of the
President, for the failure of the Secretary of
the Treasury to exercise plain discretionary
powers conferred upon him by law. and for
the failure of the Democratic House Of
Representatives. to make apprO priatons for
some of the highest national objects.
Among these Mr.. Sherman mentioned the
blair educational bill, the dependent pen
sion bill, the river and harbor bill and other
legislative projects. If appropriations had
been made for these purposes, and for coast
defenses, the present condition of the Treas
ury, which now so alarmed the President,
would not have existed
THE EXTRA SESSION.
He also asked why the President had not
convened Congress in special session last
summer, instead of now endeayoring to
drive Congress pell nell by an outcry to re-
verse the policy of the country for thirty
years.
When the President and Secretary of the
Treasury tried to alarm the country so as to
induce Congress to break down the great
Industrial interests, he pointed them to the
neglect of their public duties. They had
the power now, and power neglected was
often as great a crime as power Ilsurped.
But an artificial scare could not be made to
cover the faults and defects of the admins
tration. Mr.. Sherman then proceeded to
discuss the tariff question and gave figures
TO show that as to more than One-thiTd OF
the present impOrtations (by value) there
was absolute free trade. These were mainly
such productions as, by reason of clim- te,
could not be produced here. With that
kind of free trade he (Mr. Sherman)
was IN hearty sympathy 1t was exactly
the opposite policy that was proposed by the
President, and by the school to which the
President belonged. If the object were tc
| reduce the surplus revenue, what better
| mode he asked, could be suggested than tC
/ repeal one half of the duty on sugar and
thus directly relieve the people from $2S,
| 250,0U0 of taxes on an article i'll most gen
eral use, and now bearing a tax of 81 pei
cent? No such suggestion had been made by
the President and Secretary of the Treasury
why not give relief to the people by re
auction of the tax on sugar Still, ht
would cripple the sugar cane, beet OF
sorghum industry, and would suggest Civ
ing to the producers of domestic sugar g
hounty equal to the reduction of the duty
on the imported article.
EQUALITY OF BENEFITS.
The principle of protection demanded
equality of benefits and of burdens. The
OBJECT was protection to labor, not to capital
No reason could be given why wool should
ne made free and woolen goods should
ne protected. If there must be cheap wool
here must be cheap woolens and if the
apor OF the farmer in producing wool was
ejts protected then that of the cloth maker
should not be protected. If there were low
outes on iron ore there would have to be
low duties on iron and steel in all its forms.
he farmer performed as valuable labor as
the artisan. And yet the President had
selected that class of productions
under the name of raw materials" for
destruction, and had especially selected
WOOL as an article not to be protected.
WOOL was a completed article of the
farmer, just as cloth was of the manufac
Qrer, and as the coat was of n tailor The
az sufficient answer to the President was
nat the duty encouraged the production OF
WOOL, the manufacture of cloth and that OF
VI INFINITE variety of articles produced by
linerlcan labor, competing with foreign
aoor This diversity of production
nured 60 tho benefit of al
asses of people alike and was
ne secret of the enormous growth, power
nj wealth of the republic.
ONLY ONE RULE.
here was but one rule which had to be
pphed to all industries iTupartially, and
iat was to give to all forms of American
0or' which have TO compete with foreign
1uor, that fair and reasonable advantage
na protection which would give the
merlcan producer home market fol
ONE products.
ne quoted Mr. Dudley, late Consnl Gen
a at Liverpool, 30 the effect that there is
single manufactured commodity that
not cheaper to-day in the United State
Sler The protective system than ii was III
" under free trade; and that nine-tenths
lne manufactured commodities used by
herlcan farmers Gritluding clothing, fur
.ure, etc. are as cheap in this country as
Wy are in England, and II
80 h.. Fl