Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1888-06-01
Randall's Great Speech on the
Mills Tariff Bill.

points Uf the speech in Congress
made bv Hon. Samuel ]. Randall
against the Clev veland- Mills tariff bill
there pending. Mr.. Randall is De-
mocrat, a lifelong one, and has held i'm
portant stations in his party. His
opinions are therefore the opinions OF
a Democrat, Democrat answering
the arguments of Democrats. 1t is
not Republican replying to Demo-
Gratis, but one of their oldest and
ablest men replying to his old party
friends. Who has changed? Surely
not Mr.. Randall For he shows that
be stands where be always stood on
the question of protection to Amerl'
can labor and our industries. But
his party has, or rather is trying to
change and to read him out of its
folds. He takes the right view of
matters, the same as Republicans
hold, and coming from him should
open the eyes of all Democrats who
are being mislead on this important
question of the tariff.
He opened his speech by discussing
the Presidents position on the tariff,
and. mentioning the remedy ne Ran
dalD proposed. said:
The Democratic convention of 1884
declared that internal revenue was a
war tax, and this declaration, taken
in connection with the other declara-
tions of the platform, clearly estab-
lished the fact that the opinion of the
convention was that some Of the in
ternal revenue taxes should first go,
and that they should all go whenever
a sufficient sum was realized from
custom house taxes to meet the ex-
penses of the Government, economi-
cally administered. The country
was practically in such condition
now, and the true response to those
declarations warranted the repeal of
the internal revenue taxes to the ex-
tent proposed by his bill. He favor
ed now, as be had always done, to-
tai repeal of the internal revenue
taxes. Applause. In the bill
which be introduced he proposed to
sweep all these taxes from the statute
books except tax of so cents on
whiskey, and he would transfer the
collection of that tax to the custom
officials, if that was found practicable
With Albert Gallatin, he regarded
excise taxes as offensive to the gen.
ius Of the people, tolerated only as a
measure of emergency, and as soon
as the occasion for them had passed
away, they should cease to exist.
Mr.. Randall here entered into an
explanation of the principles upon
which his bill had been Constructed.
and stated distinctly that if it could
be made to appear IN any case that
the measure he had proposed confer
red more protection than was needed
to cover the cost of production. he
was ready to lower it. If in any in
stance the rate was too low to cover
that cost, he was ready to raise it,
Monopolies existed without the tariff
The Standard Oil Trust, the Whisky
Trust and the Cottonseed Oil Trust.
and others that be could mention
the greatest trusts in the whole coun-
try-were not protected by the tariff,
He was for the protection of labor
not in one State, but in all. He was
for the protection and maintenance
of that industrial system that allow.
ed to labor a larger proportionate
share of it's products than was reali-
zed in any other country or under
any other system.
He then proceeded to criticism of
the committee bill as follows: A de-
clared purpose of this bill il to..secure
"free raw material to stimulate mau-
facturers." In execution of this idea
the bill places n the free list large
number of articles which are really
manufactured articles. At the same
time, the bill leaves or puts upon the
dutiable lists articles which might be
called raw materials. Further, the
bill not only makes so-called raw
material" free, but places on the free
list the manufactured products of
these materials. Thus the manufac.
ture of such articles is made impossi-
BILE in this country, except by reduc-
ing American labor to worse copdi-
tion than that of labor in Europe. In
other words, the bill leaves or makes
dutlable the raw material and puts on
the free list the articles manufactured
from it, thus not only placing an in
surmountable barrier in the way Of
making such articles here, but actu.
ally projecting the foreign manufac-
turer and laborer against our own,
and imposing for their benefit bur
den upon the consumer in this coun-
try.
In some cases the difference be.
tween the duty imposed by the bill
on the so-called raw materials and
the articles made from them is 80
small as to destroy .our industries
except upon the condition of leveling
the wages of home labor to that of
Europe. This was 40 in the case of
pig lead and red lead, which is made
from it, and of pig iron and steel
rails. Such legislation would leave
the ore in the mines, or the pig lead
in the smelling works, or the pig
iron to rust at the furnaces, while
foreigners would supply our market
with these manufactured products.
Instead Of the bill reducing customs
revenue $54, 900 900, az was claimed,
it would be fair to estimate that it's
effect would be to largely increase
the revenue instead Of reducing it,
while the amount OF material wealth
it would it destroy is incalculable.
Those supporting the bill hold
themselves up as the champions of
the farmer. while they take from him
the protective duties on WOOL hemp,
fax, meat, vegetables, etc. And what
do they give him in return? They
profess to give the manu-
facturer better rates than he now has.
II this be 30, how is the farmer to be
benefited. or where does he get CON-
pensation for the loss of his protective