New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-02
OPPOSED TO THE PREMIEFSn BILL,
POWERFULLY attacked BY MR.. FoRAN.

HE DECLARES AGAINST THE FREE-TRADE DEMO-
| Gratis IN THE HoUsE-ECoNoMIC QUESTIONS.
WASHINGTON, May 1.-The tariff debate in the
| House to-day was marked by new and interesting
| episode. Mr.. Foran, an Ohio Democrat, made a
powerful attack on the BILL and did not spare its
authors and supporters, from President Cleveland
down to the meanest free trader IN the House.
Mr. McCreary, of Kentucky, opened the debate
| with @ long speech in defence of Kentucky and
the Whiskey Trust. He undertook to refute the
statements made by Judge Kelley in the beginning
of the debate, and he failed. The Father OF
the House" fairly turned the tables on the Ken
tucldsn and left him in q worse plight than he
was when he began the controversy Among
other things Jude Kelley showed that the per-
centage Of native white illterates in Kentucky
exceeds the percentage of foreign-born white IL
hterates in that State.
Mr.. Foran began with a recital Of the adectlves
which have been applied to tie present tariff
by President Cleveland and his free-trade follow
ers in Congress. Citing previous acts of tariff
revision, he showed that reduction Of duties
is soon followed by an increase Of revenue. The
free traders, therefore, in confronting condl-
ton" have provided only for reduction OF
some s24,000,000 account of internal taxes
and s22 600 900 account OF articles transferred
from the dutiable to the free list. In fact, the
disposition seemed to be TO cut and slash at the
tariff without any intelligent regard Tor probable
results He declared that the bill - " humll-
iating confession that the evil things said by the
free traders about the tariff are not true Mr..
Foran then completely exposed the sopustrles
and inaccuracies OF Premier Mills great
speech. Among other things he quoted free-trade
authority in favor OF the proposition that pro-
tectiye tariff stimulates inventive genius ana
he recited some Interesting data to support 1t:
For example, in Massachusetts, the proportion OF
patents to population is l to 800 in Minnesota,
II is TO Anil in Missouri it is TO 1900, and IN
Texas to about 10000 Mr.. Foran also pro-
duced figures to show that in States which have
diversified industries, the percapta wealth is far
in excess of that in those States which are de-
voted wholly or chiefly to agPcqi S pursuits tb
population Of 100000 the per-capita wealth Is
$3.50, while in the fourteen Southern States. in
Guiding Missouri and Kentucky, it is r., only SIC
he thought, that the talk in favor OF home
market is not all moonshine."
He then took up President Cleveland's propo-
sition, which has been advocated by Mills. Nc
Millin and other free traders in the House. that
the duty on an article is added to its cost TO the
consumer. IN 1879 steel rails were selling at
$40 per ton, and there was duty of SIS per
ton. and yet at that very time steel rails were
selling in England at s32 per ton. In 1S46-9
$40 per ton. but soon England obtained
full control of the markets under the tariff OF
1s4s, the price Of English iron rose
then called attention to the fact that
Premier" Mills and his associates had carefully
avoided any specification Of the Standard Oil
Trust, the Whiskey Trust, Cotton Seed Oil Trust,
or other Trusts which have no relation whatever
to articles upon which duties imposed. He
also gave some interesting figures pauperisn,
showing that in England three times as much per
capita IS paid for the support of paupers rs in
the United States, and that the proportion OF
paupers is very much larger in free-trade England
than in France, which has protective tariff. In
conclusion, Mr. FOran denounced the bill roundly
as frce-trade measure which no friend OF
American industries could countenance or sup
port.
He was followed by Mr.. OFerrall, Of Virginia,
who delivered with great fuency the speech which
he has found more or less effective i'll two
campaigns in his State. He was one Of the
Southern Democrats who protested that the placing
of iron and coal or the free list would be
fatal TO the Democratic party. and IN answer 10
question to-day, he replied directly that he favors
O duty on both these articles O'Ferrall has been
constant free trader his entrance into Con-
gress. He was elected TO the XLIXth Congress
by q majority Of nearly $500. In 1886, the
issue between tariff for revenue only and the
protective policy squarely made and he was
returned to the present Congress by majority
Of 664 only