Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-01-28
BOARDING THE RANDALL.
TARIFF REFORM TALK AT THE GREAT
PRoTEcTloNIsT's HOME.


PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 2s -The revenue re
form meeting at the Academy Of Music FRI
day night was great success. The house
was crowded, all available space beng occu
pied The meeting was called TO order by
William NJ. Sngerly, who then named vii,
son Welsh, Of this city, as chairman, who
made an address in which, speaking in
reference to the president OF the United
States he said that sin the exercise of his
prerogative and in the per formance Of his
duty he has called the attention of congress
and of the people of the whole country to
the Importance of this subject. You may
| object, II you please, TO the method he has
adopted in doing this; you may call into
| question the logical accuracy of his ar.
guments or his deductions, but no
fair man will think, question his earnest
ness of purpose or his sincere desire to reach
a conclusion that will be for the best inter.
ests of the whole country. IL should DO
borne in mind, that the president in his mos
sage does does not advocate free trade or the
abolition OF the tariff as a whole, He says
the revenues of the government are in excess
of its requirements, and the surplus in the
| treasury has become a menace to the best in
| terests of the country. How can we best
| overcome the difficulty In other words,
come, let us reason together, and in the ex-
ercise of our best ju igment, and in true
| spirit of patriotism, endeavor to reach a con-
clusion that will avoid tho threatened danger
without inflicting injury upon the manufac-
turing or business interests of the country.
That conceive to be the spirit OF the presi.
dents message, and that insist is the high
est and best type of craftsmanship"
W. c. F. Breckenridge of kentucky, fol,
lowed in similar strain, and his fervid elo-
IL.
enridge is splendid type of the finished
southern orator, and he presented the cause
he represents in its most captivating light
A notable feature of the meeting was the APP
plause which greeted every reference to
President Cleveland This was perhaps most
noticeable when Mr.. Breckenridge spoke in
eloquent terms of the courage of the man
who, with the presidency in his grasp dared
TO do his duty even at the cost OF losing 1t.
The audience shouted wild applause and
throughout the evening let no opportunity
pass of expressing its admiration of the chief
executive and approval Of the views ex-
pressed in his annual message.
In the course of his remarks Mr. Brecken-
ridge said: with uplifted hands tonight
protest against the idea that this is pa
ternal government. Cheers 1t is our
servant, subject to our orders, the bank in
purposes and eveh this is only temporary.
The evil is deeper than that. This day 81
600, 900 has gone into the treasury, another
81 900, 90 tomorrow, and continuing
day after day, wrung by some form of taxa
tion from the people who bear it, and that
under the pretense that it is protecting
American labor and American manufact-
ures
"Wherever there is problem pressing for
settlement tonight we are confronted with
this system of taxation, and we cannot move
a step for fear will hurt some American
manufacture. There is on the north of us IA
kindred people speaking the same language
and with substantially the same institutions
as our own, II mighty territory, blessed by
nature with Undesirable beauty and fer
tility, coerminus line of railway 5000
long; and now, in Washington, in solemn
and friendly meeting, is commission to set
tie the fishery question between us and these
people--peOple, who ought to be part of US;
bone of our bone blood of our blood, and
flesh of our flesh; and yet the American con-
sumner of wheat must pay 2 cents upon all
wheat that comes over the water between us
and Canada. We must punish these miser.
able Canadians by imposing larger burden |
upon the consuming feeder than he now has |
to pay
"a
business corporation-this United States of |
AmOrica-and it has great business aspect |
We raised So, 900, 900 of wealth last year.
That is our business income We had GER
tain amount Of debt we could pay Off We
paid it Off and we de posted over $50, O0O, 900
to our credit in the national banks-money
raised by taxation deposited in the national
banks! We bought the bonds, SO far us we
could but at premium, and still the money
is coming Incoming in from you and other
business men like you.
"From 1916 to 1861 there was a harmonious
development of all the interests OF America
The agricultural interests grew nightly.
They had mighty start and grew marvel
ously, and since then the world has never
,een its equal Our commerce. whitened
avery sea- our manufacturing interests grew
with national and healthy development.
Year by year there came to our shores labor
,rs who found profitable labor and home
tsads in the northwest, beginning new
ZONES, putting upon those outstretched prai-
les state after state and miles of railroad.
The war came on suddenly; great expendi-
ures had to be made; great sums of money
lad to be raised A reversal of the system
vas thought to necessary. The country con-
inued to develop. Thand God, congress had
cot the power to make the fertile soil bar.
|
lnder an eclipse, nor to take from the intel
igent homes the power of intelligent labor;
md 80, in spite of this system, the sun has
continued to shine, the rain to fall, the crops
o be reaped, immigration to come into our |
midst, and the country continued to grow
ich, but it grew rich unequally. The for.
unes which were distributed by the natural
aw of labor and commerce were by the lat.
er put into an unnatural channel and there
vas an unequal distribution Of the burdens
f taxation. They fell unequally. Here
nd there people were enriched 1t was dis
overed that the American government
ould be used for private ends and personal
aims. And every provision in this tariff
aw, if it could open its mouth and tell the
onest truth, would reveal secret lobby that
ad put something in the act aud had N en-
cted a law lApplause.l
The of the meeting was then eX. ,
resscd by the adoption of a resolution de-
laring that tax reduction is a necessity, ,
hat it is demanded by the best conservative
pinion of the country, and therefore that ,,
he existing duties upon raw materials which |
re to be used in manufactures should be re-
loved and that the duties upon the articles
sed or consumed by those who are least
BILE to bear the burden OF taxation should
o reduced"
Hon. Frank Hurd, of Ohio, then addressed |
le assemblage. In the course of his speech I
9 said. AIN Ohio, where live by careful +
lquiry | have been enabled to ascertain a
lat six out of every ten manufacturers who ! L
ave been successful have become so through 4
le operation of the patent law. What in q
rest have th ~ in the tariff They have s
onoply in the manufacture OF the product h
ley make under the law of the United
a hal | II
~ furthtr than it may increase the l.
rio, Of the articles they have to al
-ocu-e in order to manufacture the COM :,