St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-30
AN ADMIRABLE ADDRESS.
Judge Wilson Exposes the Tariff
Fallacy and Punctures Gar

Judge Wilson Exposes the Tariff
Fallacy and Punctures Gar
Reed.
Hon. Thomas Wilson was enthusias-
tically received. He spoke for nearly
two hours, and had most appreciative
audience. The all-absorbing protective
tariff was the burden of his address, and
never before in st. Paul have the falia-
cies of the Republican party been more
thoroughly exposed. Having thanked
them of the heartiness of their greeting,
without wasting more words Judge Will
son plunged into his subject There
were two classes of questions before the
people-questions that they might call
federal and others that they might call
state questions. The first class was
that Of the tariff. or federal taxation.
Any man could tell how much taxation
he paid for the support of the state,
the county and the city in which he
lived, but no man could tell how much
federal taxation he paid. 1t was neces-
sary that the people should rise to the
Importance of this election. 1t behOoyed
them to express their convictions with
emphasis that would not be misunder-
stood. Why? His reply was
Because if you vote in favor of returning
70 power the party that passed the
Mckinley bill and raised the tariff
higher, yoo say to the monopolist
of the East that they have right, not only to
keep up. but to raise the tariff higher Be.
cause you have voted to approve of lust
what Was done. 1t is now that you have to
speaker forever afterwards hold your peace.
Attention was called to Reeds pro-
fQPflnn SnpRPh tho
MIR. Reed made the assumption that the
Republican party had taxed luXuries
for the benefit of the masses, and to
which Judge Wilson said:
now assert from beginning to end with
hardly an exception, the tariff is very much
higher on the necessaries of the poor than
oil those things used by the rich. In some
cases it is more than double as high.
Taxes on the Poor.
He instanced the lowest grades of
woOlens, with a tariff of 1l6 per cent.
while that upon the highest grades of
woolens was 72 per cent. Coarse, CHEAP
blankets. LOG per cent; finest blankets.
" per cent: coarse wool hats, III ner
cent; fine wool hats, 66 per cent; women
and children's cheap dress goods. 1O6
per cent; best dress goods, Sc per cent.
cheapest knit grades of underwear. II2
to l3S per cent; finest and most eXpen-
sive, Is per cent; lowest grades of WOOL
Ell shawls, 1S5 per cent; higher grades.
% per cent. He continued:
Let me tell you of little matter that oc-
Cured To me at New Ulm. / was ont there
and happened TO be talking to an intelligent
farmer about the excessive tariff on wooden
goods, and how in climate like this the use
OF woolen goods is not only need but an
actual necessity and matter of health. 7
said the excessive tariff was wrong, when he
SAID TO me 1T is right" He then took me TO
store to show me that the mass Of people
did not wear woolen goods a: all. You take
so-called woolen for underwear
that are sold to the masses of
the people in our country and they are made
OF shoddy and cotton and moi of wool There
are merchants before me who can rise up
and say If am not right. The Door classes
have 10 wear imitation woolen for the pur-
pose of building up a tariff tax that will
make few more millionaires of course
this tariff is put on the luxuries Of the rich
and not on the necessaries of the Door Tin
plate, glass, cotton wear wooden wear-all of
things are luxuries of the rich: but in Gods
name. what are the necessaries of the poor if
that be SO?
Judge Wilson introduced and tho
illustration showing how the tariff bore
heavily on the poor. He instanced
broadcloth. The finest broadciOth. cost
ing $500 per yard,Hexported from Leith,
had tariff imposed of SO per cent. The
coarser kind of broadcloth-thatm manu-
tactured from cotton warp, reversible
wool. and costing IS cents per yard-
which the poor man wore-how much
was the tariff OH that? One hundred and
eighty per cent. Continuing:
You will have noticed that Mr. Reed did
nol speak of these things. lie talked about
enines IN general way. He went over and