The Portland daily press., 1890-07-31
MUCH FREE TRADE TALK ANSWERED.
Senator MorrllI's Vigorous Speech
on the Tariff Bill.
Tho Facts as to the Condition of
American Workers.
Mr.. Carlisle on the Other Side
Other Washington News.

WASHINGTON, July 30-In the Senate to-
day the tariff bill was taken up and Mr.. Nor
rlll addressed the Senate. He said this coun-
try had tin. ore, iron and coal. Why should
1t annually send abroad S2S,0OO,OOO in gold
for tin. He had no idea the increased duty
would cause much, if any, increase in cost
In no long time after the law took effect tin
would be much lower in price than it had
ever been. Protection would serve as in the
case Of Bessemer steel to- cheaper articles
vastly Referring to the assertion in Mr..
Vorhees's speech that no war taxes on any
-grear staples human necessity were repealed
or lowered, Mr.. Morrill, said that the Sena-
tor ought not to have given his RSns5- &. snch
Misrepresentation OF facts. BY adding to
the free list of last year the articles of the
pending bill placed on the free list, about
half the importations from foreign countries
would be absolutely free from all custom du
ties. That meant that dutiable importalions
would be diminished from $50, ,000, 900 to S376-
000,0 900 and those on the free list increased to
$3.50, 500, 900. Mr.. Morrill, quoted from Sir
Charles Dilke's Problems of Greater Brit
ain, as to wages in Canada, Australia and
the United States, and said 1t was the sober
historical testimony of an English free trader
that American wages were an hundred per
cent higher for less time than In Great Brit
dlu. Ii lOllOWbu tudb Lu6 ulu6Teuc6 was
much greater when cOntrasted with the wag-
es current on the Continent of Europe. The
leverage that lifted up protection was not
really the demand of manufacturers but of
their workmen.
Mr.. Morrill, said that glut of misinforma-
ti0n was disseminated on the subject of agri-
cultural depression. There was concealment
of the fact that the prices of farm
products were depressed throughout
the world. The only possible remedy with
in the reach of the American farmer was
positive protection against foreign competi-
tion and such encouragement to other avo-
cations as would increase consumers of their
products. BE asserted that in 1888 had 1t
not been for the duty of 20 cents bushel on
wheat me he wheat o. md India would haye
cOnsin as well as from other Western states.
There were some political pessimists who
croaked about hard times and ignored the
general prosperity everywhere apparent.
the farmers was not as good as it ought to
be. 1t was said by such pes
amists that the farmers were op-
pressed by vast increase
cages existed were held largely by other
farmers. The bulk of mortgages due, espec-
tally in the younger states, were from young
men just setting out in life who had not suf-
ficient capital to paylcash down for a. fair
oiLcu ldI m' EdIu ulOILBdB6 luu6DJ6u06SS
had been grossly exaggerated. He under
stood the census reports would show farm
mortgages in Kansas and Maine to be less
than quarter of the amount represented.
In the course of discussion Mr.. Carlisle
said the policy Of Great Britain was to i'm
pose taxes on articles not produced in that
country. The result was the tax did not ad-
vance the the price to the consumer of any
domestic product. The policy of the United
States, on the contrary, and still further car
ried out by the pending bill, was to put on
the free list articles not produced in this
country and impose taxes on similar articles
to those produced at home. The effect, If
not the object Of that policy, was to increase
the price of the domestic articles.