St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-31
MINNEAPOLIS.
DEMOCRATS ARE OUT.
Last Nights Enthusiastic
Greeting to Wilson and
Castle.
Sound Tariff Arguments From
the Next Governor Of
the State.
Inconsistencies Found in Tom
Reeds Much Lauded st.
Paul Speech.
Castle Takes 1t Up Where
Wilson Stops--Winston
Talks.


full as it could be packed and those
present were as enthusiastic as Demo
Gratis ever were. Every accession TO
the collection Of prominent Democrats
was cheered 10 the echo. c. NJ. Foote
rallied the meeting to order and intro
duced Capt. O. c. Merriman as the
chairman of the evening, first remark
ing: The Republican party in Mime
apolis is badly scared. If you don't
believe it read the Evening
Tribune" The,Cecilian quartette was
III excellent voice and their
rendition OF several songs NaS eDthusi-
sstieally received. VI ben Capt. Merri-
nan introduced Hon. Thomas Wilson,
the next governor of the state Of Min
nesota," the applause was so spontane-
GUS and lOng-continued that Judge VIII
son could not make himself heard for
fully three minutes.
Il should very much like" said
Judge Wilson in the beginning, Ito be
governor of the state OF Minnesota.
But there is one question which Is more
important than whether l or Merriam
Or Owen. or the Prohibitionist be
comes governor of the state. That
question is one Of good government"
Judge Wilson then spoke of the early
history of the Republican party i'll Min
ntSOta, he having at that time been a
Republican, which he continued to be
until after the war. During the war
everything was taxed. Taxes we're then
put upon almost every article OF con-
sumption for the purpose OF raising the
war revenues. but with the distinct un-
derStanding that the taxes would be re-
1uced when the war closed. After set
ting forth the importance Of the tariff
question. he continued:
''One of the great representatives Of
the country. spral1ing in ST. Paul the
Dther day, repudiated that expression,
tariff tax lie said its nothing but a
license to do business in our country.
He made the equally startling State
ment that the tariff both reduces the
price of goods to the consumer and
raises the price of labor. OF course, if
ron pay your men higher wages you
will be able to sell cheaper that which
-FOUR employees make for you. Now let
is see what the tariff Is and see if il
lsm't a tariff"
In a lew words he exploded the
theory that anybody but the consumer
pays the increase in the tariff, and DEM
Dnstraied that if the price of foreign
goods goes UP il cannot be sold here in
Competition with domestic goods unless
HE domestic goods goes up. Unless
the tariff is absolutely prohibitive, if it
Is not high enough to totally exclude
foreign goods. the domestic manu-
lecturers must go up or the foreign
nil not be sold Foreign goods are sold
here; therefore, the tariff Is Just high
enough to raise the price of home man
afactures. The speaker also called at
tention To the contradictory statements
made by Senator Davis and Tom Reed.
They say that lowering the tariff on
also that raising the tariff on everything
Else lowers the price of those articles.
The relation Of labor 10 the tariff next
demanded his attention. Senator Davis
said ia Minneapolis that every Mime
sofa river should be lined with wooden
mills, which have the effect of raising
wages. Judge Wilson took issue with
him on that The Englishman and the
FreDchman pay from p 10 80 per cent
less for their raw material than does the
American manufacturer. Under those
circumstances, how can the American
manufacturer pay more for his labor
and more for his raw material
and then sell his manufact-
urers in the markets of the
world in competition with the English
man and the Frenchman. Such aTgu-
ments are onsensieal.
As 10 High Wages.
The old Republican tariff argument is
that wages are higher in America than
In England because OF the tariff. He
thought that argument no more honest
than ii would be 10 say that the tariff
makes wheat low. since wheat is now
lower than it was years ago when there
was no tariff. He insisted that the price
Of labor depends not at all UPON the
tariff, since England is, at one
tariff and the highest wage country in
Europe. American manufacturers, il
1857. sold al ont $4,000. 600 worth of cot
ton goods in China, where labor Is cheap
and drove out of the Chinese market
the cotton goods made in England anC
France, with whom the Mckinley bii
enthusiasts say we cannot compete. He
thought that destroyed the in
ability to compete with The
pauper labor of Europe" ar
gument. When Americans come Il
buy imports. they buy more of England
than of any other country, yet England
pays higher wages than any of the othel
countries.
Tom Reed said the tariff was Away,
made just high enough TO equalize the
difference between American labor and
foreign labor. Judge Wilson took hin
ND there. According to government
statistics, the price Of labor Is only L
per cent OF the whole cost of wooleT
goods. IN order to make ali thing:
EQUAL, the tariff on the lowest grade oi
UOolen yarn Is made l12 per cent. Ae
ecrding 10 Reed. that 112 per cent only
eQuallzes the difference in the price O
labor, the total cost of the labor beins
only Il per cent, less one-sIXteenti
Of the tariff. The tariff OF
cotton corduroys goes up iron
3 per cent to 70 per cent
while fine cassimeres have only gone VI
to 80 per cent. And SO the speake
went on, citing many lnstTnceS shown!
that the tariff or luXuTies has increased
but little, while Oh the necessaries 0
the poor ii haS-in some cases beel
doubled.
The difference between ad valoren
and specific duty was explained. Tn
ad YalOTem Is Democratic doctrine ant
is estimated on the cost OF the article
The specific duty is placed upon the art
Gle Itself. Two pieces of cloth. one wort
s. and the other s.. pay the same amour
Of specisssuty. AID val0rem duty i
levied al q certain rate per cent on tn
value. The Mckinley bill goes back 1
specific duty. Some severe structure
on the law, which allows the millionair
to escape paying any more tax than tn
WOrkinEman. followed. As evidence G
what the Mckinley bill is doing, Judg
v ,ilsOn quoted this, written 10y Dorsey
Of Nebraska. 10 Boss Quay:
Have manufacturers quote lowe
prices. and say that the Mckinley bI
will not raise prices, or We will los
thousands of votes in Nebraska"
The old argument ,tnat the develop
ment of the country is wholly due TO th
tariff was next exploded. The countr
hoe. slr,f+ n
otherwise with its resources. Clothin
Is cheaper now because, through iii
proved machinery. one man now make
tour times as much as man did twent
years ago. Steam alone has more tina
trehied the power of man. During tn
course OF Judge Wilson's remarks TIA
fiOAeer Press was roasted to a beauu