The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1890-09-13
A GREAT SPEECH.
SENATOR VANCE CLOSES THE
TARIFF DEBATE.

He Expresses the Injustices and Iui-
quities of the Tariff Bill His Arsu-
ment is Unanswerable.
The acknowledged leader of the Dem
ocratic party in the Senate upon the
Tariff question, SENATOR VANCE, closed
the long debate in the Senate in strong
and able speech. He said that he knew
his speech would not prevent the passage
of the bill, but that he believed it was
his duty to expose its iniquities, its inc
qualities, and its injustices as much as
possible in order that the people whom
it is to effect may judge it. The bill is
contrary to all the principles of public
finance. The Treasury has not been
considered in the preparation of the bill.
1t is Intended to increase taxation and
| divert money from TIE Treasury into the
pockets of Individuals There was no
call for this legislation. The people de
| manded decrease of taxation. The Re
| publicans have sought in this bill to re-
duce the supplies in the Treasury by in
creaslng the duties upon manufactured
articles and the necessaries Of life so
high as to make them prohibitory.
SENATOR VANCE then exposed the Re
publican party's dishonesty. He quoted
from their platform promising to reduce
the surplus and relieve the people. They
have asked elbow shall add on taxes
to those things which will most benefit
class?" and "How shall 1 give less to
the Treasury and more to the manufac-
turers9" They have now asked: "On
what shall | begin to reduce that will
furnish the most benefit to the people
and do tie least injury to the Treasury"
He then presented list which he had
made from the official report Of the com
nitt8e showing the scale on which du-
ties had been increased and the amount
Of the increase in each case, and pro-
tested that this and the manner Of dis
eliminating against the necessaries Of
life was wrong from the stand point of
justice and humanity and from policy
also. We qnote his own words:
Mr. President, God has so arranged
the moral world that natural laws vim
dicate themselves and avenge their own
violation. 1t is established to my sat
isfacton, and [ believe to the satisfac-
ton of every fair-minded man in Amer
ica, that in this country we have the
h ichc 10 = + ~ ~
production Of any country in the world.
Therefore, the only thing that is requis
ite for US to be able to compete with al
the world IN manufactures is the equali
zation of the raw material which the
manufacturers Of this country have tC
; use. II that equalization were to take
place, | do not believe that there is 6
, people upon the face of the earth who
, could compete with US in manufactures
, as there certainly are none who can com
:, pete with US in agriculture.
The cost of material, Mr.. Edward At
kinson says, on rough calculation, il
from one-half to three-fourths of the
finished articles. The duty which pro
hibits the iron and steel and the manu-
features of the iron and steel of Europe
from coming into this country serves
. only to keep down the price Of that irol
: and steel in Europe, the country Will
: which we have to compete, for be i
known that we consume 40 per cent. o
5 all the iron and steel made in the world
/. We consume more than the product Q
i all the furnaces, foundries, and mine
of Great Britain IN any one year.
Therefore, when We impose a ia
: which prohibits the importation of irol
d and steel into this country for the use O
9 our manufacturers We glut the marke
# of Europe by shutting it out from it
It greatest market in America, and W
It make the material still cheaper in Eu
e rope and give to the workshops, and tn
is foundries, and the furnaces, and th
It forges of Europe still greater advar
p tage over those in America. The conse
a quence is that no odds how high 70
place the tariff there are still numbC
of those articles imported from the Oh
J. World, for we do not make our ow
i supplies; and can there be worse polio
h than that provided in this bill, whic
If forces up the price of an article whic
the country itself can not furnish an
has not been able to furnish full SUI
ply of it?
Mr.. President, the same authorit
which l have quoted, Mr.. Edward A
eff kinson, says that the amount of duty u
E. have paid on iron and steel in Amerc
y, is certainly not leas than $500 p'
at annum, and that in the last ten years v
ly have paid $500, 100000. He says tn;
s. that sum ranges all the way from $500
Id 900 to $500, 900, which has been levie
for the purpose of keeping out the ire
and steel from America and affordir
as this advantage to their rivals in Europ
1t Now, sir, it is the same way with VOC
ne We use more wool than any other pc
20 pie in the world. America is the grea
or est wool market in the world. The du
ell which keeps it out of the United Stat
IT for the same reason that have assign
in the case of iron, keeps the price
wool down in Europe. I am told, as
ly matter OF public information, that wht
n the Mills bill passed the House of Repr
ed sentatives placing wool upon the fire
as list, there was material advance in t
y. price of wool in London. Beyond a.
in doubt of dispute it has been establish
til in the course of this debate, and in
y. course of other debates upon tariff que
ho tians, that the only advantage the ma