Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-08-08
VOLUME XXXI.--NUMBER 81,
THE NESTOR SPEAKS.
Voorhees, On the Fallacies CT the
Tariff

voorhees, On the FallacleS CT the
Tariff.
In the Senate recently Senator
VOORHEES, made telling speech ON
the high tariff bill, of which the fol-
lowing is part:
Mr.. President, the bill now under
consideration is the result OF system
of progressive evil; it is the offspring
Of a long-continued evolution in un-
just taxation, the bold elimination,
the climax, of series of oppressive en-
actments, extending through more
than a quarter of a century, whereby
at least one-tilird OF the earnings OF
labor have been bestowed as a gratuity
on the idle rich, the privileged few,
while the laboring men and women OF
the United States have been given
over by law to toll for their taskmas-
ters two days out of every six without
u farthing of profit or income to them
selves.
In the great old forests of the world
trees are sometimes found by the
traveller bearing bread fruit for his
support, while others are found drip
ping with poison for his destruction,
and each tree simply presents the
growth and development of the origi-
nal ingredient, whether for good or
for evil, which it contains. The bill
before the Senate springs from pa
rent stock whose life germ is vicious,
whose sap and vitality are imbued
with venom fatal to liberty and
equality; it springs from the worst
doctrines of high protective tariff
carried to criminal excess.
The committee-rooms in this capi-
tol, whereit was conceived and brought
forth, were besieged by emissaries Of
hoary, bloated, and experienced ava
rice, each striving to so shape and
fashion the forthcoming financial
monster as to give it increased strength
for the enrichment: of special interests.
Every claw with which it was to tear
the fruits of labor from the farmer and
every tooth with which it was to rend
and crush his substance, were carefully
inspected in the lobbies and found to
be sound and reliable.
A few days ago the Senator from
Colorado (Mr. Teller), in his place on
this floor, cited the startling and dam
geroLs fact that while the population
of the United States will reach 65 ,OOO,- :
600, and perhaps more, Yet 100, 1000
people, only one out of every $50 of
our entire inhabitants, own at this
time one-half the wealth "of this, the
richest country on the globe;" and he
might with equal truth and accuracy
have said that this favored few, the
loo, 600, either directly or indirectly,
either by actual possession or through
trusts, monopolies, combines, colossal
combinations, and plethoric loan as
sociations, this day exert the full and
absolute control of ownership over all
the wealth-not merely one-half-but
all the wealth protected by the Amer
ican flag.
And it is only in the impure and
tainted political and moral atmos-
pherc, generated by such corrupt
concentration of enormous wealth in
the hands of the few that financial
measure like the one now pending
would dare to show the hard outlines
of its guilty face; much less would it
expect to he treated with respect,
spoken we'll OF, and thrust as law
into the already darkened homes of
suffering and protesting meetings.
Certain species of vegetation and GER
tam forms of animal life grow and
flourish only where the noxiOus mi
asma fills the air with its exhalations,
and so it is that certain depraved con-
ditions of the public service and of
submission to insolent Op-
preston must be known to exist be- |
fore scheme such as this, supported
by not single just principle nor
honest reason, but resting alone on
lust for private, personal gain, could
be brought forward and live an hour.
On the high plane where our faith
er's dwelt, and where they built this
government; in the uplands, if l may
20 speak of American history, before
the money power had polluted and de-
the civil service, and the Of
ficial conscience OF the government,
his measure would have withered and
perished in a moment. Instead of
being fed and fattened on the politi-
,al malaria of the present day, it would
have been blighted by the scorn and
horror of a pure, untainted public
opinion, and disowned and cast out
oy upright men of all parties.
Sir, if the terms in which charac-
,erize this bill, before taking up and
its details, seem of unwonted
severity, 1 will at this point chal-
enge the attention of Senators and OF
The country to the astounding fact
hat of the fourteen schedules of duti-
,ble articles which the bill contains,
,hc only reductions made are in the
schedule relating to sugar and mo-
asses, which, in the light OF the pro-
posed bounty to sugar planters, is no
reduction at all, and in the schedule
relating to spirits, wines and other
beverages, where no reduction ought
10 take place.
In every one of the remaining
Twelve schedules, embracing as they
40 all the essentials Of human exist |
ence, the tariff taxes for consumers to
nav have been increased. In the
minority report of the ways and means
of the house, written by |
tho Senator from Kentucky, Mr.. Car