The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-12
MR.. HORR,S SPEECH.
The Apostle OF Protection Gives Some foten'
Facts as TO the Character OF the
Protective Tariff System.

Hon. Roosevelt C. Horr, OIL MlCuiSau,
at the Garfield last night. Although
but short notice was given OF the
fact that Mr.. Horn would
speak, a more attentive audience could /
hardly have gathered. Mr.. Horr Is
pleasant talking gentleman, well versed IN
his subject and expresses himself very |
clearly and forcibly. His points were /
clear and well defined
Mr. John Adams was made chairman OF !
the meeting. and after making neat ex-
preston Of thanks for the honor con- |
ferred upon him, introduced the speaker |
of the evening, Hon. Roswell u. Horr |
who spoke for about an hour and nan
upon the tariff question.
Mr.. Horr prefaced his remarks oy say
ing that it was not his purpose to make
a political speech, nor did he come before
the audience to discuss the question from
political standpoint, but he came for the
purpose of discussing it in business way.
He said it was question of great deal OF
doubt, and was also an old question, one
which had troubled man for many years
For more than 100 years the manner OF
levying duty or raising the funds neces-
sary to run governments had peen dls-
cussed pro and con, and that there were
only two ways of doing SO, and they were
by protection and free trade. lie believed
in protection.
The speaker said there were protection
lists, free traders and tariff reformers.
When people talked to him of reformers
he was very apt to be carried back TO the
days of Martin Luther and other great re-
formers and getting mixed up as to WhaC
position a tariff reformer occupied. NO
nation raises money for its running eX-
penses without tariff. Nor was there
any other way Of dong so. England with
all her boosted free trade principles raised,
500, 0O0, coo on a tariff. She raised the
revenue almost wholly from three articles
tea. coffee and tobacco. On tea alone the
tariff was SEQ, 000,0O0 England has
tariff for revenue only, and raises 1t en-
tirely from articles which 1t IS Impossible
| for her to produce herself. 1t is a crime TO
raise or try to raise or manufacture any
! thing in England on " hich there is duty.
1t is a penal offense to try to raise stalk
of tobacco in England
The difference, the speaker said, between
protection and free trade was, protection
| placed duty on articles that could be
/ DrOuuCeu
of duty all articles which could not be
grown or manufactured in that country
| Free trade raised the revenue on all aft-
cles that could not be grown or manufact-
ured in the country and admits tree all
the products that could be grown or man
| ufactured.
If. said Mr.. Horn, we place duty on an
article we cannot produce. the consumer
must, Of necessity, pay the duty, ana there
| is no possible chance known to any hVlng
man of ever reducing the cost OF the artl-
Gle. While, on the other hand, II we place
a duty on articles we can produce ana al
NIT free those products we cannot produce
by the great factor OF competitor, we
cheaper the price to the consumer. we
build up the great industries OF the coun-
try and, in so doing, cause competition
which cheapens products, while free trade
adds to the price. He gave several exam
Piles to sustain his point.
Mr.. Horn said if there was any one thing
on which he was posted and which NJ
thought he knew something about, thai
thing was salt His free trade friends, M
said. were always bowling about the duty
on salt. In 1861 the duty on salt was g
50 50 per barrel. The duty was on and IL
1872 salt was only worth Sl.l0 per barrel
Then the duty was cut down one half, O
, so cents per barrel, and salt was, last year
worth only so cents per barrel Mlchlgai
last year produced 100000 barrels OF salt
When the industry was first started, Tn
state paid bounty of 30 cents per barre
for the manufacture of salt. Now unde
protection, a barrel of salt was worth .
cents. the barrel itself cost ~ cents, ant
the salt was only 80 cents, and the duty )
cents. If. he said, the free trade peopl
were right. the barrel of salt ought to b
worth the so cents plus the duty ~ cents
or 50 cents but he was Of the opinion tina
they were wrong.
The speaker said that the same was tru
8 of every article on the protective list In
stead of robbing the people, as the IRE
traders would have us believe. protectio
cheapened every single article, ana n
challenged any one to successfully dispuI
the assertion. There was not an article
the protective list but what has been RI
, duced in price at least one-half IN the las
twenty-five or thirty years. He SAID Q
had a debate with a MIR. Harder IN Ne
York state. and the latter said that II
had his way about matters he would abo
ish every custom house in the Unite
States He also made the statement ths
memory was a very bad thing to rel
q upon and was often misleading. and II tn
audience listened to Mr.. Horn he would
{ always appealing to their memory an
- thew were apt TO become Col
fused. Mr.. Horr said he took
as necessary thing, from II
IS remarks of Mr.. Harder that i'll order 20
\ a free trader person must forget ever:
thing he ever knew. He thought 1t woul
"a be a very good starting point.
>. NV free trade friends. he said, say the
;, il an awful tariff upon earthen ware.
A reality, he said, the price on that COZ
"a modify has been reduced one-half IN L
past few years; and so with steel raj
which has been reduced from 1853 per Il
70 s27 last year. The United States pr
to duced last year more iron and steel VA
Id auv other nation in the world. Gre
s. Rritain not excepted. Wire nails had
IL dutv Of SIS per keg and when that lndust
was frs. started nails were s. per keS. b
now they were only 81. Is instead OF slo,
the policy of free traders would have 3
believe. On a railway train one day
met a farmer who said he was Just dyi1
to buy q silk dress for his wife, but the
fernal tariff made it SO high that he "
n. unable TO buy her one Mr.. He
: thought that be had teen fooli
his wife for silk was on
one half the price it was thirty years az
, The silk industry of the United states Ia
H. gave employment TO $4,000 workmen' a.
furnished living for 10000 Amerc
y citizens. The total value of the s!Ih