The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-04-19

their INDUSTRIAL OOOAO - N@~AA AL AAD
They went to the king and said,
"ahoIish these mOnopOlies; equa1Ize
this taxation; give the people repre-
~snntatiOn: tell them how their money
is spent, and give them a chance to
have that liberty of action, political
and commercial, which alone can make
a people great
THAT moderate plea, Mr.. Chairman,
vas tbrIIst aside with scOrn and con
+nT9nt and. as we all know, a bloody
~rav5IIIrion settled questions which
oucht to have been settled by a peace
fni removal of the causesof the trouble.
I wish l had time TO show how free
trade has acted in England how it has
sent her bounding up the highway of
progress. Her trade in 1916 was $780,
600. 900. Now it is 81, 613, OOO, 600. No
mat -er how any man talks, 1t Is never
theless true. You nay point to labor
troubles in England, but we a trace
them to their land system and their
financial system
I wish to be understood to-day as
saving this tariff system Is the very
least of three great evils IN this cOun-
trv. l believe the transportation Iues-
ton IS bigger; the financial question is
bigger: but this tariff question Is big
enough for the most earnest discus
sion. | would not like, Mr.. Chairman,
to take up much time in talking about
England, for when a Georgia cracker
from the country, like myself, talks
about free trade, he is at once accused
of knuckling in some mysterious way
to the power of John Bull. In a ma
iority of cases the accus alton comes
with the greatest vehemence from a
man who dresses in English goods,
who parts his hair in the English
method. and chops out his whiskers in
the middle as an English lord would
do. [Great laughter.
Mr.. Johnson, of Ohio. VIII the gen
tleman yield to me for a question?
Mr.. Watson. Certainly.
Mr.. Johnson. of Ohio. Did the gen
tleman understand that I advocated
an income tax as the way to raise rev
enue?
Mr.. Watson. Well, now, l rather
thought YOU did. Laughter.
Mr.. johnson. of Ohio. Then, / am
very sorry that l was not understood.
| simply recOmmen led that as a choice
of evils. and YOU ought to know what
| did advocate.
Mr.. Watson. Well, do not think
that st utemant materially alters what
nv understanding of the gentleman,s
speech was l supposed he was going
UP the ladder or down the ladder one
step at a time: and he certainly used
the income tax as one of those steps.
He ftvOred it as compared with the
tariff.
I would like to show how protection
as a principle has destroyed every ma
ton where it has been long in vogue.
How it destroyed Spain in spite of
natural advantages, an industrial pop
ulation. and great seaportS. Low 1t
was destroying France until the revO-
luton broke loose the shackles which a
protective system had bound around
her, and how in Great Britain (the his
torians say had not the corn laws been
abolished, a revolution would have
occurred.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, I will say hur
riedIy, that prOtectIOnlSts claim that
protection stimulates diversities of in
dustrieS. l admit that to be the fact.
The only question Is, do you pay too
much for your stimulant? We say
that you do, and that you take other
mems money to pay for your beverage.
Their second plea IS that 1t slmu
lates competition within the wall until
LLIE DIlCC - 1O"C4CU " liz LO1CA%H
level. That is surely true in many
cases; but, in the meantime the extra
cost falls upon the consumer: it is
enormously heavy and unjust; and
YOU do not give him any guaranty
that after the level is reached you will
pull down the wall or that a combine
of the protected will not be formed
within the wall which will control the
price.
The third Is, they say that it guar
autees good wages to the labOrer,
which otherwise he would not get.
I have never seen that plea made
good anywhere, but on the contrary
the highest paid labor on this earth is
the labOrer who works in those fac
tories which are perfectly free and
compete with free trade all around the
world. l say ke,e to-day that the
lowest wages are paid in the most
highly projected industries; the mod
crate wages are paid where moderate
protection pertains, and the highest
wages are paid in the cotton fields of
the South, where we give As per cent.
of the product to the laborer who pro
duces il. and at the same time have to
compete with the Scent labor of the
Nile valley, and the 4-cent labor on
the HindoO plains. They say it pro
vides home supply for home wants and
enTiches the nation as q great family.
That is true, but some one member
Of the family absorbs too much from
the other and more numerous branch
es Of thefamiiy and makes it t~Opheavy.
Laughter. This very evil is most
apparent 1o-day, Now, Mr.. Chair
man, I hurry forward. 1 would like
to show that as a governmental prin-
ciple a tariff is felt to be wrong,
because, as pointed out by the gentle
man from North Carolina Mr.. Grady
they never have dared to put protec-
ton as an avowed purpose in the law,
knowing that it could not run the
gauntlet of the courts.