Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-09-08

of duties, each makes additions to
the free-list, and yet these two bills,
coming from the same House
. committee, brought forth within
the short space Of two years are
radically different in parentage, in
character, in motive and III destiny
Said Mr.. LAFoLLETTE, the
talented member from the Third
Wisconsin District and member of
the committee on Ways and
Means, when discussing this bill,
May 10, 1890:
''The Republican bill places duty on
wool, the Democratic bill places wool
on the freelist. The Republican bill
places protective tariff on all animals,
vegetables, barley. hemp, tobacco, flax,
and all products of the soil; upon cotton
goods, WOODEN goods, crockery, glass
Z '
The Democratic bill places vegetables
on the free-list, leaves but a revenue
duty on all animals, on barley, and
tobacco; moves towards a revenue duty
on cottons, woolens, crockery, glass
ware, iron, steel, hardware and cutlery
The Republican bill places sugar on the
free-list; the Democratic bill places the
duty on sugar at 50 per cent.
at will be seen that these measures
are most marvelously unlike. 1t is not
accident or chance. 1t does not eX
press vindictiveness toward the pro-
ducers of wool or barley on the part of
the trainers of the Democratic bill or
personal hostility towards the sugar
producers on the part Of the trainers Of
the Republican bill 1t is because one
bill favOrs the protection of American
agriculture, manufactures and labor,
and the other bill opposes this policy;
because the Republicans propose to
save this market to this people when
ever they can supply it and because the
Democrats propose to invite the other
countries of the world to take this
market from our people whenever it
is in their power to do so. 1t is because
the Republican bill seeks in the
collection of its revenues to secure an
cquitably protective system ultimately
and because the Democratic bill seeks
in the collection of its revenues to
secure revenue system without any
protection ultimately. The principles
are therefore exactly opposed"
Speaking of the depression in
all agricultural products in 1890,
and the low prices then prevailing
for all farm products, Mr. TOILETTE
continued:
This Republican bill offers two
remedies: it not only seeks to give the
farmers of this country much larger
| body of consumers for their products
right here at home, by multiplying the
| factories, adding to the millions engaged
in mining and manufacturing pursuits,
/ but it also proposes, in direct opposition
to the Democratic plan, to encourage
the development of the largest diversity
of production upon the farm; to add
millions on millions of acres to the
production of barley, flax, hemp,
tobacco, hops, vegetables, fruits and
fibers and to seed down to pasture vast
areas now cropped in corn and wheat,
for the 6O,0O0,00O additional sheep
required in this country to produce all
our own wool. Applause on the Re
publican side
''What does the Democratic system
offer? Why, Sir, the gentleman from
Texas (Alr Mills has but Just told us
| listened to his gleeful description OF
the worlds market that our farmers
could find if the binders of protection
were once removed from their eyes
He dcscanted in enthusiastic anC
robust speech of ''the government
soup-houses in the Old World, estab
|
poor" and mounted to his supreme
climax with the declaration that 'meI
we've starving for bread there while
here wheat, scarcely worth its trans
portation, lay like leaden weight OF
PROSTATE agriculture. | waited breath
. lcssly for more, but, alas! in vain. Here
, he halted and was done. In God;
name, is this the market you ask the
American farmers to sell their whea
in? Are they to trundle their grail
; from the Dakotas to the Old World
ard wait for the wealthy, aristocrati
patron of ''the government soup-house'
and other foreign subjects starving fol
bread to bid against each other an(
5 fix the price? applause on the Re
, publican side.) Until YOU have fastene,
upon this fair land free-trade tarit
for revenue only, until the spiders ar
= weaving their webs over looms nov
, weaving cloth, until idle labor blockade
the streets of our cities, until our coast
wise and inland steamers rot at thei
2 wharves and moss grows over the irol
| highways Of our interstate commerce
until all the horrors of 1857 come bac
to stay, do not, in gracious Heaven
/ name ask our farmers to raise cheape
S wheat to season the soup of til
hungry millions beyond the seas
Great applause on the Republica