The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-04-08
FREE WOOL FAVORED
The Measure Passes the House by
aLarge Majority.
CONGRESSMAN WILSON'S SPEECH.

The West Virginia Member. in Clos
ing the Debate, Gives . Mastery
Presentation or His Views on the
Measure, which Goes Through by
Vote or 102 70 90.
WASHINGTON, April s.--Mr. Wilson,
of West Virginia, closed his speech on
the tariff at 1:50 o'clock yesterday, and
the wool bill was at once put to vote,
being passed by vote of 1872 to 60. The
closing speech was one Of the most re-
markable, If not the very most remarka-
BILE. for eloquence and display of mas
terly ability that has been delivered dur
ing this long discussion. At the close
every Democrat in the house shook
hand with the orator.
He promised his speech with an allu-
sion to the illness of the distinguished
chairman of the committee ON ways and
means. That illness, he said, had been
| due to his conscientious industry in
| framing this bill and his tireless efforts
| to become acquainted with all the facts
bearing upon it. He (Mr. Wilson, did
| not possess the same equipments as had
been obtained by the gentleman from
Illinois. It was not his purpose to re
view in detail the already much debated
provision of this bill
There could be no more momentous
question presented. A system of tax
alton correct in principle and just in
operation was the final goal and the es-
sential of free government As we APP
| preached such system we broadened
| and equalized our freedom; as we de-
parted from it we narrowed and made
an unjust distribution of that freedom.
An Unjust system. n
It was his contention that the existing
system of taxation was neither correct
in principle nor just in operation; and
as plenary proof of that contention, he
offered the section of the law that this
bill was intended to supersede and cor
rect. Every day in the year something
more than 81 ,000, 900 collected by taxa
ton found its way into the treasury.
Mr.. Wilson continued:
"Under the operations of the McKin-
ley law the people had suffered merci-
lessly. Over $41, 000, 900 were gathered
last year as taxes on an importation of
$500, 000, 900 worth of wool and wooden
goods. One dollar out of every five dol
lars collected in taxes came from wool
and wooden goods.
A Tax on the People.
"The money which came into the
treasury was paid by the poorer classes.
The Republicans contended that tariff
ON an article reduces the price to the
consumer. They said that the purpose
of tariff on wool was to increase the
price of wool raised by the wool grower.
If their theory was correct, with pro-
duction of $50 ,000, 900 pounds of wool at
tax of ten cents per pound, we would
have 500, 000, 900 more taxes on the neces-
saries of life. Last year we produced
$685., 000, 900 wsrth. of wool. The ave
average tax was something over 80 per
cent.
n "sIf this 0atput was taxed at tine same
average rate and upon the same prin-
ciple that these gentlemen contend for,
who could figure out the exact amount
of taxes taken from the people OF this
country ON their clothing, part of which
went into the treasury and . portion
into the pockets of those who were in
tended to be protected by the Mckinley
law? 1t struck at the very essence and
life of the republlc.l
Pauper Labor at Home:
1
exaggeration here and everywhere as to
the Character of foreign labor. read a
few days ago statement made by Mr..
Butterworth, of Ohio, that he diligently
looked for this pauper labor of Europe
i when he was in Europe last summer. In
Germany, in Belgium. in Holland he
looked for it and did not find it. If he
had looked for it in the fields of the
planters, if he had looked for it in the
fields of the farmers, If he had looked
for it in the fields of the wheat growers,
if he had gone further and looked in the
fields of the cotton growers he would
have found that pa1per labor.
but, sir, why do gentlemen compare
i countries like those with this country
of ours? England has 81 200, 900 people.
England is one-third the size of Cali
I fornia, one-fifth the size of the state of
Texas. It is an old country, where for
hundreds and thousands of years mill
ions of people have been treading upon
each others heels in the struggle for the
necessaries of life. It is q country
where every acre of land has long since
been appropriated, where land monop-
olies prevail, q country where the laws
come out OF the past, saturated with
privilege, saturated with injustice.
country where the people are divided
into hard, unbending social divisions,
a country where every natural resource
has long since become private property.
Our Natural Advantages.
"And yet, gentlemen. compare the
condition of the people of that country
with the condition of the people of this
country, country that until a few
years ago, almost in the days of our
4 fathers, was hidden from the knowledge
of the people of the older worlds. While
they were exhausting their fields the
mold in our agricultural valley was
deepening. While they were exhaust
| ing their mines ours were lying undis-
| turbed in the mountains. While they
were exhausting their forests not the
sound of an ak broke the silence of our
| woods.
i N,.And now, when there is let into this
country but handful of people, so to
speak, the most intelligent, they most
| enterprising people of the world, .