Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-08-03


is robbed by the stealthy hand of high
protection.-C Cleveland in has address
of acceptance, July Goth.
Tariff Discussion in the Senate.
On Tuesday, July Goth, in the United
States Senate, Senator Aldrich, of
Rhode Island, made an elaborate
speech in explanation and commenda
ton of the Mckinley tariff act, which
was replied to on Friday, July goth,
by Senator John g. Carlisle, of Ken
lucky, in which he exposed the fall
lacies of the arguments of the Senator
from Rhode Island and demonstrated
that, in spite of the fact that the ten
dency of the times the world over was
toward decrease in the prices of com
modities and an increase in the amount
Of wages, yet in the United States,
owing to the exactions laid upon the
people by the tariff laws as at present
framed, these tendencies were neutral
lied, and there was an increase in the
cost of living, while there had been no
increase in the wages of wOrkingmen.
The Senator went into details and gave
instances of the increase in the cost of
goods of various kinds, especially
woolens and the cheaper grades of
goods worn by persons in moderate cir
cumstances, showing that the prices
had in some instances more than
doubled and demonstrating that with
free wool American manufacturers
could produce these goods so as to.co1n-
pete with those of the foreign manu-
facturer in his own market.
In the course of his argument Mr.
Carlisle said that he would endeavor to
show that the prices of commodities in
the United States, whether by whole
sale or retail, had been enormously in
creased by the passage of the Mckinley
act, and by the agitation which had
preceded it, and that the cost of living
in the United States had increased,
during the period covered by the in
vestigation, more than $685., 200, 000-
He proposed to show, in the second
, placc$Alt the rates of wages in fifteen
unnro+ao4o 1>.Sustries in the United
States had increasoa during the period
covered by the investigation, while the
rates of wages in fifteen of the highly
protected industries in the United
States had fallen since the passage of
the Mckinley act. The fifteen general
occupations in unprotected industries
were bakers, blacksmiths, bricklayers,
cabinet-makers, carpenters, common
laborers, farm laborers, machinists,
masons, iron lnolders, painters, plumb
ers, stone-cutters, tailors and tin
smiths.
The average increase of wages in
these occupations had been 75-100 of
one per cent. The fifteen highly pro-
tected occupations were bar-iron, boots
and shoes, cotton goods, cotton and
wooden goods, crucible steel, flint glass,
green glass, lumber, machinery, pig
iron, steel ingots, steel blooms, steel
rails, window glass and wooden goods.
In these occupations the rates of
wages had fallen since the Mckinley
act an average of 99-100 of one per
cent, as against u rise of 75-100 per
cent. in the fifteen unprotected in
dustries.
IMPORTED GOODS AND TIN-PLATE.
Mr.. Carlisle then went intoa detailed
Oh 10 i
goods and as to tin-plate. On the lat
ter point he quoted Mr.. Aldrich as say
ing that the people of the United
States had paid to Welsh tin-plate
manufacturers in 1891 seventy-six cents
per box more than they had been pay
ing before that time. That was I'M
doubtedly too true. The Mckinley act
had been bonanza to the Welsh tin
plate manufacturers. 1t had enabled
them to take from the people of the
United States many millions over and
above their normal profits. The Nc
Kinley act had paid, not to the i'm
porter, not to the government, not to
the dealers, but directly to the Welsh
t1n-plate manufacturers 50, 500, $50, or
more than half the value of the plant
of the sos tin-plate workes of Wales
The Mckinley act as to tin-plate had
proved to be not for the benefit of the
American consumer, but of the WEIGH
manufacturers.
Mr.. Carlisle closed his speech with
some specific statements as to wooden
goods and with the assertion that
American wooden manufacturers would
be willing to give up the tariff on i'm
ported wooden goods if Congress would
only give them free wool.
He spoke for an hour and forty
minutes, and was listened to with close
attention and apparently deep interest
by Senators on both sides of the cham
Der.