Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-11-10
of the government of the people of the

bought this election claimed the right, to
use slang phrase ito get their goods"
| They had made their bargain and they
| meant to have their contract performed;
and down they Topped in their palace
ears. in their luxury, in their rich hotels
crowded to Washington to record their de-
/ mands for value received. The scrivener
was Mr.. Mckinley. lie wrote down what
they claimed and assented to it. And what
was the result? Going into power with
promise of reform of taxation, on this
| promise they advanced taxation every
where, until to-day the bill Of Mckinley
! is u moral and d legal monstrosity of i'll
| justice. [Applause.l Il prevents revenue
| from coming into the treasury and puts
| the American people still more hopelessly
under the feet and under the power of the
rich, under whose demands his law was
written,
4 Not only have we seen revenue defeated
/ private profit running in deepened and
stronger current, but we see the most
dangerous doctrines adopted, in giving to
the President of the United States the
I power to impose taxes upon four serious
commodities at his own will-tea, coffee
4 hides and sugar-and all upon the free list,
! with the power of one man to place them
| all in the dutiable list and Keep them there
as long as he pleases. Think of it, friends
| Why, great heavens The ancestors of the
American people would not pay tax
a tax not as heavy that Mr.. Harrison-one
man-can impose upon us, their descend
ants. Where have we drifted, when such
a statement as that can be made and must
be admitted to be strictly true2 Under the
Mckinley bill with its false system of reei-
| procity. the power is given to one man and
he not member of the Legislative branch
of the government but the chief executive
| of the Countrv-at his will. to tax conf
modities that the law now makes, and for
years has made, free. The power of taxing
is therefore not only in the hands Of Il
favored class, but is actually committed to
one mainland he, the partisan head of
great and powerful political organization.
Why, the other day, there was the
proposition that they would place hides
on the free list. One Of the most lucrative
branches of our business is the leather
trade OF the country. Thanks to the IN.
genuity of mechanics and the invention OF
machinery and the fact that they can get
their materials free-olir morocco men in
this town have tlourished, and have car
ried on a good business, greatly to the
satisfaction of us all; and here this one
man with his own will without any con-
troll has the power to put II tax of 33 per
centum on all the materials that they now
get free, but If they were taxed | think
they every one would be shut up. But
such is the power deposited in the hands
Of single man.
Oh, my friends, when think of the tax
on tea in liza, and the tax on tea in 1892,
begin to think that really we have degen-
Grated as men.
My friends, there is fact lying deeper
than this clutch for unjust power; it is the
strange delusion that statutes can create
wealth. that statutes can create value, that
statutes can really create the prosperity of
the nation. Statutes can create the pros
perity of a class at the expense of the rest;
but 1t is absolute nonsense to speak of
statutory taxation making the country
richer that imposes it. II it were so why
not go to Congress at once and get u
panacea in the shape of one statute that
shall create prosperity forrns all. Try that;
create universal prosperity and have no
discomfort. tell you that in the very
nature of things you cannot create pros
perity for one by law, but that you do it ut
the cost of some other.
There is much more that could be said,
and You will pardon me if in my earnest
ness | dwell too lorg upon it. iDut | come
now to the result and the consequences OF
arranging your laws of taxation in the
form of duty upon imports in such way
as to carry II small fraction TO the Treasury
and the great proportion into private hands
, and thus. build up party of money and
money alone.
have described the election of 1888; the
proof of its truth was in the law of 1890.
and under that law of 1880 there proposed,
the very machinery to pass that or any
other law was provided. The rules OF
Thomas B. Reed, the late Speaker of the
: House, that will ever 90 with his name
+ kissing down in infamy, declared that the
; House of Representatives of the American
people had ceased to be deliberative
, body. 1t was about true; his will was
law. He was not the speaker of house,
/ but it was the house Of speaker. ZAP.
plause and laughterl They passed the
Mckinley bill, of course they did-what
} was to hinder them2 He could count
quprums and force previous questions
and this was the bill that was then passed
and had the ready signature of MIR. Harri
son, then President OF the United States
They reasoned 1T costs us good deal oil
t money to buy this law, aud it costs us Il
good deal of money to eject Mr.. Harrison
, and it created great deal of scandal. Ii
was rather unpleasant for us to feel that
we were debauching the elective franchise
t of the country" They would rather moi
/ do it any more, and, therefore, they pro
9 posed law that would save them all
expense and all the trouble and scandal OF
t setting up the Presidency at auction anC
! bidding 1t OFF TO the man who would pay
1 the most to control the taxing power, and
i so they hit upon the Force bill, so-called.
} leave out of question for moment thu
t fact that the Force bill was to take awaA
5 from the people of every state the right o
: peaceful, quiet, honest elections, and dt
that by placing around them hands O
i armed men without any control in tht
i state over their movements, to hold til,
Q people fast and gag them and bind then
, | ana imprlson them, while the farce of ~
election is going on, Our judges are min
: listers of Justice whom we look up to
4 justly, US the only sheltered anchorage o
1 the safety to our country We say mel
+ may quarrel AMI violence may exist, bu
{ in the calm, pure atmosphere Of the bencl
e will be found q means of checking thes
/ evils; but no, this law was to drag dowl
e the Judge from the bench and make him
{ partisan, and To give to Is of them th,
/. power To decide the results of the election
. In other words, TO say, Let the peopl
. amuse themselves by voting Under our in
G spection and control, but after they hav,
y voted We'll hold a little election of ou
!, own. and we'll sign the.CeryiIicates and re
Il turn who has been elected
< 1t is cheaper to do that than to get Mr.
h Wanamakcr to go around with little ba.
= and gather up large sums of money from
G people-holy men like himself Lapplarisn
g cheaper TO do that than to let some littl
| iriblets from Mr.. Wanamaker's bag over
| How into the State of Delaware aud reSultii
q sending Republican senator to the Senat,
4 of the United States. Appause "ISn
5 we will have something which will accom-
& plish the end much more readily tina,
& tlat" 10 use Mr.. Reed phrase, I'VE in
! tend now to cut loose from state election
d altogether, and do our own counting an
n our own certilication.n II was very simple
y it was comparatively cheap. II was NOR
& openly brutal, but it killed American
d liberty all the same o.
/ When that law shall be passed. and pu
!. III force constitutional liberty has receive,
| - .