The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-04-22
LOGIC, NOT THEORY.
WHY Mr.. 6RYAN's TARIFF REFORM
SPEECH COMMANDED ATTENTION.

He Made No Concession to Protection,
and Was Above Besorting to Buncombe.
Although a New Member His Time Was
Extended from One Hour to Three.
w. J. Bryan, the able young repre-
sentative Of the Nebraska Democracy,
succeeded in gaining and holding the
attention of the house on the tariff ques-
ton for three hours. The time allotted
TO him was one hour, but when that had
expired Republicans and Democrats
joined in urging him to proceed, and
even after he had consumed thrice his
allotted hour they shouted to him to go
on. This was the more remarkable
from the fact that Mr.. Bryan is new
member and his speech Of Wednesday
was his first ON the floor of the house.
SO far as one can judge from the
brief report of his speech, Mr. Bryan
commanded attention not only because
he is pleasing and eloquent speaker,
but also because he took a radically
right position on the tariff question:
position which could be defended with
consistency and irresistible logic. He
succeeded because he was master of his
subject and scorned to stultify himself
by addressing stuff to Buncombe county
that was inconsistent with sound doc.
trine.
1t does not appear that Mr.. Bryan
made any concession to protectionism
by saying that grand larceny was wrong
and petty larceny right, or that robbery
as chief purpose was wrong and in.
furious to the victim. while incidental
robbery was right and beneficial to the
victim. 1t does not appear that he toll
Grated in the least the false pretense Of
the Mckinley sophists that protection"
is for the benefit of labor, and that ''pro-
tective" taxes equal to an unknown diff
ference in wages are necessary for the
defense Of the workman and the indus.
tries of the country.
Regarding this false pretense he
quoted the statement made by the high
tariff champion, Henry Clay, fifty years
ago, that it costs the same to manufac.
ture yard of flannel in this country
that it did in England. He also quoted
the statement made by Mr.. Blaine in 1881
in an official report to congress that
the difference in wages in this country
and in England in the cotton manufac-
turing industry was more than compen.
sated by the greater efficiency and the
longer hours of labor of American op-
eratives. He also quoted J. b. Sargent,
the head of the greatest shelf hardware
manufacturing concern in the country,
who was once protectionist, as saying
that while wages are higher in this
country than in Europe the actual la.
Dor cost of manufacturing hardware is
not greater in this country, and that
under free trade he could pay the same
wages and compete successfully against
European manufacturers in the markets
of the world. Thus, by the testimony
u the great lights Of the high tariff
party, Mr.. Bryan exposed the falseness
of the pretense that tariff taxes are
necessary to compensate the laborer in
America for differences in wages and to
maintain the American standard of
wages.
Mr.. Bryan seems to have planted him.
self on solid ground from the first, and
to have staid there to the last, leaving
no weak spots in his defenses through
which the McKinleyites could make
breaches. No doubt that is one reason
why he commanded such close atten.
ton. The man who is radically right
and who dares to accept the conclusions
necessarily following from his right
premises always commands attention
and respect. Mr.. Bryan may be criti-
cised for supporting q bill which pro-
vides protection for a class Of manufac-
turers, but he can reply that it is not in
consistent for q hungry man to accept a
slice of bread when he can get no more,
and that 1t would be foolish for him to
reject the slice because he couldn't get
the whole loaf. Or, when a workman
cannot collect all the wages due him it
Is better to accept part than to go
hungry Chicago Herald.