Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1893-09-21
McKINLEY's SPEECH.


paign in Ohoi at Akron last Tuesday,
speaking to an immense crowd. The
great protectionist held the crowd for
two hours while he poured hot shot
into the enemies of American indus
tries. The way he scored the present
administration and the pro-British
party was like pouring nitric acid on a
fresh wound. A short extract from his
speech will suffice to show its whole
tenor. Speaking of the present situa-
tion he said:
With the condition which confronts us,
with the factories and idle men in every
part of the country, the present questions
how can they bs set to work? The mills
are closed. Will free trade start them?
Will a lower tariff rekindle their fires?
Will larger importation of competitive
products made by a cheaper labor increase
our domestic production? If the foreign
shop is to have easier access to this market
with it's competitive goods through a lower
tariff, will that help American shops?
Will freer access to the markets of compel
'''S OteN ttSoo "a otihhbu III
American products and American labor?
That is the question. Will the larger use
OF goods OF foreign shops competing with
our own increase the labor in our own?
Will more foreign goods shipped here in
crease the demand for like domestic goods?
Lower tariff or no tariff makes it easier to
bring ia foreign goods and harder to dis
pose OF kindred domestic goods. The more
foreign goods used competing with ours the
less domestic goods will be used, and the
less domestic goods which are used, the
less will be made, while the less made, the
less men are required to make them, and
those who do make them have less work
and will have less wages. DO we want to
make it easier than it now is to import
foreign goods competing with our own? Do
we want to have foreign competition with
out hindrance or restraint? Ii we do, free
trade or "a revenue tariff will accomplish it.
III we want our goods made abroad and
not at home we should be for a revenue
tariff. II we want them made at home we
should De for a protective tariff. If we
make them at home we will employ Ameri-
can labor. Ii they are made abroad for
eign labor will make them and home labor
will be idle. 1t is no economy to buy for
eign goods and lea We our own unsold.
They say a protective tariff is a tax and
"a burden upon the people. 1t is a tax up
on the foreign producer, aud his welfare is
not our first concern. Idleness is IL much
greater tax and n much more onerous bur-
den than any tariff tax which can be inn
posed. There is no burden so great as un-
employed men, no tax so grievous as pow
erty- The statesmanship which can supply
worn to willing hands, consistent with the
general national prosperity that has been
had in the past thirty years, is the
craftsmanship Of good business and of saw
ing common sense. The farmer who has g
house full of grown, vigorous sons finds no
economy in hiring his neighbors' sons while
his own are idle. The country which has q
million of its own citizens unemployed will
find no economy i'm employing aliens anC
strangers of another country to do it,
work abroad. We want our york lone b,
our own citizens. They must be preferred
above all others.
You cannot have a revenue tariff or fire,
. trade in this country without a complete re
adjustment OF business, not only in the ST.
called protected industries, but in every
department of American enterprise ant
activity. Everybody knows hat who
cares to know it; everybody knows tina
who is not blinded by craftsmanship. o.
who actuated by heartless greed, would re
duce the American condition down to tn
European condition. A change from a pro
tective to n revenue tariffinvolve a revolu
ton OF values, OF prices, OF wages, Of ever,
variety of investment. 1t involves a revo
I luton in the manner of living. Such
5 change would penetrate every home in tn
land, and suffering the most cruel would b
sure to result. We have a slight f~oretast'
of the coming change now. What will tn
full fruition of free trade be? Our own ex
perience in the past should prevent us iron
adopting the degradingfallacy OF free trade
Whenever protection has been abandone'
in this country every industry has beel
paralyzed, every business has suffered. ex
cept that of the insolvent court and tn
2 Shylock. II free trade is to come. l pra.
God it may not be advanced in your tim
4 or mine. Has not the fear of it's comm
filed the country with alarm, and are no
e men making ready for it? But, it is said
! sit has not come" That is true, but tina
it will come we have the assurance of tn
5 Democratic administration and the prom
Use of the Democratic candidate for goveI
: nor. Now, if they will only change FROM
if they will only reconsider, if they will onl
assure the country that this deplorabI
change will not come, they will fill til
. hearts OF millions with cheer and coural
and confidence, and send JOY into million
n of homes whose fathers and sons an
y brothers are idle, waiting for the fires to
started in our silent furnaces, and for Il
spin..v s to hum in our idle factories.