The Washington times., 1894-04-30
REDucrIo AID ABsuRpuM.
Senator Mills Puncturcs the Home Marks
Theory.


Senator Mills Puncturcs the Home Market
Theory.
The speech on the tariff made by Senator
Mills ON April "a appeared in the Congress
sionnl Record last Saturday. While 1t now
appears in full for the first time, it has been
synopsized SO extensively by the press that
the public is familiar with nearly all OF 1t.
There is, however, one portion Of the speech
which, while it has been touched upon by the
newspapers, has not been brought out clearly
enough; it is that portion In which the Sem
ator states the position OF the two parties in
their bearing on our industries. 1t Is printed
below:
Mr. President, It is a magnificent scheme that
this very intelligent and able committee re-
ported to us, that by raising the tariff they were
going to import "non-agriculturists" into this
country to consume the surplus products of the
wheat crop l have ciphered little on that
dazzling problem to see how many people they
will have to bring TO this country to consume the
surplus wheat crop. Tho very year after the
prophecy was uttered this floor, the wheat
growers of the United States produced Gil, $50 600
bushels of wheat Nj. Dodge, the Statistician
of the Agricultural Department, who has been
issuing their protection pamphlets and cam
paign documents for them for years. says that
that 4ss bushels OF wheat is the per capita con-
sumption OF tne people OF the United States
Everybody knows that we are the best fed peo-
pie in the world We will suppose that this
"non-agricultural" importation that high pro-
tective tariff is to bring to the United States will
each consume 42s bushels of wheat
We will first make a deduction to seed the
crops of the next year. There were little less
than 100000 acres sown in wheat A bushel
and half is the highest amount that Is given by
farmers as requisite to SOW IN acre OF wheat
Then deduct 60,0OO000 bushels for seed at Mr.
Dodge's estimate, four and two-thirds bushels
mar haa anvla will
bushels set apart for bread: the total for home
consumption. 359,OO0OO0 bushels; surplus, 252-
10000 bushels. To consume, that at four and
two-thirds bushels per head would require a
mon agricultural Importation of population
of population amounting in one year TO 81 ,OOO-
900 people. Where are they going TO come from
from TO bring all that population here to con-
sumo this surplus wheat? 1t would take all the
armed and mercantile vessels afoat on all the
waters Of all the seas of the globe
But that does not make any difference 1t is a
beautiful thing and ought not to be marred by
any such commonplace considerations ] sup
pose our friends were going to let the immi-
grants provide the vessels for themselves But
81 900 900 people have TO come here according to
that prophecy, and they have got to come in one
year, and they have got to come in time to con-
sumo that crop of wheat, and they have got TO
come with money enough to pay for II or it will
do the farmers no good. What will they do, Mr.
President, when they come here to make the
money TO buy the wheat from the farmer. 1t
will not do to bring agriculturists The commit
tee were too sharp for that They said that they
must be 'non-agriculturists;" that they must be
miners, manufacturers, persons engaged in
transportation, laborers, mechanics and others
Now, of the non-agricultural populations of the
United States one-third are manufacturing Ia
borers. Let US assume that one-third of these
will be. One-third of 81, 600 900 will be 49, 900 OOO
who have TO come and be supported by manu-
featuring labor. That includes men, women and
children.
Again, by the same division of our population
one-third Of that number are laborers actively
engaged in the shops That makes 60oO,0O0 le-
borers who have come here in one year Six
million Of manufacturing laborers have to be
brought by the Mckinley law to this country.
Very we'll What will they do? They will go into
manufacturing, OF course. How much will they
make? If 4,250000 operatives made 1880, 900 600
worth of manufactured products in 1880, how
much will 60oD.0OO make? IL is a mere sum in
arithmetic that an ordinary Republican ought TO
be able to cipher out. Somebody else will cipher
il out II they do not They will turn out, If they
work as well as our people, Sl3,O0O,OOO 900 worth
of products We consume $50 per head of our
manufactured products. II will be fair to
sumo that they will consume similar amount
of their products Then they will consume of
that product ss,0O0,0O0OO0 worth. That would
leave S5,O0O0O,OD0 worth of surplus manufac-
lures. What is TO be done with IL?
The committee did not inform US. We know
that they are opposed 10 exchanging any of our
products for the cheap and nasty things pro-
duced by foreign paupers, and we know that
their destructive policy is 10 confne our trading
TO this continent They may even 60 so far TO
-.
made a mistake in leaving navigable oceans
around America; that he should have made them
oceans Of fire. But even If these obstacles were
out of the way the tariff duties on the materials
out of which their products were manufactured
would prohibit them from export, Just the
tariff duties prohibit ours. These 5000 cO00o0
worth of products must be consumed at home.
And carrying out the policy so boldly laid down
We must import ''non-manufacturing" popula-
ton We must either carry out Democratic
policy and export the goods or the Republican
policy and import people to consume them. The
Republican plan was adopted and still prevails.
Now, we must import "ncn-manufacturing" peo-
pie enough 10 consume this surplus. How many
will IL take2 We consume about $50 per head.
We will assume that they will consume as much.
turing people to make n home market for 5000
100000 of manufactures.
of our non-manufacturingc class in the United
States 81 per cent are agriculturists, and we
will assume that 81 per cent. of them will be
agriculturists- Then lS,D1O0O0 of these are TO be
farmers and of these one-third are laborers, or
100000 We had 9,OO0 900 laborers in 1880 in
agriculture We were to import 6,OOOOOo more,
and If 100000 farmers produced 6ll,.S0OO0
bushels of wheat in 1891 6,0OOOO0 farmers Will
produce 400,0O0,O0O bushels. They will use for
seed two-thirds much We, being two-thirds
as numerous, or i0.UG0,0CO bushels; they will use
for bread four and two-thirds, or l54,OCO.OU
bushels: and then they will have a surplus of
2;1.0O0OO0 bushels What are you going to do
with that We have got 10 import now 43OCO,-
COO non-agriculturists to consume that. and so
the thing goes, and if we continue this policy OF
our Republican friends, in few years. within
the memory Of old men like myself we will see
the whole fourteen hundred millions OF this
world here in the United States, brought here by
a high protective tarif-Chinese, Japanese.
Fills, Soudanese Maltese, and chimpanzees, all
coming to the United States TO join Coxeys
army and the aborigines