Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1894-10-07
DELIVERED By HON. JOHN ]. CONIEE, LAST
EVENING,
At W.stwoOds Hall-A Large Attendance toListsn
@a Mastery Presentation Of the Issues
Of the Campaign.

appearances was greeted with hearty
| applause. Mr.. Coniff handled the poit-
ical situation without gloves, and
| in discussing the origin OF
ana reasons for revenue, said that
no government was sefsustaining.
| The expenses OF administration must be
gathered from some source. The gov
erned in return for the protection to
| their lives, liberty and property accede
| the right of the government TO TAX them
TO the extent of paying the necessary
expenses Of the government judiciously
and economically administered. Be,
yond that limit taxation not only be-
comes unnecessary but unjust. Unjuss
and unnecessary taxation was coh-
demned by all the people before parbi-
sanship and party afiliatlon divided
the people into political parties. The
struggle for independence was upon
these lines. Protection primarily for
protection sake is un1American and IN
constitutional NO party would dare
make il the preamble of bill in Con-
gress. 6Tnwhoesome concentration OF
wealth Is due TO protection. The theory
Of pP5tection is that we should have
! America for Americans. In other words,
that the tariff should be not only pro-
tective but prohioitory. Repub-
! licans have never yet been
able to tell where, il
their policy is carried to its Legitimate
result, we shall collect the revenue TO
run this Government. How can the
people be protected unless some stranE-
er's tons are made to pay the revenue?
The claim itself involves an absurdity
unless like John and BIZ, neither Of
whom had one cent, but each made s.
bv trading and re-exchanging his hat
! with the other-our Republican friends
can institute a similar robbing Peter
and paving Paul process. The Chinese
furnish in this respect some food for
reflection. They have such wall,
| have traded with themselves for
centuries, healthful climate, natural
| advantages, the oldest civilization
on earth. Yet as result are the
most benighted people and the only
ones who are by law decreed unfit TO
! place foot on our soil. The disastrous
! effects OF thirty years OF protection
challenged the laboring and agricul-
! tural classes to point 70 any Dement'S
| from protection, showed the utter fall
lacy OF the argument that wages are
governed by the tariff. The natural
| law Of supply and demand, aided by the
genius, thrift and industry OF labor,
natural advantages added, and which Is
| the powerful influence Of labor organ
ization, has given our laborers all the
| benefit they have had. Reference to the
report Of the commission to see what
! the Mckinley law had upon wages
! shows that la fifteen protected indus
| tries wages have decreased, and In If
! teen unprotected industries wages have
increased. Reference next made to ag-
ricultural classes. A principle that can
not be controverted that every man
has the God given right to sell where he
| can get the most for his goods and buy
what he needs where he can get it the
cheapest. The Republican party has re-
versed this blessed privilege The far
mer's products are sold in the cheapest
markets of the world-the price being
| fixed al Liverpool-and he is compelled
| to buy in the highest market in the
world. In exchange for what he sells
abroad he gets many of the neces-
saries OF life, for no nation can
paysfor all our exports in cash, and be-
| fore he can land his goods upon his own
| shore he must pay the enormous taxes
which have heretofore been placed most
| heavily on those goods. But they say
| he doesn't pay the taxes. What noa-
sense! Yetiti is contained in the minority
report to the Wilson bill. Ia fact the
report says the foreigner pays IL in one
| part Of il and in another that the con-
sumner pays il. The tariff duty in many
! instances is more than the value Of the
article purchased. You do pay it, AMI
a reduction OF the tariff duty on any
| article thus purchased is so much more
| money left in the consumers pocket.
You all remember the provision OF the
| Mckinley bill providing rebate 10
pork packers when goods were exported.
The manufacturers wanted the Nc
! Kiplev bill because il made them pay
/ the laborers higher wages and sell their
manufactured product cheaper. These
very men who were thus to be cut both
WAYS clamOred for the passage OF the
| Mckinley bill, that reduced their pro-
| fits and increased their expenses. They
Of farming implements assured his far
mer friends that the price OF implements
would be reduced, yet be went into
South America, Spain snd other for
eign countries paid the charges Of trans
| portation and sold in many instances
| the same article at more than one-third
| less than TO his American farmer friends.
The schedules of the Mckinley bill and
the present were we'll compared with
effect. The great reduction on the
necessaries OF life benetiting directly
! the consumer were dwelt upon and aD-
| piled with effect. Far different is the
! present law from the Mckinley bill in
| this respect. Under protection II you
| wore as good clothes as Vanderbilt,
Won contributed as much as he did TO
support the government. II you wore
clothes not half as good, you contri-
/ buted about twice rs much, because the
cheaper goods worn by the poor were
| taxed higher. 4 table OF the exact
| benefits 10 the consumer was gone over
] somewhat in detail. No tariff law was
ever PASSED in shorter time. II was
psssed much sooner than the Mckinley
! bill. A fact overlooked and OF much
! Importance in accounting for
the delay. was that dur
! inc the month of April
IL was proposed by the Republi-
can leaders TO the Democrats that
vote be taken on the Wilson bill as it
came from the Senate Committee, at )
O'CLOCK of that day. The answer came
4