The Coconino weekly sun., 1894-02-08
REED ON THE TARIFF.

position to the Wilson bill Mir. Reed (Me.) said:
 In this debate. which has extended over m9ny weeks, one remarkable result has al- ready been renched-a result of the deepest i'm. portance to the country, The result is that ihe bill before us is odious to both sides Of the house. IL meets with favor nowhere and com. mnnds the respect of neither party. On this side we believe that while 1t pretends to be for protection 1t does not afford H. and on the other side they believe that while it looks to. ward free trade, 1t does not accomplish 1t Those who will vote against this bill will do so because 1t opens our markets to the de- structive competition of foreigners, and those who vot for It do it with reservation that they will instantly devote themselves to Q new crusade against whato or barriers are left
 Whatever speeches have been made in de- fense of the bill on the ot or side, whether by gentlemen who were responsible to their own constituents, or by the gentleman from West Virginia, who onght to have been stoadied by his sense of responsibility 10 the whole country, have one and all with but rare exceptions, placed their authors uncompromlsingly. except for temporary purposes on the side of unre- stricted free trade.
 After quoting authorities to show the prosperity of the country, Mir Reed continued:
 These quotations also are reminders for you, Mir. Sreaker. ard all who hear noe to know that the American who has been long enough here to know his opportunities has found the best place for wages in the world Is there any example fin the history of the world Of any nation situated like ours who has taken the step to which VIC are invitedS Some gentlemen. perhaps, are hlsteniug 10 say that England af. lords us the needed example that we have but to turn to her history and ind al that we need by way of examples, just as in the statements of her political economists we shall find all that is necessary for advice, for guidance and in struction
 After giving statistics as to the rise of wages, the speaker continued:
 The truth IS that this very question of rising wages Is what makes good many men free traders People with fixed incomes think that anything which raises wages Is inimical to them and manufacturers who have foreign mar kets arc naturally anxious to have wages on the foreign standard I confess to you that this question of wages Is to me the vital ques. tion To insure our growl h in civilizi ition and wealth. WIG must not only have wages as high as they are now, but constantly and steadily increasing. This desire Of mine for constantly increasing wages does not have it| origin in love for the individual but in love for the na . tion
 Mir. Reed eulogized the American market as being the best in the world, owing to high wages paid, and declar- ing that it was now proposed to lessen the market and lower wages, and con- cluded by saying:
 To add to the interesting imposibilities Of thIs contention the orators on the other side say they are going D maintain wages, How can that be possbler All things sell at the cost of production. If the difference between cost of production here anl cost Of production in England bs not eQualizei by the dutT. then our cost of production must go down or we must go out Our laws have invited money and men. and we have grown great and rich thereby The gentleman from Illinois (Mr Black), has noticed that men como here. and he does not want them to come: hence he is willing that our wages shall be lowered to keep people away. Well, this Is not the time to discuss immigration but while people are coming am glad they have not yet imbibed the gentlemIns ideas and nave not yet begun to clsmor for lower wages
 But what do you say about the farmerf Well, on that subject I do not profess any special learning. but there is one simple statement l wish to make and leave the question there II, with cities growing up like magic, manufacture ing villages dott ng every eligible site, each and all swarming with mouths to be filled, the
  country was desert, abandon sense in favor of political economy.
 If the hope of agriculturisGs Is in English free trade they had better ponder on the fact that while the, wages Of artisans have increased in England say S2 a per week since lSIO the wages of agricultural laborer5 have only in. creased I9 cents and while the Lancashire ope- ratiyeS fin the factories live as well as anybody, except Americans, the agricultural laborers are hardly better of than the continental peas antry. England's example will nos do for az riculture
 Here let me meet one other question and let me meet |. fairly. We are charged with having claimed that the tar.I alone will raise wages. We have never made such claim in any such form Free traders have set up that claim for US in order to triumphantly knock 1t over What we do say is that where nations have equal skill and equal appliances and market nearly equal so one Of them can hire labor at one half less, nothing but n can main Ia n the higher wages and we cIn prove, We are the only rival that i.a gland fears for we alone have in our borders the population and the wages, the raw material and within our selves the great market which insures to us the most improved machinery Our constant power to increase our wages insures us also q continuous progress. If you wish us to follow the example Of England, say yes, with all my heart. but her real ex mple and nothing less Let us keep protection. as she did until no rival dares to invade our territory, and then we may take our chances for . future which by that time will rot be unknown.
 Nobody knows so well as do how much I have failed 10 present even of my own compre- hension of the great argument which should control this vote. Ihlve said not word of the grelt fall Of prlces which have always come from the competition of the whole world rem dered possible by pro .ection and substituted for the competition Of q single island have said not word of the great differ ence between the attitude If employers who find their own workmen their best custom CTS in their own land and who are, th refore, moved by their own best interests to give their workmen fair wages, and those who sell abroad aad are therefore anxious for low wages at home and on whom works unreJ trlctedly that pernicious doctrine-as wages fall profits rise These and much more have omitted, for there is limit to all speaking.
 We know my friends that before this trib. unal we all Of us plead in vain Why we fail let those answer who read toe touching words of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural and re- member that he pleaded in vain with these men and their predecessors Where he failed we cannot expect to succeed But though we fail here today, like our great leader of other days in the larger field before the mghtier tribunal which will finally and forever decide this question, we shall be more than conquerors: for this great nation, shaking of as 1t has once before the influence of a lower civilization, will go on to fulfill it's high destiny until over the south. as well as