The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-13
AGAINST THE WILSON BILL.
President of the Big Four Railroads and
Democrat Handles 1T without Gloves.

Democrats Handles 1t without Gloves.
Among the speakers at the celebration
of Jackson's day In Cincinnati was
President NJ. e. Ingalls,, of the" Big Four"
railroad. Mr.. Ingalls, is native of
Maine and one of the most prominent
business men of the West. He is thor
oughbred Democrat and voted for Cleve-
land. In his address Mr.. Ingalls, severely
criticized the conduct of the Democrats
Of the Senate in delaying the passage of
the silver repeal bill, and their failure
to provide for an issue of bonds, and
then turned his attention to the Wilson
bill, concerning which he spoke as fol-
lows:
We all desire a reformation of the Nc
kinney bill; we all desire the gradual
reduction of taxes, whether impo sed I'M
der the name of tariff or something else.
But this can only be had by reducing
the expenditures. Unfortunately, we
have inherited from the Republicans a
condition that is the reverse of this. We
have an empty Treasury, and the esti-
mate is that at the end of the fiscal year
the deficit will be somewhere from $685.
600, 600 to $50. 900, 000 Now what is the
duty of the Democratic party in such a
state of affairs? 1t seems to me, clearly,
to be to put out some of the obnoxious
features of the Mckinley bill, to make
some articles dutiable that are free, to
raise the duty on others, to make a reve-
nue. bill strictly according to the Chica-
go platform, and in that way secure a
sufficient revenue to run the government.
Arc They Doing .Thise
On the other hand, the Committee on
Ways and Means have sent to Congress a
tariff bill which, in addition to the
deficit of. $50, 900, 600, will produce $751;
100000 more Of loss, leaving the govern
nient at the end of the fiscal year short
S125, 0oo,oo8, unless it can be made up in
other ways. How do they expect to
make up this s125, 900, 600? Cover your
heads in shame, my fellow Democrats,
for your party in power in these days
of peace proposes to go back and enact
the. war taxes of the past; and why? In
order that they may make a tariff
framed according to the theories of few
men familiar only with the books, and
reduce the duties on certain articles
which do not demand it, and make GER
tain articles free which are not called
TOR. Instead Of obeying the mandate of
experiment of their own and initiate Nc
Kinley. Was ever such folly? The gem
tleman who fathers this measure, whose
name is given to us, is distinguished
member of Congress, coming from a
little village up in the mountains of
the State of West Virginia. He has had
a large experience as college professor
and as country lawyer, and as a mem
Der of Congress. He is student of the
doctrine of free trade and well educated
as theorist. Bysssome chance he is made
chairman of the committee of Ways and
Means, and is put astride of the COM
MERGE of this country, and proposes to
demonstrate his theories, although in so
doing so he may wreck the country and
his party.
Wilson's Fad.
Irhave not the time to go through all
the vagaries of this bill. might ask
why the wool which completes with the
farmer is made free, and the tax upon
the brandy and champagne, which the
rich man drinks, is reduced; why the
duty is left off sugar and other revenue
producing articles, if this is tariff for
revenue? THE honest truth is it is only
another edition of the Mckinley bill,
dressed up in Democratic clothes to give
it responsibility. The great fad of this
committee is free raw materials, iron
ore. COAL lumber, etc.
You will hear it said that am inter
ested in coal, and hence this is one of
my reasons for Directing to this tariff. I
am interested in coal but only as the
president of several railroad corporations
large part of whose business is in the
transportation of this article. They had
upon their pay rolls twenty-five thous-
and names, and each and everyone of
these is interested to know why, when
the government needs revenue coal,
which has paid large amount, and with
injury to no one, should be made free,
while the goods which the coal-produc-
ers use are still t xed. l say we had
twenty-five thousand names for the de-
pressed business has forced us to dis
charge one-fifth of them and they have
gone to swell the grand army of cold and
hungry unemployed that fill our streets;
the saddest sight there is in the world
men hungry and willing to work for
bread but no work to be had I am in
terested l repeat for ii this bill passes
with it's free coal and free ore more Of
these faithful employees will have to
GO.
Politically am Against 1t,
for just as sure as you place coal and
iron are upon the free list so sure will
Virginia and West Virginia leave the
Democratic column at the next election.
Tell me where are you to get the cleo
toral votes to take their place? Can you
placate Mugwumps enough in New Eng
land to give you the votes there that
you lose in the South? What justifica-
tion is there for free coal? None except
that the books say that raw material
should be free and this committee with
no business experience but welded to
their theories have classed coal as raw
material when every ton at the mouth Of
the pit presents ninety per cent. of
labor and ten per cent. of raw
material and whensit comes in competi-
ton with foreign coal in England it
represents ninety-six per cent. of labor
and four per cent. of raw material. 1t
would seem to me that if you wished
protection for labor here was better
chance for it than anywhere else Who
asks for free coal The people? No;n
no one except few New England and
New York spectators, who rushed over
into Nova Scotia the week after election
when they thought they could establish
free trade. and bought evervthino that