Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-02-07
HON. VIM. L. WILSON'S CLOSING
SPEECH ON HIS BILL.

The debate in the House of Represen-
tatives on the Wilson Tariff Bill was
concluded last Thursday The speeches
made on that day were by Mr.. Reed
(Republican) of Maine, against the bill,
and by Speaker Crisp and Mr.. Wilson
l(Democrats) for it. The concluding
speech was mede by Mr.. Wilson,
When Chairman Wilson rose to make
the closing speech Of the great debate
| in the House he was greeted with per-
feet torrent of applause. He began his
speech with a humorous refer -nce to
criticisms which had been passed upon
him during the debate, and then, TAX
ing up Mr.. Reeds arguments, he said
1.-The gentleman from Maine, Mr..
Reed, appeared to day in role far diff
ferent from that which he usually oc
cupies when he makes his appearance
in the House. He laid aside his usual
way of debating great public questions
and gave us a set grafton. But. after
all, his main argument was that which
| is heard in every schoOlhOuse in the
country; that because we have had
protection in the United States for the
last thirty years we have drawn all OF
our prosperity from a law OF Congress
and not from the gifts of Almighty God.
but the gentleman from Maine will
not 60 further than will in singing the
praise of our common country. | wish
| to remind the gentleman from Maine
that we have grown great and have
prospered and have increased in num-
bers and have increased in wealth, not
because of protection, but because nc
| law of Congress can stand in the way Of
history's progress.
You may frame Mckinley laws and
in the progress of humanity they will
be trampled under foot. You cannot
muzzle science, or Danish art. You may
place tariff burdens on every industry
of the country and still enterprise will
persevere and prevail over them. MeI
will seek in all possible ways to better
their condition and to advance theil
own personal welfare, and in that eff
fort all men will advance. Out of those
constant troubles every individual will
endeavor to gather what comfort he
can and to rise in the scale of civiliZa
1tion. And this glorious progress nc
law of Congress- can impede, and nc
Mckinley act or other act can seriously
prevent.
WHAT THE TARIFF DOES.
"But l will tell you what your tariff
laws are doing and what your tariff
laws have done. You cannot prevent
the accumulation of wealth in this
lcountry. but you can take that wealth
from the men who made it and bestov
it upon some man who did not make it
You cannot deal out prosperity to al
the people, but you can deal out wealth
to part of them and poverty to all The
rest.
1.-THE gentleman from Maine, in hi.
report, aud again in his speech to-day
has praised the operation of the pro
tective system because it gives quite al
extensive distribution of the benefits
which it brings. Now, there is lessor
in the last census of the United States
which calls upon every citizen to pause
and ponder as to whether this is a time
of growing prosperity or time of de
cadence. 1t appears by the last census
that of all the men occupying farms ir
the country to-day one third arc ten
ants. living on farms owned by others
and that of all the people occupying
homes other than farms two thirds live
in rented houses. If that is the kline
of general prosperity, if that is proof
of diffused welfare, then the protective
because believe that it is, in a large
measure, due to that system.
RIDICULE NOT EFFECTIVE.
II intended to answer a few more
points made by the gentleman from
Maine, but time will lot permit. Let
me say, however, in passing, that, with
| his usual still and his usual dexterity,
he added to his armor the weapons OF
sarcasm and ridicule against this tariff
reform movement.
| "Mr. Speaker, if reform could be
blocked and hindered by ridicule, il
great causes could be laughed down. we
would be to day the slaves of England
instead of being self-governing Amer
lean people. The plain Virginia hunts
men who, in my own country, met 1O(
strong and marched in their hunting
shirts from the Potomac to the relief
of Boston, under old Daniel Morgan,
were clowns in appearance and cut but
a sorry figure before the splendid troops
which they met in that city. Men are
not to be judged by the clumsiness OF
of their movement, but are ennobled
by that for which they fight.
| ''If my time permitted l would like
to take up some of the arguments
against the bill among my democratic
| friends. The first argument is that this
bill will create deficit, and therefore
ought not to be passed. In the name
of common sense, how could you ever
pass tariff reform bill if you did not
reduce the taxes under the existing
laws that you seek the reform?
"Have gentlemen forgotten that
there may be a system of tariff taxation
under which the government receives
little and the protected Industries re-
ceives much, and that there may be a
lower system of tariff taxation under
which the government receives a great
deal and the protected Industries re-
ceive but little? The Mr.. Mckinley
law is constructed on the first line, and
the pending bill is constructed on the
line of revenue.
| LOWER TAXES, GREATER REVENUE.
| eff you take up the history of the
free trrde movement in England, you
will find that nothing so surprised the
tariff reformers as to see that the more
| they cut down taxes and the nearer
| they approached free trade the more
the revenue grew, in spite of them.
''At the beginning of that movement
there were 1000 articles taxed and at
the close of it only seven, and the reve-
nue. was as great on the seven as it had
been on the 200.
81 have here the report of Robert ],
! Walker as Secretary of the Treasury,
showing that in the first year of the
operation of the Walker low tariff OF
1916 the revenues went up from $685.,
100000 to $31, 100000. But l cannot
dwell on that matter.
'The next argument which my friends
on this side are using among themselves
against the bill, or to hesitate, at least
in voting for the bill, is that the income
tax has been added to it. | need not
say to my brethren on this side that
did not concur in the policy of attach
ing the income tax to the pending bill
| had some doubts as to the expediency
of adding the income tax measure to
the pending bill But when the com
mittee decided otherwise l threw in my
fortune loyalty and earnestly with the
amendment because have never been
hostile to the idea of an income tax.
'Mr. John Sherman has been quoted
as saying that an income tax is class
| taxation. 1t is nothing of the kind II