The Portland daily press., 1894-01-10
MR.. BURROWES SPEAKS.
A Powerful Argument Against the
Wilson Bill.
THE SPEECH GREETED WITH AP-
PLAUSE AND CHEERS.

| tors Asked Some Hard Questions-Mr
World Over-The Collar and Cuff Dis.
| trict Heard From-Mr. Haine, Demo
crat, Opposes the Bill.
Washington, January 9.-The House
went into committee of the whole on the
tariff bill today, and Mr.. Wilson con-
cluded his speech.
which had been presented in Congress-
| protesting against the passage of this
| bill, Mr.. Wilson intimated that they had
been signed under coercion.
! He said he had just received a letter
| from former constituent stating that
| he had been discharged from an iron
| mill in Youngstown, O., because he re-
| plause) And this was mot an isolated
case; his mail every day was filled with
| letters from working men stating that
| these petitions had been signed under
duress, and hoping that Mr.. Wilson
would not be influenced by them.
| Mr.. Apsley, Republican of Massachu-
setts. said be had attempted this morn
| ing tosspresent petition from his con-
| stituents protesting against the Wilson
bill, and that petition was not obtained
| by force
Mr.. Wilson, in reply, read letter from
workingman in Lewiston, Me-, which,
he said, was but sample of many others
of the same tenor which he had received,
in which the writer stated that petitions
had been sent around to all the mills,
and all the men, women and children
had been compelled to sign it. The
petition, coming from the bosses, was
equivalent to command tossign it.
Mr.. Doolittle, Republican, of Washing
ton, asked Mr.. Wilson if he meant to
compare the intelligence OF the Ameri-
can iaborer with the intelligence of the
Slave Laborer of the South.
before the war.
Mr.. Wilson replied that no one with in
telligence above that of the slave laborer
would ask such question. (Long con-
tinued laughter and applause on the
Democratic side.
Mr.. Wilson soon afterward stated that
he wished to be courteous in everything,
and he therefore withdrew his remarks
about the gentleman from Washington.
daughter and applause.)
Mr.. Reed inquired sarcastically of Mr..
Wilson if he would withdraw Democratic
approval OF his remark. (Republican
applause.)
MIR Burrows, Republican, of Michigan,
followed Mr.. Wilson, opening the debate
for the Republicans. Mr.. Burrowes said,
in part:
MIR. Chairman, the measure now under
consideration has for its avowed object a
radical modification of the tariff act of
1870. 1t involves not only a change of
rates. but complete reversal of An econ
omic policy. The law of 1880 was enact
ed not only with view of securing reve-
nue. for the support of the government,
but for the further purpose of giving en-
couragement to the creation of new en-
terprises and protection to American in
dustries and American workmen against
unequal and injurious foreign competi-
tion. In it's practical workings it accom-
plished both these results.
Proceeding, then, to an examination of
the working of the act of $780, he pre-
sented statement of the receipts and ex-
penditures of the government in the past
several years, and he asserted thai so
| long as the operation of the bill was
! undisturbed, as revenue measure, it
| met the requirements of the government.
| The decline of revenues this fiscal
| year, he suggested, was not due to any
| defect in the law of 1850, but to the gen :
! eral depression of business brought
| about by the ascendency of political
| party pledged to the destruction of our
| protective policy"
This has not only crippled and sus-
| pended the operation of our domestic
| manufactures, but the importer of for
| eign fabrics naturally curtails his impor-
| tations in the hope of securing their ad.
mission into our markets upon more
| favorable conditions.
[ confidently assert that if the election
| of 1892 had resulted in the retention of
|. II L. .rfx7
panied, as it would have been, with the
assurance of the continuance of the
American policy of protection, the effect
upon the public revenues, as well as the
general prosperity of the country. would
Have Been Entirely Reversed
In iustif fcation of this assertion, Mr..
Burrows quoted from various sources,
including President Harrison's last an
nual message, and dwelt especially upon
the development of the tin plate indus
try.
In no single particular, he said, did
the act of 1890 fail to secure the benef~
cent results it's authors designed, and
every prophecy of i'll in which it's enc
mics INDUCED utterly failed of fulfil.
| ment.
You said it would develop no
new industries-it created them by the
hun 1reds.
You said it would enhance the cost of
the protected article-it cheapened it to
the consumer.
You said it would diminish our for
eign trade-it augmented it in 1892 to
81, ,S57, $50, 610, an increase over the pre-
vious year of S12s, ,2s3, GOA.
YOu said it WOul0 shut ont Ol1r DrO-
ducts from foreign markets our export
trade increased S145, 797, 1888, swelling it's
volume To 81, ,030, a7S, 145, the largest ever
known in the history of the country and
exceeding the value Of our imports by
! $2O2, 1886
You said it would paralyze our domes-
tic trade-it was never more vigorous
than IN the years Immediately following
it's enactment.
And SO every prophecy of i'll found
swift and complete rcfutation in increased
industrial activity on every hand, and
enhanced individual and national pros
perity.
And further: This industrial depress-
ion came, therefore, not as the result Of
existing tariff rates, but from an appre-
| hension (it seems now to have been
we'll founded) that those rates were to
be so modified as to overthrow and de-
stroy our protective policy, exposing our
domestic manufactures to a ruinous for