Birmingham age-herald., 1894-09-08

Georgia, presided at tonights meeting and introduced the speakers. Great enthusiasm prevailed. Speaker Crisp was greeted with tremendous applause when he was pre- senied. He said:
 When the Fifty-third congress met in August of last year it was confronted with difficulties which seemed almost insur- mountable, trade was paralyzed, manu- featuring had almost ceased, labor was idle, our banking institutions were failing and confidence, the life and soul of com merce, was utterly destroyed. In so far as this deplorable condition was attributable to legislation, the republican party was re- sponsible. For more than thirty years that party had made our financial aud economic laws. Until the meeting of the Fifty third congress democracy was with out power. The condition which con- fronted us, while not wholly, was very largely due to evil legislation. In 1873 the free coinage of silver had been discon- tinued, gold became the standard of value. h 1878 partial coinage was resumed. In 1890 this law was repealed, and soon there after
 COINAGE OF SILVER PRACTICALLY CEASED.
 These acts of the republican party re- suited in so lessening the volume of money Of final redemption as to decrease the price of all commodities, increase the burden of all debtors and impair the confidence Of the people in the power of the government and ot banking institutions to redeem their outstanding obligations.
 A law and a practice which allows a cit izen to pay his obligations to the govern ment in silver, and at the same time per- mits him to demand of the government gold in redemption of its obligation, is manifestly unreasonable and unjust, and, in the nature of the case, must impair con- tidence and tend to produce panic. For thirty years the republicans had been building up tariff around the country, and in 1890 passed what they termed a perfect protective tariff law. protective tariff
 RESTRICTS TRADE AND COMMERCE..
 It limits tho market in which we must buy and depresses the market in which we must sell. It is a tax upon a foreign pro- duct which the consumer here must pay By taxing his foreign competitor you ena- ble the domestic manufacturer to increase the price of his wares to the extent of the tax, and this, too, the consumer here must pay. When you bay foreign goods and pay the duty it goes into the treasury, and is called tax; when you buy the domestic product and pay the increased price it goes into the pocket of the American manufac- turer, and is called protection.
 The location of the man factory determines the name, but the rate of the duty deter mines the price. Under such tariff you must buy in a market where competition is destroyed and where scarcity is created by law. You must sell at prices fixed in a tudIkSb WucTS iTcS tTdu0 anu tuc ldW Oi supply and demand prevails. Trade and commerce is the exchange of commodities. A protective tariff prevents us from ex- changing our surplus of cotton, corn, wheat, meat and other farm products for the surplus of manufactured goods abroad. We freely export our products, but that for which we exchange is so heavily taxed as to make the exchange unproftable. Commerce ceases when gain is gone; one cannot buy unless he can sell, nor can he sell unless he buys. Commerce and agri- ceases the other languishes. The law which destroys the one makes the other un- profitable. Taxed crude materials injure and depress manufacturing. It wanted the market of the world, but under the protective tariffs has not been able to enter them. protective tariff fosters and
 BUILDS UP TRUSTS AND MoNoPoLIEs.
 It creates no wealth; 1t only prevents its natural and just distribution.
 Thirty years of such 8 system did much to produce the conditions existing when the Fifty third congress met. What has that democratic congfess so far done for the people? The first matter considered was the financial one-what should or could be done on the silver question. We had pledged ourselves against the make shift Sherman law, and in favor of both gold and silver as the standard money of the country. By an agreement arrived at between democrats we determined to take the sense of the house on frse and unlim- ited coinage of silver at several ratios. Alter full debate separate vote was had on each, and on the repeal of the purchase ing clause of the Sherman act. The results you know. While not protesting to under