The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1894-01-15
A STARTLING SPEECH.
Johnson Talks on Tariff and
democratic Neglect of DUTY

Nulo, ulstTlCt, mAue
corking speech in congress the other
day on the tariff bill. We quote
liberal extracts from it. Mr.. John.
son said:
owe of the Democratic party
went before this country in 1892,
asserting the existing tariff was
wrong in principle and unjust in
operation, declaring the policy of
protection fraud and robbery,
charging 1t with creating trusts,
throttling industry, caused enforced
ldleness, lessening wages, impover
ishing labor and creating a few
monstrous fortunes, and pledging
ourselves to abolish it, if the Amer.
lean people gave US the authority.
They did give us the authority and
our haste to repeal. the oppressive
taxes subsidized, and, instead of flying
at the throat of the protected barons
in the robber trusts, the great Dem.
ocratic party began, as it were, to
wag its tail and look for the crumbs.
1t was duty of the party coming
into power on such pledges and at
such juncture to have pro-
ceeded without moments de.
lay to a radical revision
of the tariff. If Cleveland had
shown the aoity and courage the
situation demanded, the ink would
not have been dry on the commits
sioDs of his secretaries before con-
gress would have been called into
extra session to relieve the country
of its burdens of taxation. But
instead of that we proceeded to rest
on our laurels and divide the spoils
and the nation was treated to the
spectacle of a president and con.
gress having power to remove the
crushing burdens, devoting their
energies to discussion of personal
claims to petty places. AS a
climax of all this delay, came the
shameful days we have Just passed
through, in which the house has
stood paralyzed because, despite our
overwhelming majority, we Demo
Gratis would neither furnish a
quorum to be counted nor count
one that was really present. 1t is
not merely that we have yet done
nothing. 1t is that we have moth.
ing to show, where we promised
much. The worst possible situa
ton of the business is not that of
high tariff, but that of high tariff
threatened with certain but indefi
mite reductions.
"This is the situation our delay
has for the year imposed upon the
country, up to the present. thanks
to our inaction, the victory of the
Democratic party in November,
1898, has worked evil for good. The
Mckinley tariff still exerts its
strangling power, and worse than
the Mckinley tariff is the depress-
ing effect of the uncertainty as to
what tariff will succeed it,"
He commended the bill for a
blow at the sugar trust. "But, .
he added, "the whisky trust and
the steel rail trust, cordage trust
and bicycle trust and starch trust,
in short, the whole brood of VAN
pires which rob the people through
the agency of the government by
means of the tariff are left free
to pluck the tariff, bound American
consumer
He spoke of steel rails, of which
he is one of the largest manufac
turers in the country.
The present duty of sl3 A il
equal to so per cent. The reduc
ton of the committee is 25 per cent
1t seemed like large reduction hi
, declared, but it left all the stee
, trusts ne ded. 1t is as good tc
, them as 1000 per cent, for it is prac
tically prohibitory duty. Stee
can be made here as cheaply as any
where else in the world, and woult
not now be imported, save in ex
ceptional cases, even if there was