Mexico weekly ledger., 1897-04-08
CHAMP CLARK'S SPEECH.
A Characteristic Assault OF the MIS-
souri, Congressman on High
Protection.

Clark had but five minutes to express
himself his speech was necessarily
brief, but is well worth printing. Here
it is:
"Mr. Chairman: After nine days of
sore travail, at least n truth has
been brought forth on the Republican
side of this House, and that by Mr..
Linney, of North Carolina, when he
said that / destroy every Custom
house in America. He is entirely cor
rect. If / had my way to-day I would
tear them all down from turret to
foundation stone, for from the begin
ming they have been nothing but dens
of robbers. I am not in favor Of free
whiakey as is the gentleman; neither
have 1 any sympathy for the moon
sinners in his district who shoot down
the revenue officers in the legitimate
discharge of their duty as though they
were SO many dogs.
81 repeat, so that all men may hear,
that I am a free trader, and proudly
take my stand with Sir Robert Peel,
Richard Golden, John Bright and
Henry George. I may be an humble
member of that illustrious company,
but it is better to be a doorkeeper in
the house of honest free traders than
to dwell in the tents of wicked pro-
! t~ectionists.
"Cheap clothing is preferable to
cheap whiskey. observe, however,
that one of the things included in the
deceptive scheme of reciprocity con-
tanned in this bill is whiskey. So,
whenever President Mckinley con-
cludss that the Governor of North
Carolina was right when he remarked
on q certain historic occasion to the
Governor of South Carolina, 'It's a
long time between drinks he a
make a trade and secure free whiskey
for thirsty Republicans. My entire
plan for raising money enough to run
the government, economically ad-
m%inistered,' which is the old Jeffer-
sonian measure of taxation, is (1) to
levy internal revenue on all proper
subjects-high on luxurtes, low or not
at al on necessaries; (2) to go amend
the Constitution that a fair and equit-
able direct tax can be levied, and pass
a law in pursuance thereof which
would cause the people to closely
scrutinize their tax lists and would
prevent jobs and stealing here; 90 to
levy a graduated income tax, which
would force the aggregated wealth of
the country to bear its just proportions
of the public burdens. Sooner or later
this scheme will be accepted as the
settled policy of the country. Then
prosperity will come with healing in
its wings.
ssIf Charles Dickens of blessed MEM
DRY could revisit the pale glimpses of
the moon long enough to take cog
nizance of what is going on in this
chamber, he would revise Oliver Twist
by striking out the name John Daw-
kirs as 'the artful dodger' and by sub
stiGuting in lieu thereof the names of
the Republican members of the Ways
and Means Committee in this House.
"Whenever any attempt is made to
abolish trusts you Republicans squirm
like skinned cells in a hot skillet and
resort to every parliamentary trick
ever devised to protect them from our
assaults. Clearly you defend the
trusts on the principle that 'the OK
knoweth his owner, and the ass his
masters crib.' A beastly majority in
1896, secured by means forbidden in
morals and dangerous to our institu-
tions, hath made you Republicans
mad. But you will be brought to your
senses when the people again get a
shot at you in the year of our Lord
and Master, 1898. Then you will be in
the condition of the man out of whom
the devil was cast, and after his soul
was swept and garnished the devil re-
turned, bringing with him seven other
devils. The Bible says that the last
state of that man was worse than the
first.
"By the eye of faith 1 can see a
million bicyclers, with pneumatic tires,
riding down protection liars because
you are putting up the price of bicy-
cles 35 per cent. The women of the
land, God bless them, will make their
husbands, SONS, brothers and sweet
hearts vote against you because under
the Dingley bill they can only have
one dress, where they had two under
the Wilson German bill.
"Seven million farmers will dig you
UP with their hoes, pillow you up with
their plows, beat you with your mauls,
hackle you with their harrows, ham
mer you with their sledges, rake you
with their curry combs, pulverize you
with their desks, cut you down with
their axes, split you to piecee with
their froes, ride you on their barbed
wire fences, toss you with their pitch
forks, smite you with their pile driv-
ers, grind you through their sausage
mills, NOV you down with their reap
ers, bind you up in great bundles, run
you through their thrashing machines
and scatter you as worthless cnaff be-
cause you are raising the price Of all
farming implements by 45 per cent.
"Every patient forced to endure q
surgical operation will loathe you be-
cause you have increased the tax on
anaesthetics. Every lover of learning
will detest you because you have laid
a prohibitive tariff on books, thereby
shutting the gates of knowledge SO far
as was in your power. Every child
that dies of diphtheria will pass away
pronouncing on you its lasting curse
because you have put up the price Of
anti-toxin. You are arraying against
you every right thinking man and
woman in the land.
'Since he, miscalled the Morning Star,
Nor man nor iend hath fallen SO far
GAS you will fall when the people
of the United States find out the num-
erous monstrosities contained In this
bill"
FAITH CURE.
Many people believe in faith cure.
No doubt it has cured many imaginary