Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-10-18

which have led to the development
and growth and prosperity of our
country. and he told those men thatI
the oily remedy was now until con-
gress provided an amendment to theI
constitution which would reach all
these combinations, to put every artl-
Gle manufactured by these great in
dustries upon the free lists. Now let
US see what that would do. This tin
industry, until the Mckinley bill wast
passed, amounted to nothing in this
country After the Mckinley bill was
passed, Immediately there sprang into
operation a number Of manufactures
of tin. Under the Wilson law, super
seding the Mckinley law they were all
closed down, but when Mr.. Dingley's
bill became the law Of the land, imrc-
diately the smoke issued from every
chimney, more mills were built, and
| today we are manufacturing all the tin
| consumed in the United States and ex-
| porting it to Europe. (Applause). If
| Mr.. Bryan's advice were followed, ana
| the duty were taken off tin, in order to
| strike down the so-called trusts, every
mill would be shut down within TWEEN
| ty-four hours, and the thousands Of
men who are today earning good
wages and supporting their families in
| comfort would be thrown into idleness
! and suffering, and that same condition
would follow through every branch Of
the industries of this great country.
| Today we are the greatest manufacture
ing country on the globe. (Applause).
We are exporting more of the manu-
! featured goods of our shops and fac
tories than we are importing. That
change took place on the first Of Au-
gust. 1898.
"And from that day to this the
growth of our exports of manufac-
tured goods, mind, not the natural
products, but the products of our man
ufactories and shops, hundreds of
! thousands, aye millions of dollars
more than we are importing. Mr.. Dol
liver referred to Uncle Sans ledger.
Let me give you an item from that
| ledger. During the first one hundred
| and seven years preceding this, up to
| the time of McKinley's inauguration,
| the net balance in favor of the Unit
ed States in her foreign trade was
1886, 100000.
THAT was all we got out of the coun-
tries of the world in 107 years. From
the day of the passage OF the Ding
ley bill up to the first Of August, 1900,
the balance in favor of Uncle Sam Of
| exports over imports is $1,56O,O0O
(applause). Do we want to stop that
outgrowth and development? Do we
want to turn back the wheels of our
industries? Do we want to give no
tice to the great army of Workingmen
in this country that in Difference to
theory, to satisfy the ambitions. of one
man, we are going to destroy their
hopes for the future? 1t comes down
to that, my friends. That is exactly
| what it means. l speak to you as a
! business man, as q manufacturer who
has had to do with labor. I know
what he result will be, and SO does
every business man in this audience.
Let that cloud which Dolliver spoke
of appear on the horizon during this
, election and Immediately every man
who is conducting a large business
will begin to paddle for shore; he viii
begin to curtail his output. Nearly
all the business of this country is done
upon credit, Ninety-six per cent. of
the commercial transactions Of the
United States is done by the ex-
changes of credit. and the first time
that there is a note of warning, Of
danger ahead, capital will be with
drawn from the avenues of commerce,
money will be hidden away, as it was
from 1893 to 1897 and the wheels of
industry will slow down, and the con-
ditions existing from 1898 to 1892 will
be brought back upon this country,
only ten times worse, because at that
time we had not far to fall; we were
about at the lowest stratum of any
condition that can come to us. To-
/ day we are on the high road to pros
perity, and that prosperity is nothing
more than the normal condition OF
things in this country, IF we fall now
we have a great ways &c fall And
the shock will be so great, so disas-
trOus to the commercial and indus
trial interests of this country, that I
make the prophecy that ten years I'M
der most any kind OF an administra,
ton will scarcely bring us back to
where we are today. Then in the
name Of all that is good and holy, in
the name Of the men, women and
children who have come to us from
foreign shores to better their condi-
ton here, let us stand together,
maintaining the wages of the Ameri-
can wOrllingman, continuing to build
up these great industries, availing
ourselves of these great reservoirs of
natural wealth that God has given us
and go forward, brushing from our
i paths all demagogues and ambitious
/ men by telling them that we know our
business and are going to attend to
it. (Applause.)
BED IN COURT ROOM.