Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-11-03

| question as | shall endeayor to ap-
proach all others, with perfect frank
ness and candor. We seek the truth
Jet us find it if we can. | shall grant
| that during portion OF the Cleveland
administration we did have business
portion of the Mckinley admins
tration we did have an improved con-
dition in the business of the country.
But here we part company, for our
Republican friends claim credit for the
change. If they are entitled to the
| credit which they claim, this pros
perity must be in consequence of some
legislation in which they INDUCED. A
member of President McKinley's cab
met said in a speech delivered in this
city, last night, that there were
two pieces of legislation which
brought about this improved con-
dition in the business OF the country
the Dingley tariff bill and sound money
legislation. Let us look into the ques-
ton for a moment. If you find on
the statute books now the same laws
which were there during Cleveland
| administration, you must, of neces-
sity, as men of common sense and fair
| ness, look to some other source for
the changed conditions The same
| statutes which brought business de-
| preston under Cleveland could not
bring business prosperity under Nc
| Kinley.S You will search the Repub-
lican administration and find but two
pieces of legislation that character
| ize the Mckinley from the Cleve-
land administration. If you can at
| tribute the change to one or both of
| them I will yield to the Republican
party the credit which they are claim
| ing for themselves. But if, after an
investigation, you conclude that this
| business prosperity is not attributable
| to Republican legislation, you must
search for some other cause, and
think / will demonstrate that you will
not have far to search.
We will first take the Dingley tariff
bill and look at it for moment. What
is the theory of it, of every high pro-
tective tariff law? The very corner
stone upon which it is built is that the
! american manufacturer cannot sue
| cessfully compete with the foreign
| manufacturer, and in consequence
there must be a duty or tariff or tax
laid on the product of the foreign
mills to the end that they may be
shut out from competition with the
| American product. If that be true,
! can see how the tariff added to bus
| mess prosperity. If you find the
claim to be false, and the facts other
wise, will ask you to draw the CON
clusion that it could not contribute
in any degree. great or small, to the
| business prosperity of this country.
In the language of Postmaster General
! Smith, they relied upon it to bring
prosperity. Yet when they met in their
| National Convention in Philadelphia
they put plank in their platform con-
graduating the American people, Pres
| ident Mckinley and the Republican
| administration upon the fact that the
exports from America have in three
or four years, been greater in the ag-
I
| gregate than the combined exports OF
the American republic to foreign lands
through Al the past history of this
country. It is true that we invaded the
French market, the Spanish market,
| the British market, the Russian mar
ket, Japan and even China, and drove
the foreign product from its very
! doors. What does this mean? 1t
means that the theory on which the
| Dingley bill is based is not true. and
gives the lie and contradiction to the
whole Republican contention. CAP
plause.) We have the secret exposed
in the speech of Postmaster General
Smith, from which / quote:
We not only have this prodigious super
| fority in material but with our equip
! ment and our inventive genius and our
| skilled labor we immeaSurabiy surpass all
| other nations. Mulhall, the English stat
| istician states that a. 600 900 European
/ operatives produced 81. 600. COO 900 worth Of
products in year or about 1888 per man.
/ while 6.0e1,o90 operatives in the United
States produced SO 600. 00J 900 of products
| or about 1866 per man or four times az
much as the European operatives. That
| is why we can pay higher wages and
| still undersell them.
He didn't seem to know that he was
crumbling the foundations from the
! contention of his party, and blotting
out Of existence the contention that
prosperity is due to the Dingley tariff
law.
Now, let us look at the so-called
sound money bill. You will recollect
that the hard times set in in 1892. and
continued during 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896.
and down to April, 1897. Then condi-
tons began to improve, and we had
prosperity in 1897, 1898, 1899, continu-
ing until the first part of the year
1900 Will any man say that the gold
standard bill should be credited for
the business prosperity in 1897. 1898.
1899, or the early part Of 1900? This