The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-03-27

III our great cOHliueIcidI centres,
what did you do to meet conditions which
then surrounded us? Were you then
willing to "stand pat? No, Mr. Chair
man, you were forced to do something and
| do it quickly. In that black hour the
/ world saw the Republican leaders in this
House report Democratic measure. a
| measure demanded by the Democratic
platform, suspending import duty on coal,
| | believe, for a year When you report
ed that measure you acknowledged your
| own impotence. as well as the Justice of
| the Democratic contention.
| 1t is not denied that today all sorts of
| manufactured articles, which the people
are forced to use are being sold cheaper
abroad than at home If the removal of
| the import duty upon coal had tendency
| to relieve the situation during the coal
strike, why will not reduction of the
| import duty upon these articles have a
tendency to relieve the situation now? Is
there any reason why the trust cannot
| eel its goods as cheap to the American
as it does to the Austrian or the Rus
sian? If the manufactures can sell his
goods five thousand miles away from
home at certain price and make pro
J fit, can he not sell the same goods at home
| for the same price and still make a pro-
| fit? Your position upon this question is
| not ONLY immoral, it is actually criminal.
| Why not rise to the necessity of the
hour? Why not rise above party and re-
port measure which will provide for
| some relief to millions of American toll
| 3rs? All, Mr.. Chairman, the question
suggests it's own answer. The Republican
| party is afraid of the trusts. 1t is afraid
| o offend the trusts. In a few months
| hat party will be knocking at the door
| # the trusts begging for money. To do
what? To buy up votes to elect Theodore
| Roosevelt President of the United
States.
| You know if you reduce the duty upon
| trust-Inade articles you will get little or
no help. Without money to buy votes,
without money to corrupt our elections,
without money to distort and nullify the
will of the people the Republican party
| is in hopeless minority. Without
huge corruption fund you will certainly
have been defeated in 1896; and without
! a huge corruption fund l believe it will
be impossible to re-eect Mr.. Roosevelt.
Mark the prediction, Mr. Chairman! You
will pass no antitrust legislation at this
announcement In few short months the
| Republican party will be begging money
| fer the very men who Mr.. Roosevelt, be-
| fore he was President, denounced as
standing as low morally as any preda
tory nobleman." Mark the prediction,
Mr. Chairmanl In a few short months
you will sec campaign managers of this
strenuous moralist crawling about the
he has time and again denounced.
IMMIGRATION.
But there is another plank in your plat
| form which shall not escape notice. In
| that platform / find the following:
In the further interest of American
workmen we favor a more effective re-
striction of the immigration of cheap la
| Dor from foreign lands, the extension of
opportunities OF education for working
children, the raising of the age limit for
child labor, the protection Of free labor
As against contract convict labor, and an
effective system of labor insurance
Have You done anything to restrict inn
migration? If SO, what? You made the
promise. Did you mean TO carry it out
when YOU made it. or did you include it
|
The responsibility is upon you, not upon
US. But if you will propose any proper
| legislation restricting immigration, l think
you will find no opposition upon this side
| OF the Chamber.
Mr. Chairman, the section from which
| | cone is the recipient of much advice.
We arc frequently tod that we are too
| conservatives that we are behind the
| times; that we are not 'up-to-datc. /
admit that we are conservative, and thank
| God that it is So 1t is WELL | think, that
| AT least one great section OF the Republic
| has protected itself against the poison
that comes from the influx of indiscrmln-
ATE foreign immigration, and for one l re-
| iCice that the State from which | come
has smaller percentage OF foreign popu-
ation than any other State IN the Union
The last census gives US less than one
| tenth of / per cent of foreign population.
More than once in the history OF this
| Republic the distorted form of revolution
has appeared within our borders. once
| in our history the people OF the South at
tempted to leave the Union. 1hey DelleV-
| ed they were exercising constitutional
right. Perhaps this attempt was an cr-
,.or of Judgment God knows our punish
mcnt has been great. 1t seems the penal
ty has not yet been paid. But, MI Chalr-
man, if the hour ever comes When the
horrid specter of revolution SHAH rise UP
amongst us, predict that our great com
mercial centers, weakened as they may
be in their Americanlsm by poison from
foreign lands. will turn their eyes Ilfst OF
Ian TO the conservative old South lor pOth
moral and physical support; ana prculct
that. if such an hour ever comes, the llrst
volunteers in the defense oil law ana or
der and government will be men o1 the
/ South-posterity OF the heroes VINO Iol-
lowed Stonewall jackson ana hoosrt T.
Lee
For the fiscal year ending June goth,
1900 four hundred and torty-essht tnou-
sand five hundred and seventy-C"o alieii
. immigrants arrived in the Chltcd STATES :
Of these ffty-four thousand two hundred
and eighty eight brought with theln Llllr-
tv dollars and upwards, WINE .Mo nun
!, bred and seventy-one thousand eis s, LII,
dred and twenty-one brought WIN them
less than thirty dollars during Iie nscai
wear ending June the goth. i'V0, | pelleve