-
i
16
The Commoner.
Vol. 2, No. 3s.
how will you justify tho taking oL
that 'which a man raise on ma iana,
&ii Hint makes the land valuable?
Whero is tho difference between the.
soil and tho product of tho soil? wow
can you justify tho ono if not the
othor?
Mr. Lind. Will tho gontleman from
Nebraska yield to another question?
' Mr. Bryan. Most willingly.
' Mr. Lind. I boliovo tho gontlom&n
from Nobraska voted for a bill tho
'other day taxing tho public at largo
for tho purchase of text-books for chil
dren who attond tho public schools.
How does ho justify that?
Mr. Bryan. I think, if I remember
correctly, Mr. Chairman, that I havo
also paid a littlo tax for tho support
of public schools upon tho theory that
it was a public purpose, and I voted to
buy school books upon tho samo the
ory. If I am wrong,t I will bo glad to
bo corrected. Did th'o gontleman from
Minnesota vote for that with tho un
derstanding that it was for a public
purposo or for a private purpose?
Mr. Lind. A public purposo.
Mr. Bryan. Very well, then wo
agree.
Mr. Lind. But let mo say in justlco
to myself that if tho gentleman from
Nobraska can convinco mo that a pro
tective tariff, a protective policy, Is
not a public policy and beneficial to
tho peoplo, and to tho country as a
whole, I will be a free trader with him.
Mr. Bryan. Mr. Chairman, I do not
know that I want to take him quito
that far, but I wish that I could lead
him to bolievo in a tariff for revenue
only.
Mr. Raines. And with Incidental
protection.
Mr. Bryan. I will say this, that it
makes very much difference with a
man whether what has been done is
the result of accident or design. V
you levy a tariff for revenue, you will
so arrange It as to raiso a revenue and
stop when you have raised revenue
enough. But If you levy a tariff for
protection you may so arrange the
schedules as to make a heavy tax,
raise but little revenue, and you never
know when to stop.
Mr. Raines. Does tho gentleman
claim that' wo are getting too much
revenue now?
Mr. Bryan. Perhaps not; but you
have reduced the revenue by Increas
ing tho taxes upon tho people and that
Is whet I object to.
Mr. Raines. Will tho gentleman al
low me a question?
Mr. Bryan. Certainly.
Mr. Raines. I would like the gen
tleman now, in order to clinch his. ar-
. gument, to answer this question: Can
tho gontleman point to any ono sin
gle article produced in tho United
States In competition with a foreign
article that has been Increased In
price by tho McKlnley tariff, or which
Is not actually cheaper today than it
was prior to 1860?
Mr. Bryan. I will ask tho gontle
man jf tin is manufactured in this
country?
Mr. Raines. Well, I have in my
desk a list in a trade paper
A Member. They are all on paper.
Mr. Raines (continuing). A list of
twenty-sevon manufacturers of tin;
hut I want to say to the gentleman
that no trade paper was ever printed
that could contain a list of all the
tin plate liars of the United States.
Mr. Bryan. I do not suppose that
paper, then, has a biographical sketch
of my friend from Now York. I will
say, Mr. Chairman and it will explain
why I asked my friend from New York
if we had any tin Industries In this
country I have horo a statement that
. the average price of tin plate for 1888
was $4.45 a box. Tho average price
for five years prior to July 1, 1890,
was ?4.45. Tho average price for 1891
was ?5.G8 a box. This was given on
tho authority of tho Tin Plato Con
sumers' association of tho United
Stato3, 'which has in. its ranks a largo
majority of those who use tin. And
'L.will place this on record as my au
thority, against tho statement of the
gentleman that no article could bo
mentioned upon which tho price had
been increased. And I will go further
and name, if ho wishes, an article upon
which tho prico has been reduced by
tho removal of tho tariff, namely, su
gar. Mr. Halyorson. And quinino.
Mr. Raines. I wish to call tho gen
tleman's attontion right hero to the
fact .that in 1,880 the foreign price of
tin was ?8,28 a box, and the American
price was !.a6 a box, whllo the price
in 1891 was ?5.42 a box.
Mr. Bryan. I am very glad, Mr.
Chairman,, for the matter of informa
tion that the gentleman has injected
into tho body of my remarks. If ho
has tho statistics in regard to tho price
in 1870 or in 18G0, or in fact if ho can
give mo tho prico of tin plato in 1592
say, or 1492, it will be a matter of great
interest to my peoplo, and this speech
is going to circulate among them.
Mr. Raines. Mr. Chairman, I want
to say that tho gentleman himself
seems to bo tho one who is indulging
in ancient history.
Mr. Bryan. Mr. Chairman, I am
sure if I have indulged in ancient his
tory, this house will not pardon mo
unless I have a better excuse than the
gontleman from Now York can furnish
for his indulgence In ancient history.
And on this point I expected to come
to it later, but it is made opportune
by the remarks of tho gentleman I
want to ask him If he believes the tar
iff upon tin plate had anything to do
with tho cheapening of the price of tin
plate in this country?
Mr. Raines. I bolievo that the tariff
upon tin will result in the establish
ment of an industry in tho United
Stales
A Member. Answer the question.'
Mr. Raines (continuing). And will
result In tho keeping at home of thirty
millions of dollars a year that havo
been sent abroad, and will give em
ployment to 100,000 men In the Indus
try and will result in cheapening the
prico to the consumers In the United
States.
Mr. Bryan. Mr. Chairman, the gen
tleman from. New York may well be
pardoned, as tho rest of his party may
bo, for Indulging In prophecy rather
than history since 1890. But that Is
not an answer to my question. He
stated that the price of tin plate had
been reduced in tho last ten years. I
ask him, and I expect a direct answer
and no equivocation, whether in his
opinion the tariff upon tin plate has
reduced (not will reduce) the price of
tin plato? For that can- be tho only
point to his remarks.
Mr. Raines. I have given my an
swer. When the industry of tin plate
is established in the United States
and threo months ago there was not a
gentleman on that side who would ad
mit that there was or would bo a tin
plate factory in the United States
Mr. Bryan. Wo will not admit it to
day, sir.
Mr. Raines (continuing). When it is
established in tho United States the
result will be just the same as it has
been in the wire nail Industry, for you
can buy wire nails today for less than
the duty on nails.
Mr. Bryan. If tho gontleman does
rot desiro to answer my first question
and wants to branch off into tho wire
null subject, I assure him that one of
tho most pleasant entertainments 1
had in my district last campaign re
solved around a wire nail. If he
rrofors to refer to that, let mo ask
Ma: if he believes tho reduction in
the prico ot wire nails ic duo to a pro
tective tariff?
Mr. Raines. Largely.
Mr. Bryan. How largely? What is
the proportion?
Mr. Raines. In that business I am
laboring undr tho same difficulty that
your majority of tho committee on
ways and means aro laboringfovhen in
their4 report they say it is impoiwiblo to
toll In 'what degree the tarlffe af
fect either tho increase or th"$reduc
tlon of tho price of an arti&Kj "
Mr. Bryan. I will ask ycta give
your best judgment as to wlit: pro
portion protection has reduced the
price of wire nails and tho proportion
into which other things havo entered?
Mr. Raines. .1 would like to ask tho
gentleman when ho suggests
Mr. Bryan. Ono thing at a titne.
Mr. Raines. I do not desiro to in
terrupt the gentleman without his per
mission. Mr. Bryan. If tho gentleman will
answer my question I will continue to
answer his questions as long as he puts
them; but I do not want him to refuse
to answer my question and then ask
mo a question.
Mr.. Raines. I do not want the gen
tleman to make an answer for me.
Mr. Bryan. I will let you make an
answer if you will.
Mr. Raines. I was going to make
an answer.
Mr. Bryan. Then make an answer.
Mr. Raines. ;l was going to make an
answer in this way. I was going to
ask the gentleman this. When he is
buying a pound of wire nails for 2.8
cents, on which the duty is 2 cents,
what is he doing? Is he buying nails
or is he paying duty?
Mr. Bryan. I would like to ask tho
gentleman if his mind is so constructed
that ho considers that an answer to
my question? Do you consider that
an answer?
Mr. Raines. A reasonable one.
Mr. Bryan. Then, I am glad to send
that out to the people of Nebraska as
an illustration of the astuteness of the
mind of a distinguished Now York re
publican. ' Mr. Chairman, I think I can suggest
to this house a reason why the gentle
man from New York would not an
swer the question. I will give him the
credit for more Intelligence and less
sincerity. The reason he would not
answer that question is that he sus
pected that the next question would
be: "If protection reduced the price
of wire nails, and was put on for that
purpose, and reduced the price of tin.
plate, and was put on for that pur
pose, why did the republican party in
crease the tariff on wlfeat? Because
they wanted to redunn tho TrinQv"
When a man defends a protective tariff
on the theory that It reduces the price
of the protected article, he wants the
people of this country to believe that
the manufacturer comes down to con
gress and begs for a tariff on his ar
ticle to decrease the prico of his ar
ticle, and then begs for a tariff on
agricultural products to increase their
price.
Mr. Raines. Well, Mr. Chairman,
lot me suggest to the gentleman that
in tho majority report, which he has
'signed, it Is said that the tariff actual
ly did reduce the price of wool. You
cannot get away from that; you signed
tho report.
Mr. Bryan. I said, Mr. Chairman,
in the beginning, that there are wool
growers in this country 'who believe
that; but the gontleman cannot dodge
the logic of his position by any such
subterfuge as that The difficulty is,
Mr. Chairman, that when a man gets
" LU umena protection he would
have you believe that the manufac
turer's sole aim In life Is to make his
goods cheap, in order that he may pay
high wages to. labor; and, as he can
not get them cheap enough otherwise
ho asks congress for a law to encour
age competition, that he may be com
pelled to sell them cheaper. Now, if
he is so anxious to cheapon goods
to tho people, why does he not simply
reduce the price and not beg Tor a law
to compel him to do lt7 '
But, Mr. Chairman, as - Plutarch
would say, I digress. I was saying
When Interrupted that the man who
defends tho principle of protection
must justify the taking of one man's
money and Wtejjg.it into another
man's pocket ' He: fcust justiry mo anl
propriation by legislation of a part of
tho proceeds of our,daily toil to some-.
body else as ajWnflt, and yet ther ,
V w WT&tifc111 case .'
Which I cited, ,(rfje men getting to.
gether and taiangtffce land of tho tenth
man and divide $ among them by '
resolution, and thVpaso of protection!
In that we havo one man getting to-,
gether and taking Jho property of the
nine men by resolution and dividing it
among "him."
It has been said that a Slave was a
slave simply because 100 per cent of
tho proceeds of his toil was appro
priated by somebody without his con
sent If the law is such that a por
tion of the proceeds of our toil is ap
propriated by somebody else without
our consent, wo are simply to that ex
tent slaves, as much so as were tho
colored men. And yet this party, that
boasts that it struck the shackles from
4,000,000 slaves, insists on driving tho
fetters deeper into the flesh of 05,000,
000 of free men.
But, Mr. Chairman, it Is difficult to
defend this on principle, It is equally
difficult to defend it as a policy. I
make this assertion, that if it is wise
to appropriate money out of the public
treasury to aid a private enterprise,
then it fs wiser for a town than tor a
county. It is wiser for a county than
for a state. For a congress of re
stricted and delegated powers, wlioo
members aro far removed from the
people, It is most unwise or all to vote
away the public money for private pur
poses. So that, If that policy is wise
at all, this is tho last place to apply
the principle.
We would not dare to trust that pol
icy in our country or our town; and
my friend from Sioux City has not
pointed to an Instance ivnero it Ima
been done at public expense. The dif
ference between voting public money
for private purposes and taking up a
subscription voluntarily is so wide,
that I do not believe there is a gentle
man upon the other side who does not
see it Why would you not trust it
at home? Because you lonow that then
would go before that council, or be
fore the county commissioners, only
the men who want something, only
those men and their paid attorneys
would go there to represent the great
advantage that the proposed industry
would be to the community, while tho
other side would never be heard.
Therefore, althougn you walk the
streets with your councllmen every
day; although they are your constant
companions; well as you know them,
as much confidence as you have in
them, you would not dare to trust
them In that way, because you know
that when men come to vote money
for private purposes, when they come
to this special legislation, there are
always special Influences at work on
the side of the strong and powerful,
while, on the other nana, those who
Far from the madding crowd's
ignoble strife,
Keep
the noiseless tenor of their way
aro never heard, although It is upon
them that the burden resulting from
such special legislation ultimately
rests. Therefore, honest as your coun
cllmen might be, desirous of doing
right as they would be, you would feel
that you cOuld not, that you must not
trust them with such power. And yet
gentlemen will tell you that what they
would not trust to their "local authori
ties at home, what they would not
dare to approve as a local matter in
Sioux City or in Lincoln, they think
right and proper here.
(To be continued next week.)
A great union has been formed by
railway trainmen, consisting of tno
railroad conductors and brakemen on
roads operating west of Chicago