The Commoner.
Sept.a6, 190a
13
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...Xht Spectacular Declination of Speaker Eenderson. . . .
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Tho most sensational bit of political
news' in recent years was the an
nouncement by Speaker Henderson
that ho had withdrawn from tho con
gressional race; The Associated press
dfspatches under date of Dubuque, la.,
September 16, convey tho reasons for
tho speaker's retirement as follows:
Speaker Henderson, finding that hi3
views in respect to the treatment of
trusts by reducing the tariff in whole
or in part, are not in accord with the
views of many of his party in Iowa,
has this day declined to accept tho
nomination for congress and has with
drawn from the race.
Speaker Henderson has addressed
the following letter to Hon. C. E.
Albrook of Eldora, la., chairman of
the notincation committee:
"My Dear Sir: I have never an
swered the kind notice communicated
by you and your associates advising
me of my nomination for the eleventh
time by acclamation as republican
candidate for congress of the Third
congressional district of Iowa.
"Reported conditions in the public
mind in my district upon public poli
cies induced me to take this delay.
Since my return to the district I have
made a careful study as to the senti
ment in the district and state, and I
believe, that there is no little senti
ment and growing sentiment among
republicans that I do not truly repre
sent their views on the tariff question.
Believing this condition to exist and
knowing that I do not agree with
many of my people that the trusts, to
which I am and have been opposed,
can be cured or the people benefited
by free trade in whole or in part, I
must decline to accept the nomination
so generously and enthusiastically
made.
"I have devoted twenty of the best
years of my life to the service of my
people and my country and have
fought for what I believed to be best
for the farmer, the laborer and tho
business interests of this district and
state. I am grateful for the devotion
that has ever been accorded me and
to the hour of my death will hold in a
grateful heart the memory of that de
votion. "I will later on give in some detail
my views and convictions on our con
ditions and on public questions and
state my reasons why the republican
party and its policies should continuo
in the confidence of the voters of tho
United States and why tho doctrines
of tho democracy should find no lodge
ment in tho faith and teachings of the
republican party.
"In conclusion I desire to say that,
after a careful study of conditions
and political views in Iowa and in my
own district, I am satisfied that I am
not in harmony with a great many of
the republican voters, who believe that
freo trade, in whole or in part, will
remedy the trust evil. 1 beliovo that
it will not, but that such a remedy is
to involve the nation in dangerous re
sults, and so believing, I feel that I
should not accept the nomination for
congress, which was so generously
tendered me, and I have decided ac
cordingly. I cannot part from a peo
ple that I have loved and that havo
honored me, without leaving an ex
pression of my earnest and sincere
views on this and other vital public
questions. Very truly yours,
"D, B. HENDERSON."
Speaker Henderson announced his
withdrawal after a conference of sev
eral hours' duration with Chairman
Glasser of the congressional commit
tee and friends this afternoon. He
had been contemplating this action for
two weeks, but had intimated nothing
of it to his friends until yesterday.
At the conference, his friends im
plored him not to take the action, but
to no avail. He said he had made up
his mind and no argument could cause
him to change his decision.
When asked for his reasons for
withdrawal, Speaker Henderson said:
"My letter to Chairman Albrook is
the whole thing in a nutshell. You
cannot kill the trusts by applying freo
trade without killing our own indus
tries. The foreign trusts' are fighting
the American trusts -and I do not be
lieve that for tho purpose of con
trolling American trusts we should
make a market for foreign trusts,
thereby crushing out the interests of
this country.
"After the conference at "Waterloo,
hearing the sentiments of the chair
man of my district, I concluded my
tariff views were at variance with
those of many of my party, and I did
not wish to appear in a false position."
Speaker Henderson gave out an ad
dress this evening that states his views
on tho tariff and trust questions nnd
because these views, in hlo opinion,
aro not In accord with tho state plat
form and with tho opinions of promi
nent members of his party ho declines
to accept renom I nation.
Tho address is to "Tho Voters of tho
Third Iowa District" Ho says being
a republican ho is a protectionist, and
if he over entertained a doubt as to
the wisdom of tho protection policy,
comparison between tho present and
the past would blot out such a doubt
Ho then speaks of tho tariff planks of
tho last two national conventions.
Continuing, ho says: "For three
years I havo advocated giving control
of trusts to congress. In my judgment
proper supervision can nover bo had
until congress has power to treat them.
I am glad to see by speeches made by
our fcarlee3 and upright chief execu
tive that ho Is advocating fedoral con
trol of these corporations and while in
som" carters they may sneer at it, I
have not seen any -proposition yet,
except this, that seems at all likely to
bring relief. No proposition has ever
been mado by tho democracy, except
ing to put everything on tho freo list
and to give tho country free trade. In
other words they proposed to kill tho
child dead In order to cure it
"In other words, they proposo to
slaughter every interest in the United
States, whether capital or labor, in a
wild and blind effort to provide a rem
edy for trusts. In my opinion if com
binations could be regulated and con
trolled, wo would havo very Httlo de
mand for change in tho tariff law. To
show how strongly tho republican par
ty feels on the subject, in its state
platform this year It declares for any
modification of the tariff that might
be required to prevent affording shelter
to monopoly.
"Our democrat friends treat this as
moving into freo trade ground. It is
nothing of the sort It Is a bold dec
laration that if modifications of tho
tariff are required to prevent monopoly
from sheltering itself under the wings
of protection, then tho tariff laws shall
bo modified to prevent that condition.
For my part If any great interest In
this country is prospering through
protection policies, and is using Its ad
vantage, growth and prosperity to
plunder tho American people, I am
for one ready to strike it by whatever
legal means wo may be able to adopt,
providing that by so doing wo will
not hurt innocent persons. I am not
prepared to say wo will strike down
American combinations, and lot out
side corporations corao In and do the
work, but I would like to control bur,
own corporations.
"I havo boon moro amused than
hurt at tho suggestions that I have
been against any changes In tho tariff.
While I havo boon against a gonoral
rovislon, recognizing tho wisdom of
President Roosovolt In his first mess
ago to congress in which ho advised
against It, I havo never been oppooed
to making neoded changes. And now,
I must say that I do not beliovo that a
single schedulo of tho Dingley UrlfC
law can bo amended so as to relieve
the peoplo from tho oppression o
trusts, ami that such action may .In
volve tho retarding of our expanding
commerce and tho gotting and holding
of foreign markots. Indeed, I boliove
such a plan to bo fraught with great t
danger to our peoplo.
"I am a great friend of reciprocity.
I worked with zeal to attain reciprocal
relations botween this country and
Cuba, and was successful In getting
It through tho house. The senate did
not act on the bill, becauso It would
havo 'permitted tho opening of tho
whole question of tariff revision.
"Tho house has nothing to say about
the ratification of treaties, but tho rec
iprocal resolution by which it legis
lated in the relations with Cuba woro
hot In the nature of treaties, but were
reciprocal agreements in which I think
our country would havo tho best' oC
the bargain, although they would be
of great advantage to Cuba.
"While I cannot speak for tho pros
pect? of favorable action on bills sent
to tho senate, I still hopo and believe
tho same result may be accomplished
and I havo no doubt that President
Roosevelt Is now working on the ques
tion of a treaty with Cuba to give that
struggling young republic needed help;
a help, too, In which, whilo they will
be gainers, wo will not bo losers. Now
let me say and let there bo no misun
derstanding as to my position, I bo
Hevd in protection that will protect
tho hand of labor, tho wheels of in
dustry, every farmer and miner, and I
am -against wicked corporations that
would trample on tho .-rights of the
people to fair play and tho fruits of
honest efforts. I am against useless
legislation that would throw our coun
try into panic, and bring tho horrors
bequeathed to us by. the last demo
cratic administration."
In response to numerous requests for copies'
of this Speech, It Is published In The Com-
raoHcr, The principles then discussed are
L yet vital ones.
The Tariff Question
Speech of Mr. Bryan In the
House of Representatives, Wed
nesday, larch 16, i892.
(Continued from last week.)
Now, Mr. Chairman, if -the committee
will pardon me for detaining them so
long I want to say that it is as diffi
cult to defend the necessity for a tar
iff as it is to defend its principles or
its policy1. And this brings me to an
other contradiction which we often
find in the arguments of our republi
can friends. If you ask them why
they need a tariff they at onco tell you
that we pay so much better wages in
this country than aro paid abroad that
we cannot compete, and that until
we are willing to reduce the wages of
our workingmen wo never can com
pete. That is a very plausible argu
ment to start with, but then comes
alongome person who asks a question
sometning liko that asked yesterday
by the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Crain) of the gentleman from Massa
chusetts (Mr. Walker). The gentleman
from Texas asks, "Does not that pro
tection make the price of goods high
er in this country than abroad?" "No,
sir," says Mr. Walker. "Everything
that a man uses, except woolen goods,
is cheaper in this country than it Is
abroad."
Now, to an "untutored mind," such
as we are told new members possess,
it would seem that if you need pro
tection to labor in this country be
cause labor Is higher, that idea Is hard
ly consistent, upon the republican the
ory, with a cheaper product Yet the
same gentleman who yesterday told
you that we must have a tariff to pro
tect the laboring men in this country
told you that 'the laboring men of this
country were producing articles cheap
er than the laboring men of other
countries.
I want to call attention it is with
some diffidence, I assure you, after tho
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Walker) has said that it Is nothing
but "nonsense" I want to call atten
tion, however, so that those may con
sider it who are not inclined to look
upon it as "nonsense," to what Hon.
William ju. Evarts said when ho was
secretary of state, in his report in
1879. He said:
The average American workman
performs from one and a half to
twice as much work in a given
time as the average European
workman. This is vso important
a point in connection with our
ability to compete with the cheap
labor manufacturers of Europe,
and it seems at first thought so
strange that I will trouble you
with somewhat lengthy quotations
from the reports in support there
of. That was the statement of a republi
can secretary of state. And I hopo
that none of my republican friends will
reflect upon tne next authority I shall
quote, Hon. James G. Blaine, who",
when secretary of state, said:
Undoubtedly the Inequalities jn
wages of English and Araericar
operatives (that Is, in cotton man
ufactures) are more than equal
Ized by the greater efficiency of
the latter and their longer hours
of labor. If this should prove to
be a fact in practice, as it seems
to me to be proven by official
statistics, it would be a very Im
portant element in the establish
ment of our ability to compete
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