Show SOME TARIFF TALK 1Jing Iii the New Ring Out the False Ring In the True THE WAITS ANDXEANS COiTHITTEE Listen to Arguments For and Against Lowering Lower-ing the Duties on Various Articles Free Trailer Manufacturer BOSTON Dec 31The members of the Massachusetts Tariff Reform league dined this evening the occasion being the annual dinner of the organization Among those present were Hon Roger Q Mills of Texas Hon Thomas G Sherman of New I York Edward Atkinson President C A I Elliot of Harvard college Charles Francis Adams Hon John E Andrews Hon iphn E Andrews Hon Robert Treat sune Hon P A Collins and others President Pierce of the league spoke at some length on tariff reform concluding as follows H In the light of what has been presented is it not reasonable to conclude that the leaders of a political party whose cornerstone is protection are ready in its interest to sacrifice one industry after another an-other and as many as may be necessary to cement the alliance which they havef ormed with the woolgrowers iron masters and coal barons of the country It is no small advantage that in the struggle before us we have for our leader a man of moral courage sterling honesty and straightforwardness straightfor-wardness the most interesting personality i American life Grover Cleveland Hon Edward Atkinson in his remarks said All reasonable advocates of protection protec-tion consider free trade the objective point fof their system to be attained when the time has come to make it safe All reasonable reason-able freetraders claim that true protection protec-tion to domestic industry is what they aim at the only difference is on the time of concession con-cession Why not begin nowl When mutual trust and confidence in the sincerity sin-cerity of the purpose of all who engage in the work shall have been established in the progress of legislation we may then for the first time since 1SG1 be in a position I in which the true tariff question itself can be entered upon by reasonable men in a manuer consistent with common sense and common honesty More than onehalf the subjects of taxation under our present jariff could be put on the free list without iiminishing our revenue from customs 15 A aer cent in what they have yielded up to ais time T I refuse to believe that the representatives tives of the great national Republican party to which I was proud to belong for so many years have become narrow and so bigoted in their sectional feelings as to be incapable of rising to the level of the present responsibility In time of danger there were seven men in tht Republican party who saved the country from what I think all reasonable men now admit would nave been a political convulsion when they voted on their personal convictions but not with their party against the impeachment impeach-ment of Andrew Johnson Are tlir not now seven men in the Senate and a relative rela-tive ntmber in the House who m ly at the present time be capable of the same independent inde-pendent judgment who may unite with their party opponents in such a reasonable I and judicious reform the tariff as will put us in the way of establishing1 conditions i in the future in which this country may attain the paramount position t which it i entitled iii the great commerce of the Tvond l Among the utterances of Mr Mills of Texas were these History repeats itself and we are here tonight remonstrating with our government for the wrongful interference in-terference with our private business depressing de-pressing our industries paralyzing our labor la-bor impoverishing our people and cutting off foreign trade And tonight we say to Mr Harrison and Mr Blaine as our fathers said to King George and LordNoth You have no right t close our ports Grover Cleveland at the head of ttie Mohawks in December 1S37 threw the tea overboard and called on the battle for the vindication of the right We i I our Lexingtons and Bunker Hills in jSss we had our Saratoga InlSSS we shall t imve our Yorktown in 1S90 I restricting the purchase and sale of our products to American markets stimulates 1 stimu-lates industry cheapens production and increases wealth and wagest why would it not be policy to apply the principle to each one of the states I this is productiv of good t fortytwo states it ought to bs good to each one of them It is a question of political economy not of patriotic sentiment I the principle is correct it will apply to a small community as well as t a large one Why not hurry it to its logical conclusion and have a Chinese Chi-nese wall around each state and stimulate it t build up its industries increase its wealth and give better employment and higher ge its own people within each I township trade among themselves and bring the home market here The perfect sequence of the principle would be to wall I every man unto hinself andthus foster and encourage him t develop his resources In a short time he would be sufficiently developed t raise his owngrain beef and hogs manufacture his own clothing set his own hens and hatch his own chickens This policy means that a man rises t the highest happiness when he expends the largest amount of labor and obtains the least amount of product When followed to its last analyisis it is perpetual work I I and no product The best home market is the one into which is admitted the largest importation bs cause the largest importation means the largest exportation and that means an active ac-tive demand fov articles exported and that means increased prices und that means in 1 greased wcaHn distributed among con sums sum-s and that vill in turn create an active r demand for home products which supplies SO per cant of home consumption An active ac-tive demand for home products creates a demand for raw material labor and that raises the prices of both and gives constant employment t all classes ef laborers Revision of the Tariff I WASHINGTON Dee 31 Although the 1 ways and means committee had assigned today t the hearing of persons interested in the manufacture of glass and earthenware earthen-ware the committee first listened t an argument from Robert M Thompson of Jew York in favor of the freo importation importa-tion of copper intended for exportation a refined copperY I copper-Y Bodine of New Jersey impressed upon the committee the necessity of restoring the rates of duty which prevailed prior t 1SS3 on cylinder window glass and k bottles Green and French since the act of 18S3 foreign glass had been taking the 1 place ° f American glass although there existed ex-isted in the United States furnaces to produce pro-duce glass for the whole country ExCongressman Brewer of Trenton representing the potters thought that all tneir trouble grew out of the ad valorem duties The pottery industry never had been adequately protected I something were not done to check the importation of iJerman goods the Bohemian wares would afcvo the markets of the United States within five years and American potteries would have t succumb or reduce wages very materially George Macbeth of Pittsburg manufacturer manufac-turer of lamp glass testified that he manufactured man-ufactured 200 styles of lamp glass and of these 200 styles only twenty were competed com-peted with by foreign producers One of n i the principal articles used in his business was soda ash and he favored a reduction on that article He would take the duty received from soda ash last year and buy the soda ash manufactory at Syracuse four times over He bought foreign soda ash and believed he could manufacture it at the rate of GO cents a hundred pounds I Present price was S143 Another ingredient ingredi-ent which entered into his manufacture was carbonate of potasb which bore a duty of 20 per cent There was not enough of that article in this country to supply his factory alone An increase of duty he argued would not cut off the importation of foreign glassware or crockery I would make people who wanted that identical kind of ware pay more for It than now but would not prevent pre-vent its imnortation The only effect would be to increase the price of ISO kinds of lamp glass for which he had TJO competition tion He wished to have tno duties re mited on soda ash carbonate of potash and lead Give me free material or free trade such England has said Macbeth and give me the proper products of my labor and I defy any competition on the face of the earth Mr BayneAnd par your workmen the wages you now pay them MacbethI will pay them more Macbeth then admitted he at one time contemplated moving his works to Germany He said the German workmen are not as efficient and skillful as the Americans but had he found it difficult to work with them he would have taken men from here Bayne asked him if he would pay them the wages he pays here and Macbeth admitted ad-mitted that he would not His leading idea in going to Germany was the cheapness of material and plant I he had free trade in his raw material he would be perfectly willing to have free trade in his product The chairman inquired whether the consumer con-sumer of lamp chimneys would be bene fitted by allowing the raw material as well as the finished article to be admitted free Mr Macbeth said the difference in price would be three or four cents adozen Mr GearThat is to the retailer Would the woman who goes to the store to buy a chimney get it for less MacbethMy individual opinion is that I doubt it James Gillander of Philadelphia said the lamp chimneys mostly used in this country were manfactured here and sold for less than the imported chimneys The imported chimney was used principally on special lamps and was bought by people of means He did not want free raw material and advocated an increase of duty on van ious grades of glass I his raw material as well as finished article were admitted free he could not pay present wages and compete with foreign goods D C Rigsley of Pittsburg president of the American Flint and Lime Glass association asso-ciation advocated protective duties on cut glass He presented several specimens of Belgian glass and stated that they could be laid down here at less price than they could be cut for in thif country |