Show PROTECTIVE TARIFFS Senator Yoorliees Shows Them i Their True Colors THEY ARE BENEFITS TO THE RICH But Not to tho Poor The Worlds Fair BillA Favorable Report from the Committee Chicago Commended WASHINGTON March VicoPresident Morton occupied the chair today The resolution offered by Voorhees on Monday as to the agricultural depression was taken up and Senator Voorhees addressed ad-dressed the Senate He said in part it was now nearly thirty years since the closing clos-ing war had given to avarice the opportunity I I opportun-ity to prey upcn the selfsacrificing patriots of the counlry The measures resorted to for the taxation of one class of cass citizens and enrichment of another had been the legislation by which the burden of the public debt had been doubled silver demonetized and a high protective tariff established He characterized charac-terized the protective tariff as the cause The farmers of the United States today did not receive on an aver e more than ten cents a bushel for corn fifty cents for wheat and uwo to three cents a pound for hogs Every pretense of a home market for the farmer was a fraud and every pretense pre-tense of taxing wheat and oats and potatoes pota-toes for his benefit is a cheat and a sham It is a notorious truth that the tariff as it now stood increased the farmers expense account from thirtylive to one hundred hun-dred per cent on every implement of industry with which he toiled and last year binding twine was raised to 18 cents a pound by the trust He did not believe the hands of the farmer would hold the Republican ticket at the next presidential election Not only had there been no increase in-crease of value in land the last quarter of a century but there had been an absolute loss of 3 per cent Improved farm lands today under the most favorable circumstances circum-stances would not on a general average realize more than twothirds what their value had been twentyfive years ago Ohio farms now under mortgage amount to 388000000 In Illinois 23 per cent of the whole face of the state is under mortgage they amounting 402000000 Forty seven per cent of the state of Michigan was under un-der mortgage In Indiana Kentucky Missouri Kansas Nebraska and the whole northwest from twenty to fifty per cent of the farm lands were under mortgages at such rates of interest as farmers could never pay out of their crops to say nothing noth-ing of the principal The farmers were thus brought face to face with ruin Nor were the farmers of New England different in that respect from the western states The remedies to be applied were 1 Tariff reform re-form 2A full supply of legal tender mohey 3Tho free coinage of silver 4 The suppressing by law of gambling in future 5A liberal policy of pensions Voorhees summoned his up arguments with reference to O subsidized press blocks of live official patronage etc Wilson of Iowa said he desired to read a letter from a farmer of Iowa who knew by practical experience moreabout the condition con-dition of tho farming class than the Senator Sena-tor from Indiana ever learned in his readings read-ings Ho then read a letter which has already been published showing tho comparatively com-paratively low prices of farm produce and the high price of manufactured goods before be-fore the war The Blair educational bill was taken up and Pierce spoke in opposition to it Evans and Call advocated it Allison from the finance committee reported re-ported with amendments the House bill in relation to the collection of revenue Adjourned I |