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SENATOR VANCE'S"SPEECH. A Discussion of the Cotton Tie Ques tion A Sample of Legislation Against the Farming In terests. On Saturday, August 8, Sena tor Vance made a vigorous and humorous speech against the proposed increase of the duty on cotton ties. In the course of his speech he said : The farmer has these disadvantages under this system : -The prices of all his products are fixed by the markets abroad, and why ? Be cause he makes more than will supply the home market and the surplus which goes abroad fixes the price of that which is sold , in the home market, and the very fact that there is a sur plus to sell abroad is evidence that the home market is abund antly supplied, and that abund ant supply, according to the well known principles of politi cal economy, operates to keep prices down. , He cannot increase those prices by an artificial scarcity on account of the impossibility of forming a combination like those i to which the manufac turers resort. His interest is so widespread, the persons en- erasred in agriculture are so broadly diffused over the whole land that it is impossible for them to act in concert and to create an artificial scarcity. They are obliged, therefore, to send their articles abroad, and there they are sold in competi tion with the cheapest labor of this world. Our farmers' wheat is sold in competition with In dian wheat which is grown with labor at 6 cents a day, and the Southern ' planters' cotton is sold in competition with the cotton of India, which is made with the, same labor, in compe tition with the ryots of India and with the fellahs of the Nile, whose pay is still less than that of the ryot of India, and in com petition with the half breed la bor of South America and the islands1, of the sea, and every where' that cotton is produced. So, then, the men women and children who work in the cot ton fields and in the gin houses of the South are compelled to labor in competition with the cheapest and most degraded la bor of our race anywhere to be found. The farmer is, therefore, com- vwiil 1 ai V"r i c t 1 on S (a oVmtvo to sell, his surplus ; having just sold his home product at prices fixed by competition with the lowest labor in the world, lie goes abroad and sells in the same free trade market; If he were permitted to buy in the same market at prices cheap ened in like manner he would be compensated to some extent for these disadvantages, but he is not permitted to , buy there. When he gets, to Liverpool and sells his wheat or his cotton at these reduced price's, if he could buy the hardware that he re quires for the use of his farm at English prices, or if he could buy woolen goods which he re quires for the use of his family at English or Germen prices, or! crocKery. ware ior xnejise or ms family at the prices there in a market cheapened by the free trade labor of the world in the same way, he would to a great degree be compensated for these disadvantages, but he cannot do it. If he buys in Liverpool with the proceeds of his cargo of wneat a supply ot iron goods and woollen goods and crockery ware for his own use or the use of his neighbors, when he ar rives at the port of New York the Government of his country takes from him one-half of all t the iron goods he got, it takes J over one-half of all the crockery ware he got, and it takes three quarters of every piece of wool en goods he has got, under this bill, as a tax, as a punishment for daring to go abroad and sell his surplus products. It was his duty to have permitted them to rot rather than buy cheap goods from foreigners. He is treated as a criminal by the laws pf his country and sub jected to fines! and penalties in the way of duties. If he. comes back with a dollar's worth of crockery ware for the use of his iamiiy, ior wnicn ne nad sold a bushel of wheat, the Govern ment takes over 50 cents of it if he comes back with a dollars worth of iron supplies for the use of his farm, the Govern ment takes one-half : if he comes back with four yards of cloth, the Government takes three yards of it and leaves him ,- one. Mr President, is it anv won der that the thing has produced its natural result ? Whilst the farmer is-paying the tax to his neighbor to sustajn him in busi ness, from whom is he to recoup his losses ? Where is there a man below and subject to him upon whom he may cast the burden of his taxation ? He is nowhere. There is nobody. He pays that out of his earnings a dead loss forever. Is it any wonder, I ask, if in this unequal struggle which has been going on in this way ever since the Avar, for more than twenty-five years, that the ag ricultural classes have been fall ing behind? They have been heaping ! up mortgages and in debtedness ; they have been in many, places forced to burn their corn for fuel for the want of a market for it. They live harder, they make less advance ment in the arts of luxury and comfort, they endure more pri vations, they work harder, they give less education to their chil dren, they have less opportunity for acquiring information and cultivation for themselves than any other class of the commu nity ; -whilst we see the other classes, according to the statis tics of the census tables, heap ing together all the wealth and concentrating in themselves all of the prosperity of the coun try. Those are facts which cannot be denied. Mr. President, this item of cotton ties which we are considering well illustrates the iniquity of the workings of this whole system of tariff taxation, of which the manufacturers and miners are the beneficiaries and of which the agriculturists are the victims. Cotton is cultivated in Amer ica from the Roanoke to the Rio Grande, all along the shores of the Atlantic and the Gulf, of Mexico to the borders of Mex- ico. At least , 800,000 square miles -of the fairest and most fertile portion of American soil is devoted chiefly to the pro duction of cotton. It , is the chief business of ten million people. It is interwoven with our whole social and domestic life in a manner that I cannot describe to you. The language of poesy' could only depict it. From the time that the first seed is put into the ground un til it springs up, and all during the tender period of the plant, it is watched with that anxious solicitude by our whole people with which the chamber and the news from the chamber of a sick Derson in a lamily is watched. If it can escape the perils which beset it in its tender state, then the Heavens are watched with anxietv to see if thev will be propitious ; and as it stows the whole force of the plantation is turned out to cul tivate it, and when it begins to bloom and has that far escaped the casualties of its delicate ex istence, every man, woman and child in the land begins to smile; and that smile breaks into open rejoicing when bevond all dan srer the -white, fleecy-staple be- gins to make the fields glow with the promise of comfort. peace, abundance and happi ness. It is a continuous labor. It is not like the labor on most other agricultural products. By the time the last white fleecy ball iss picked from the hard. decaying stalk in the field the plow is coming in again for the next crop ; and so it goes. The result of all that labor is that seven-elevenths of all the cot ton in tins world tnat enters in to commerce is produced in those southern btates, more than 7.000,000 bales out of 11 000,000 for the world. FT"1 i i . t 1 mat cotton turnisnes more than one-third of all the exports wnich this country sends to for eign countries. Out of the $730,000,000 worth . of exports for the fiscal year ending on the 0th day ot June last, $250,- 000,000 were cotton from these Southern fields, and almost half of everything: that agriculture furnishes for exportation con sists in this cotton ; almost as much as all the wheat and corn and oats and meat, beef, pork. live stock, cheese, butter, and all dairy products put together J - s almost, not quite so much. And it is not necessary to say that foreign commerce supports our exchanges and makes the balance of trade in our favor and-prevents the outflow of the precious metals from our circu lation, and that of all the for eign products of commerce this item of cotton is the leading ar tide. It is the support, the em ployment, the hope, the peace the abundance, the happiness of ten millions of people, and it receives not one dollar's worth of benefit in anv conceivable way from your tariff taxation. On the contrary, every tool, every piece of harness, every plow, every wagon, every bar row, or implement used in its production, and every article of household supplies used by the operatives in the rieid is suo- iected to the heaviest mnu ui tax for the benefit of the manu facturer and the miner. Now, Mr. President, after these people, these men, women and children, blacK and wnue, rich and poor, high and low, iave made mis great ui oo mat 1 j t . . i. . . . 4 I ... clothes the world land sustains M L .. A your toreign commerce ciuu your exchanges, instead ot en couraging it by taxation for its benefit you come down upon this one indispensable article which secures the bale of cot ton in shape and envelopes it or the market, and instead of saying, I will reduce xnai uu- y or remove it altogether tor you, to encourage inis great, and useful calling' you double and almost treble the duty on it. From 35 per cent, you ad vance it to 103.71 per cent. Mr. President, look at it now from a, protectionist standpoint ; ook at it in the light ot your own protession, senators, and see if this duty is just. You say you want to encourage American industry. Is not the production of 7,000,000 bales of cotton, the daily occupation and life of ten million of people, an industry? Is it not an American industry ? Are not its laborers your countrymen ? Is it not meritorious and deserv ing in every sense of the word ? Why cannot you protect it? You cannot, indeed, benefit it by imposing direct taxes upon the foreign competitors of the article, for it has none in this market. Then, in the name of heaven, if you cannot protect so meritorious an industry, as 1 t A Y 1 you do, all or your, own, by the imposition of taxes, can you not protect this great industry of these people by the withholding of taxation ? If the Constitu tion gives you power to pro mote private interests by tax- ing, can you not do the same thing by refraining ? If so, is it not equally your duty ? All that we ask you to do is to with hold this tax. If you refuse to withhold the tax, knowing that the tax which you have levied upon foreign raw cotton is a sham, a delusion and a snare; it vou insist on op pressing this American industry in this way by trebling the tax already existing upon it, and thus crippling the strength of the man who labors in the field Jz j. r ior uie suppon or American commerce and for the "clothing of the world; if you db that, I ask, when some of you are standing on the hustings and talking about the protection of American labor, might not some man in your audience with great propriety say, "That is a lie, and you know it; you know that you are not for protecting all American labor:" for the 7,000,000 bales of cotton are op pressed when prepared for the foreign market by a tax three times higher than that which is imposed upon many other arti cles that you are manufactur ing. Mr. Butler The Treasury does not need the money. Mr. Morgan It did not use to need it; it needs it now. Mr. Vance In that view of it, considering that I am standing and talking to a protectionist, I can see every reason in the world why, when you cannot encourage an American indus try by direct taxation, you should encourage it by with holding taxation as the only means lett to you. It you will not you show plainly that your professions are false and that love for American industries is only an excuse for plundering the American people. -The M -1. Treasury does not need the money. I am free to say that at the rate we are going, I think it soon will; butwhen we assem bled hereto legislate for the people we were all agreed that the revenue ought to be reduced, that there ought not to be a sur plus dollar taken from the pock ets of the people and paid into the Treasury that the Govern ment does not need. And when we met here there were $57, 000.000 in the .Treasury that could not be used at all properly and legally. Therefore the gov eminent does not need the reve nue. If it did and if it was necessa ry to increase duties in order to make more revenue,! then ac cording to the bill that you have introduced, which is declared to be an act to reduce' the reve nue, equalize duties oh imports, and for other purposes, then ac cording to that profession con tained in that title you should equalize this taxation and you should not make it higher on this than on anything else. According to my recollection, sir, there is only one item in the bill in the iron schedule that is now as high as this tax on cot ton ties will be. Structural iron, I believe, was 105 percent and you reduced it to 82; cotton ties were 35 per cent and you raised them up to 103. Is that equalizing taxation? And if it is not equalizing it, is then the title of your bill false and de ceptive? Again, Mr. President, these ties are not manufactured in this country, so that the tax im posed for the encouragement and (protection of American manufactures in the name of protection, in this instance is false .1 and fraudulent, for there is no manufacture here to pro tect. But the intimation is thrown out that perhaps there will be. Let us hope that there will not be. Mr. President, such has been the abuse of the taxing power in this matter that I give you my word, as much as I love my country and as greatly as I re joice in its prosperity, that it gives me sincere sorrow to see a new ' protected manufactory started in this country, or a new mine of any valuable mineral discovered, because I know it simply means another pauper to be charged upon the parish. Mr. Hoar May I ask the Sen ator if he would be glad to have all the existing ones closed on the same theory? Mr. Vance No, sir. Mr. Hoar I do not see any distinction. Mr. Vance There are men who can see a distinction, hap pily. Mr. Hoar- -Very true. Mr. Vance I do not want to see one of them close, but I want to see their profits derived from the taxation of my people closed. That is the sight that I long to see. ' Prophets and kings desired it long, But died without "the sight, says the old hym. I hope to be able to see that yet before I die. I hope to be able to see manufactures in America flourish just as the agriculturist in my country flourish, without taxation. 1 hope to see them flourish by the sweat of their brow and their own honest industry, instead of by the sweat of my brow and tlie honest industry of my peo ple. Articles of luxury and foreign fashion, said the chairman of the committee, must bear the increased taxation. Conse quently, those pictures of the great old masters and the ren naisance, and the battle pieces of the Old World, that hang in the galleries of the rich are per mitted by this party that is the friend of the American work ingman to come in free of tax; but with the hungry desperation of the tiger they pounce upon the poor man's cotton tie and treble the tax upon that, and then turn to the public as un concerned as if nothing whatso ever had taken place and thank God that they are not as other men, and I thank God that other men are not like them. Oh, they tell us that art is ed ucating. So it is; but cotton is food, cotton is clothing, cotton is shelter, cotton satisfies the hunger of crying children, cot ton covers the nakedness of im poverished humanity. And art is educating. Much education the people of the cotton fields will get from a picture in the gallery of a wealthy man on Fifth avenue. They would have no earthly chance of seeing it. No, Mr;. President, the whole thing is a delusion and a snare. Now, sir, at the proper time I shall move to put - this upon the free list and I shall propose to exchange with you on that side, and will give you for the Treas ury the duty on shotgun barrels or on Zante currants or on laces and braids and plaits made of straw do not let me foraret to put that in I will give you all that if you will permit this great American industry of cotton growing to be encouraged so much as to permit the material with which it is prepared for market to come in free. ' Mr. President, the wayfaring man, though a Republican, can see from the way in which this item is disposed of whether this system of protective taxation is beneficial to the agricultural classes of our people or not They have at last waked up, and great has been that awakening; and greater still will be that awakening when they come to see the systematic iniquity that in the name ..of law Jias robbed them and despoiled them of the results of -their industry for twenty-five years. When they come to. find that instead of get ting better it is getting worse; that instead of their doing any thing to encourage them by the removal of taxes Where the taxes could be spared they are studiously seeking every means of increasing the taxes upon them and the means of their in dustry when they come . to see that fully, Mr. President, then my mission will have been ended. I need exert myself no 1 more. No other man who be lieves as I do need give himself any further trouble. Something will be heard to drop. I can see the coming of the storm now, sir. The cloud is bigger than a man's hand. I can hear the roar now, which, though indistinct, is still an in dication not that it is a slight5 breeze but that- it is the real thunder of Niagara itself. Take warning and get under shelter when you can. Take off the duty on these cotton ties reduce thej duty on this whole iron schedule, reduce the duty on the woolen schedule, ' give the far mer such a chance that when he ships anything' abroad he can obtain a reasonable price for it and can bring home a re turn cargo without being treated as a criminal. Give him a chance to reap some of the ben efits which accrue to all people who occupy this great'and glo rious and happily situated land. Do not make them any longer the hewers of wood and . the drawers of water for you. They have acted as the. scape goat for, your protective system long enough They have been the ultimate payees and the com mon vouchees of this system which has enabled you to make profit. .' You had better, if you under stand your own interest, revise this tariff yourself , and revise it justly, for if you do not it j may be like the waters which accumulate above the dam, in stead of falling over in quanti ties sufficient to carry off the excess without damage, it may gather strength and head until it will sweep away" the whole dam and everything that stands within its reach below. It is time something was done to equalize the burdens of the people, to shift the taxation so that all shall bear a part, and all shall be exempted alike. That is your lookout, though, Senators, not mine. My party is not in power. I have no re sponsibility here whatsoever after I have protested and pointed out the evils and done what I could to have them re dressed. The responsibility, then, rests with you. To Business Men. Do you wish to do business with the people of Asherille, of Buncombe coun ty, ot Western North Carolina, of East Tennessee? , . . If so should you no.t 'advertise where it will do the most good ? , :- . Is not the paper having the largest cir culation in this territory, among all classes w ho s'e trade you want, the paper to advertise in ? The Asheville Democrat is cer tainly such a paper. Its circulation is larger than &ny other paper, and it is (in creasing' daily;. " "' ;-..' It is the best paper to advertise indus tries, city property, timber lands, farms, mines, etc,, etc., as it has a larger circu lation at home, and -..abroad than 'any other paper. More copies of The Dem ocrat are sent North, West, and to other sections, every week, rtharj; pf any other paper, averaging the past -several weeks from one hundred to several hundred copies over and above our regular circu lation. 4 Kates are reasonable, and we invite the attention ' of all interested to The Democrat as an -advertising medium. The Democrat does more free adver tising of the material resources, im provements and attractions of this entire section than any other paper. . Use its columns business men of Ashe ville and Western Carolina. Furmax & Vance, Publishers. Read the Best Weeklv Newspaper and "Family Jour nal in the Country. The weekly' edition of the Springfield (Mass.) Republican, whicK was estab lished in 1824 by Samuel Bowles,, has re cently been enlarged to 12. pages or 84 columns. The price remains at $1 per year,or 10 cents a month for shorter pe riods. " - ' : . -. - - " - ,- This generous enlargement, adding 28 columns to the capacity of the paper, -allows the introduction of many, new and attractive features. , - The people's interest in all political, social and industrial affairs are steadily studied and advocated from the stand point of independence and a patriotism that is higher and broadex than partisan ship., j " In a word, the publishers seek to make The "Weekly Republican more than ever the best weekly newspaper and family journal combined in the c:ntry. Former dwellers in New England and others everywhere who wish to keep In formed of the life and thought of this region w ill find the enlarged paper in valuable. : : " - ; Send for a free sample copy. , All subscriptions payable in advance. C3F"New subscribers for a year now will receive the paper until January 1, 1891. " - ' Address THE REPUBLICAN, ; 'Springfield, Mass. , - :''"-': " ,. : -Eisrht pases 48 CQlumns--of live read nff matter for all. 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Having tried a varirtv 0, remedies, including warm baths, with o'n'v temporary relief, about three months asw r began the use of Ayer's Pills, and my ht a"h ' is so much improved that I gladly testify to the superior merits of this medicine' 1 Manoel Jorge Fereira, Porto, Portugal. "For the cure of headache, Ayer's Cathar tic Pills are the most effective medicine i ever used." R. K. James, Dorchester, Man "When I feel the need of a cathartic, I tak Ayer's Pills, and find them to be more pf. tive than any other pill I ever took." B. C. Grubb, Burwellville, Va. " I have found in Ayer's Pills, an invalua. ble remedy for constipation, biliousness, aR(j kindred, disorders, peculiar to miasmatic localities. Taken in small and freque doses, these Pills Act Well on the liver, restoring its natural powers, and aiding it in throwing off malarial pobotis." C. F. Alston, Quitman, Texas. "Whenever I am troubled with constipa tion, or suffer from loss of appetite, A jfs Pills set me right again." A. J. Kiser, Jr. ' ROck House, Va. J " In 1858, by the advice of a friend, I began the use of Ayer's Pills as a remedy for bil iousness,, -constipation, high fevers, and colds. They served me better than anything I had previously tried, and I have used them in attacks of that sort ever since." II, w. Hersh, Judsonia, Ark. '- Ayer's Pills PREPARED BY DR. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowe!!, Mass. Sold by all Druggists and Dealers in Medicine. The. Haywood rings. SEASON 1890. Waynesville, N. G, In the heart of the great Balsara Mountains, whose peaks tower from 5,(Xj0 to e.-w feet s above the sea. This Hotel will open June la, 1890, and hereafter will "be kept - OPEN ALIj. THE YEAR. me peculiar ueueuite ui me nut- cuium, Chalybeate and Mountain Spring Water: the pure, bracing . air, fresh from the BaLsi Peaks, laden with balsamic odors: the won-, drous beauty of the immediate su rrourAinis, with grassy and shady lawns, two sparkling brooks and a dashing mountain river; the broad, fertile fields, etc.. together with moun tain scenery Of such beauty and mairnificenc as to astonish and delight -the beholder. - Wavnesville is situated on the Murphy Branch of the W . N. C. K, R., 30. miles west of Asheville. Visitors from the Southeast and Southwest will come by Salisbury and Spar tanburg.. Visitors from the North and North west reaching Asheville on train 51 from Paint Rock, make close connections with the train for Haywood White Sulphur Springs.: The. manager, so well known throughout the South and North, with his many years i .ex perience, is a sufficient guarantee that tae great reputation of the Springs will hi no way be impaired. Visitors are assure" i that every possible effort -will be made to render tm;ir stay with' vts pleasant and ineheiai. Toe place is a regular paradise for children. Daily mail, express and telegraph : iiooS livery, splendid drives, mountain parties. k liard table, bowling alley, lawn . tennK er quet. fine music, etc., etc. All of these t!!-' together with comfortable roohii. new water closets, warm sulphur baths, polite servant?, and accommodating managers, will tend to make this plaee ' The Most Belightful Eural Eetreat ' in the South. Oar Terms Are Remarkably bw. ' 2.00 to $2.50 Per Day; $12.50 to $15.30 ?f Week ; ?40.00 to 150.00 Per Month. REDUCTIONS TQ FAMILIES. W. W. STRINGFIELD, Proprielor. A. J. RUTJES, Manager. ,. :m - : jun. 1 Purr WinUVand 'Liqu Mil I - ...... , HHAMTON :-: k x FEATHERST05E. ' Public Square, ASHEVILLE, X. C Imite the attention of the trade to r.iBr.r STfiCK OF Which' is offered WHOLESALE X OR X RETAIL. Our Stock of Tobacco, Cigars and Cigarette is complete. the .;, best Ales and Beers Always on Hand. :- : ' ,int something Give us a call when you want so Strictly Tirst-CIass. Dec. 1289-1 y. . Whte Sulphur Sp
The Asheville Democrat (Asheville, N.C.)
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Aug. 28, 1890, edition 1
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