A PRINCIPLE UPHELD BY STATESMEN.
It is not in any exulting spirit that we refer to a protective tariff, but rather because it is a great and underlying principle of national prosperity; a principle bequeated to this nation by Washington, upheld by Henry Clay, fostered by Abraham Lincoln, championed by William McKinley, and supported by the reciprocity of James J. Blaine. Prior to the free trade crime of 1892, we heard nothing about a diminished gold reserve.
IN THOSE HALCYON DAYS CONFIDENCE FLEW ABROAD IN THE LAND ON THE WINGS OF PROSPERITY.
Capital was freely invested and labor employed at the highest wages. The gold reserve occasioned no uneasiness and required no thought. Instead of acting as an alarmist it steadily grew, acting as a balance wheel to an ever-increasing confidence. The surplus was employed in paying off the national debt; and during President Harrison's administration our national indebtedness was reduced almost as much as it has been increased by the present administration. What has happened during the last three and a half years of grace?
THE ALLURING AND MUSICAL HUM OF INDUSTRY IS NO LONGER HEARD IN THE LAND OF FREEDOM. THE PENDULUM OF TIME HAS SWUNG BACK AND REVEALED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THE GHASTLY SKELETON OF WANT AND FORCED IDLENESS CONCEALED IN THE FREE TRADE CLOSET.
Our great commercial institutions have fallen into a most deplorable and unhappy state, misery and want, with pinched and sorrowful countenances are walking hand in hand up and down by deserted workshops. The honest face of toil blushes as hunger drives him to eat the bread of charity. The stilled wheels of industry throughout our land, and deserted and idle farms are indeed eloquent in their silence in behalf of a protective tariff. (Applause.) Capital that was formerly employed in manufacturing enterprises has been withdrawn, while the balance of trade with other nations is frightfully against us.
ENGLAND HAS BEEN SERVED.
I F ENGLAND HAD HAD A POLITICAL PARTY MANUFACTURED TO ORDER BY THE MOST SKILLED ARTISANS OF THE EARTH, SHE COULD NOT HAVE HAD ONE MADE THAT WOULD MORE FAITHFULLY SERVE HER COMMERCIAL PURPOSES THAN HAS THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION.
Let us briefly inquire into the cause. Take, for instance, the sheep and wool industry, which a few years ago was a prominent one in your state. Under the stimulus of protection, we had in this country in 1884, 50,500,000 sheep. Then Grover Cleveland was elected president, and this was followed by the democratic free wool indictment of 1885, known as the Mills bill. The wool growers of America became alarmed, they fattened and sold their sheep to the butchers by the millions. This slaughter continued for four years, or until Gen. Harrison was elected to the presidency in 1888. The authentic statement shows that the number of sheep had been reduced in this country from 50,500,000 in 1884 to 41,300,000 in 1888. President Harrison's election stopped the slaughter, and under the stimulus of the McKinley law the industry gained rapidly and at the close of Mr. Harrison's administration the total number of sheep in the United States was 47,800,000. (Applause.) In 1892 Mr. Cleveland was again elected president. This was followed by the repeal of the McKinley law and the enactment of legislation hostile to the wool industry. During the last three and a half years the number of sheep in this country has been reduced from 47,800,000 to 38,500,000, or fewer sheep than there was in this country in 1873, or at any time since the so-called crime of that year. So much fellow citizens, for the democratic free wool joke on the American people.