CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



179 



gether with this testimony in 1881 to Congress 

 for action. 



u Sir, this is a contest between the people on 

 one side and the monopolies on the other; be- 

 tween equal rights on one side and privilege on 

 the other; and in this contest if you allow 

 the defendants, the monopolists, the privileged 

 classes, to prepare the testimony, to take the 

 depositions and to get up the case, it will not 

 be their fault if they should lose it when the 

 trial comes on. The plaintiff' who would bring 

 a suit and allow the defendant to dictate what 

 testimony should be introduced, what points 

 should be made, who would allow the defend- 

 ant to prepare the points, prepare the case, pre- 

 pare the testimony and submit it, would be re- 

 garded among lawyers in ordinary litigation 

 between individuals as a very foolish person, 

 one who would be very certain to lose his case 

 before the court and jury. Yet this is the very 

 thing which in this great contest between the 

 people and manufacturing privilege it is pro- 

 posed by the Eaton bill shall be done. It is 

 proposed to place in the hands of the President 

 a power which the manufacturers of the coun- 

 try demand shall be placed there by their peti- 

 tions on file. I am opposed to that, sir. 



"The people who are taxed demand relief. 

 Out of more than $1,000,000,000 paid annually 

 by the people under the tariff laws only about 

 $150,000,000 go into the national Treasury; 

 the remainder goes into the pockets of the 

 parties /to whom it is proposed by the Eaton 

 bill to hand over the subject of reducing their 

 own profits the manufacturers. I protest, sir, 

 against this surrender ; the lamb can as safely 

 be committed to the care of the wolf. Sir, it 

 is unheard of, that a measure of great and vital 

 importance like this should be committed to its 

 enemies to be perfected and consummated. The 

 Republican party created the existing tariff, and 

 the Democracy have always denounced it, as it 

 has every other than a strictly revenue tariff; 

 yet the Eaton bill surrenders to the Republican 

 party and the manufacturers the care of a mea- 

 sure said to be intended to destroy the great 

 evil. Will the parent turn upon its own pro- 

 geny? 



1 " I prefer the substitute of the Senator from 

 Arkansas. That proposes to leave the subject 

 in the Halls of Congress, among the experts 

 sent here by the people, and not to place it, as 

 the Eaton bill would do, in the hands of men 

 outside of Congress to make up a case in the 

 interest of the manufacturers and the tariff. 

 The bill offered by the Senator from Arkansas 

 proposes to retain the subject in Congress among 

 the representatives of the people, adding three 

 outsiders representing three great interests. 

 The very gentlemen whom the Eaton bill would 

 empower to examine this question and report 

 upon it can be called as witnesses before the 

 representatives of the people composing the 

 commission under the Garland bill. We do not 

 lose the benefit of their services simply because 

 they are not permitted to prepare the testimony 



and make up the case. They can be called as 

 witnesses, and if they are experts they can tell 

 all they know as witnesses to the Congressional 

 commission. Sir, the sworn and trusted rep- 

 resentatives of the people should never surren- 

 der to any body of men the high duty devolved 

 upon them of acting upon this great question. 



" As I was proceeding to say, the producing 

 people of this country are taxed from the soles 

 of their feet to the crowns of their heads, from 

 their hats to their shoes, and from their shoes 

 to their hats. Everything they wear, nearly 

 everything they eat, every utensil they work 

 with is taxed. You can not name an article 

 entering into consumption among the producing, 

 classes of our people that is not heavily taxed 

 under the tariff, and yet we must wait until 

 1881 before we can be permitted to see the re- 

 port and the testimony which these learned ex- 

 perts are going to present to Congress upon this 

 subject. I arn opposed to it, sir. I am opposed 

 to the bill, and would be if no other reason ex- 

 isted than that for my opposition to it. I am 

 opposed to it because it puts in the hands of 

 the President of the United States a power to 

 thwart the demand of the pf-ople for tariff re- 

 form by appointing a commission which will 

 make a case against it. I am opposed to it be- 

 cause it takes out of the hands of Congress, 

 where it legitimately belongs, the tariff ques- 

 tion, and places it in the hands of those who 

 may be, and I believe will be, enemies of the 

 people's interests. I favor the bill of the Sen- 

 ator from Arkansas because it keeps the ques- 

 tion in Congress, the people's representatives ; 

 because it proposes that the commission shall 

 report at the next session of Congress so that 

 it may be acted on then." 



Mr. Eaton, of Connecticut : " There is but 

 one idea, I believe, in regard to the impor- 

 tance of this legislation. We simply differ as 

 to the details of the measure. My honorable 

 friend from Arkansas has introduced a bill. 

 He says if he can not get the support of the 

 Senate for his bill he will vote for the one re- 

 ported by the majority of the Finance Com- 

 mittee. I recognize a true patriot in a man 

 who says that. I say while I shall undertake 

 to show that it is impossible that a Congres- 

 sional committee shall intelligently report on 

 all the facts in this great case, that if the bill 

 I had the honor to introduce can not be passed 

 let the other be passed ; let us do something. 

 The House of Representatives has refused to 

 act, and now let the Senate take the initiatory 

 step. 



u This question should be met fairly, kindly. 

 What is the difference between the two bills? 

 Now, let me give a little history, and I know 

 the Senate will not think I am egotistical. I 

 drew the pending bill without consultation 

 with a single man in the world save one friend 

 in Connecticut. I said to my friend the Sen- 

 ator from Delaware [Mr. Bayard], three years 

 ago, that something ought to be done, and if 

 the House would not move in this matter it 



