

SPEECH 



or 



HON. FRANK HISCOCK. 



The House being in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, 

 end having under consideration the bill (H.R. 5893) to reduce import duties and 

 war-tariff taxes 



Mr. HISCOCK said: 



Mr. CHAIRMAN: The present customs laid upon imported goods have 

 been characterized by the so-called revenue reformers as a system of 

 legalized robbery of their consumers, and their ingenuity has been taxed 

 to the utmost to invent fitting phrase by which to describe the crim- 

 inal extortions they have exacted from the poor for the benefit of the 

 rich manufacturing monopolies, as they have been pleased to style those 

 industries of our country wherein are invested near three billions of 

 capital and which afford labor to 4,000,000 workers and support to 

 nearly one-third of the population of the United States. The charge is 

 made that these 4,000,000 workers, with their wives and children, 

 amounting to 8,000,000 more, are supported by a taxation imposed 

 upon that other great industrial class, those engaged in agriculture. In 

 all the States and in all the communities where manufactures and ag- 

 riculture both thrive the two classes are intermixed and alike in race, 

 religion, language, social habits, and are entirely ignorant, the one that 

 it is robbed by the other, the one that it robs the other; ignorant of 

 that, as is asserted by political charlatans, a great system of spolia- 

 tion is now maintained of the one class for the benefit of the other; 

 and we find it, sir, the purpose of a great political party, that has failed 

 after an ineffectual struggle of twenty -three years to gain public con- 

 fidence and political power, now organizing upon this platform and mak- 

 ing the effort to antagonize these two great industrial classes and force 

 a division of parties upon a line between them, to arouse political strife 

 where none now exists; for I am not aware they so far have divided 

 against each other upon a political line, and whenever they shall, evil 

 consequences only can result. 



I shall not devote any portion of my time to demonstrating that the 

 protective system of the last twenty-two years has been of great benefit 

 to the capital invested in manufacture, and of great benefit to the labor 

 engaged in the industries ; that it has given a remunerative profit upon 

 the capital, and more constant and remunerative employment to the 

 workers, has not been disputed. I am aware instances have been cited 

 where some new industries have yielded capital an excessive profit, but 

 it has now become a recognized fact that through the labor organizations 

 the wages of the operatives are so adjusted to the profits of the business 

 that labor and capital each receive their equitable proportion, and no 

 longer can the capitalist be charged with robbing the consumer; if there 



