1894. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 1009 Mr. BURROWS. Mr. Chairman, I yield iive minutes to the I can not permit th11t statement, which seemed to be received, gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. WALKER] . _:..;...,... I regret to say, with some favor on the floor, tO pass unchallenged. Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, I ask that the indorsement It affects the credit of this country. I taffects the honor and good on a letter written to me and the letter be read, and that the let­ faith of the Government, and I wish to declare here, what is well ter then and put into the petition box in the form of a petition; known to most of the members of this House, that this subject the time occupied in reading to be taken out of my time. has received careful consideration by the mosteminent lawyers, The Clerk read as follows: and that it is the consensus of the best opinion that the Secre­ Letter or Alfred N. Whiting, Oakdale, Mass., asking !or free coal, free iron, tary of the Treasury has full authority to issue the bonds which free wool, and the passage of a tariff as soon as possible. he is about to offer to the public. It is no doubt to be regretted The accompanying letter is as follows: that Congress is not in a position to legislate upon a subject of this character, but it is most fortunate that in view of that state OAKDALE, MASS., January 16, 1894. DEAR Sm: I trust. and hope to see every member of Congress !rom this of things we find upon the statute book a law which enables the State working !or the interest of Massachusetts by trying to secure fr ee Government to protect the public credit. wool, free coal, and free iron and the passage of a tariff bill as soon as possi­ Sir, this matter of the credit of the United States, and of a ble. Our people are suffering from the delay much more than they would from the pas::.age of the Wilson bill. There are no doubt some things in this solid foundation for our currency, lies at the very root of the bill which could be improved, as, for instance. 35 per cent on cotton machin­ distress and the calamities which hang over this country to-day. ery is too much. I1 agricultural machinery can be made 1ree, then cert(j.inl} A million of workingmen are asking Congress to give them the other would not suffer with a duty of 20 per cent. There are also several other items on which the duty looks to be too high, but it we can get prompt work and bread. That can not be done unless confidence is re­ action on the bill even in 1ts present form it will be a good thin~ for the peo­ storad in the public finances. We are placed in this condition, ple of this State as a whole. sir, because of the hesitation and doubt in regard to the silver Truly, ALFRED N. WfiTTING. and paper currency of the country, the result of anterior unfor­ Hon. J. H. WALKER. M. C., tunate legislation. Let this Congress do what it can to heed the Washington, JJ. C. cry of the unemployed and destitute. Let the Democratic party Mr. WALKER. No man and no organization will ever send do what it can to heed this cry, if it would perpetuate its au­ a petition to me, not obtained by fraud, that will ever be with­ thority and power. held from the petition box of this House. Such never has been One word, sir, as to the sneers thrown out by the gentleman - the case. The gentleman from California [Mr. MAGUIRE] could from Illinois [Mr. FITHIAN] upon a portion of my constituents, not have done a nobler act than to do what he supposed he was whom he called ''Shylocks" and '' gold-bugs." He described doing when he offered this petition. But he has been abused thsm, sir, as if they were holding out their hands for .bonds of into perpetrating a fraud. I said in my letter: the Government to be given them gratuitously. Everybody who takes a bond of the Government to-day or to-morrow gives gold Allow me to say to you that I shall not present these petitions to Congress, because I do not believe that they expre.,;s the opinion of a majority Qf the for it in exchange, and that gold is needed by the Treasury to members or the Central Labor Union. If they did they would have been sustain the current value of our paper money. These" gold­ presented here promptly. bugs" and" Shylocks" always have open hands and open hearts No man in Massachusetts needs any instruction as to his duty for distre ~ s wherever it is found in our land. To-day they are as a member on this floor concerning the right of petition, a.s I assisting to feed fifty thousand unemployed workingmen in the have shown you in presenting a personal letter coming to me city of New York-men without work and without bread. asking for the action of Congress. But let me read to you in In the dark days of the Republic, when we were on the brink order that you may know who these people are. of downfall and ruin, these "Shylocks" and" gold-bugs" came The author of theseresolutions isThomas F. Kennedy,amem­ with t?-eir streams of wealth, lilre another Pactolus, and poured ber of the L3Sters' Union, and an urgent free trader. Mr. Ken­ them mto the 1'rea.sury of the United States, .to pay our troops, nedy says the resolutions were drawn up solely by him and sub­ to clothe the·m, and to furnish them with the munitions of war. mitted by him to Dr. B. F. Longstreet, a member of a queer These are the men whose charities and patriotism are never little organization known as the ''Single Tax-Club." My friend found wanting. I can not hear them slandered and insulted on from Ohio [Mr. JOHNSON] will appreciate that. this floor without raising my voice in grateful recognition of · He [Longstreet) is a member of a single-tax club, a free trader, their noble qualities. [Applause.] and a "philosophical anarchist," as he calls himself. [Laugh­ [Here the hammer fell.) ter.] Mr. WILSON of West Virginia. I yield ten minutes to the Socialists, single taxers, "philosophical anarchists" and men who know gentleman from Illinois [Mr. SPRINGER]. as much about the Wilson bill as they do about the man in the moon, all had Mr. SPRINGER. .Mr. Chairman, before proceeding to dis­ a whack at it, and Dr. B. F. Longstreet, the oracle of the club, in a memora­ ble and remarkable peroration, capped the climax by fervently declaring cuss t-qe pending amendment, which provides for restoring the that all work is a curse. tariff on wool provided in existing law, I desire to call attention [Laughter on the Republican side.] to the remarks of my coll~agues on the other side who have re-· .Now, let me read to you a resolution adopted unanimously by ferred to the fact that by the pending bill the products of the one of the twenty-four organizations the action of whose execu­ farmers of the country were placed upon the free list, and that tive committee was secured by fraud. Vvhy, when my friend the farmers were required to pay a large tariff upon the manu­ from the Sixth district [Mr. COGSWELL] was opposing the Bay­ factured articles they desire to consume. ard-Cleveland treaty, he received resolutions purporting to have I ask pardon for referring to those farm products that are been adopted py an organization in his city of Gloucester in­ placed upon the free list in this bill. I bslieve that part of the dorsing that treaty, and on coming to ferret it out he found the bill has not yet been read to the Committee of the Whole House, resolutions were passed by two men paid to do it. I will read and, therefore, I may mention them briefly. Fresh milk, broom the resolutions adopted by Iron-Molders' Union, No. 5, repudi­ corn, c:1bbn.ges, cider, yolks of eggs, pease, plants, garden seeds, ating- the action of the Central Labor Union: straw, teazles, apples~ bacons and hams, beef, mutton, pork, and meats of all kinds, meats dressed and undressed, lard, tallow, WORCESTER, MASS., Janucwy 15,1894. grease, wool, and salt, if that be an agricultural product. These At regular _meeting of Iron Molders' Union, No. 5, it is hereby resolved that this union, being one or the twenty-four unions affiliated with the Cen­ are the articles that ure raised on the farm that have been put tral Labor Union, repudiates the action of the Central Labor Union in in· on the free list. dorsing the Wilson tariff bill, January 3: Therefore The amount of these articles coming in last year was valued B e it resolvea, That a copy or these resolutions be presented to the press and also to the Central Labor Union; be it further at $3,00Q,OOO and the duties paid on them were $989,000, so Resolved, We extend our thanks to our Representative in CongTess for his that all the protection that the farmer got on these articles put a.ct.ion in withholding the said resolution from Congress for further verifi­ upon the free list amounted to less than $1,000,000.