Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1883 — Fishback's Seyenth Epistie to Peelle. [ARTICLE]

Fishback's Seyenth Epistie to Peelle.

[The News.] Hon. Stanton J. Peelle: I was too far away last week to react! you by letter in time for Friday’s issue of The News. The time which should have been given to you was occupied in a journey across the Allegheny Mountains. Next to the celebrated Horseshoe Curve, the chief object of interest on the Penn sylvania Railroad is the Bessemer Steel Works at Johnstown, 'ibis establishment is probably the most healthy and vigorous brat of all the infant industries in our national foundling asylum, and yet it whimpers like a starveling in charge of a baby-tarmcr, when it is suggested that other infant! in the nursery should have some of the pap of which it gets more than its share. In February, 1838, in a tariff rpeech in the United States Senate, Mr. Clay, “the father of the American system,” said : “The theory of protection supposes, too, that after a certain time the prelected arts will have acquired such strength and perfection as will enable them subsequently, unaided, to stand up against foreign competition.” A hundred years before that one Dobbs, who might be called the “grandfather of the system,” said in his Essay on Trade that:

“Premiums are only to be given to encourage manufactures or other improvements in their infancy to usher them into the world, and to give an encouragement to begin a commerce abroad, and if, after their improvement, they can not push their own way by being wrought so cheap as to sell at par with others of the same kind, it is vain to force it.” Assuming it to be correct that a struggling industry should be helped until it can stand alone, don’t you think the Steel CompanX has attained stature and stlength enoug h to dispense with the milk bottle? It is matter of record in the Courts of Pennsylvania that this Company in the years 1880 and 188) realized a net profit ot more than $3,000,000 on a capital oi $2,000,000. When Congress came to deal with this industry a strong effort was made in the Senate to increase the rate of duty, but it was defeated. The monopolists went before the Conference Committee and increased the rate from 30 to 45 per cent, ad valorem, and the report of the Committee became the law. One would suppose that this chubby child might have survived without such coddling, but you voted to continue and in crease its supply of pap at the public expense, and by so doing have almost starved other interesting babes of the nursery. Our friend, Mr. DePauw is in tribulation. He is the father of two brats which has di posited m a handbasket on the doorsteps of the National nursery, < His plate-glass baby has fared sumptuously on its 120 per cent, bounty, but his steel rail infant is like to perish Having no appurtenances for convtrting pig iron into steel blooms, his steel rail mill must buy them from other manufacturers By your high tariff you compel Mr DePauw to buy these blooms from the much protected steel industry of Pennsylvania, and they come so high that it is almost impossible to run a steel rail mill at a profit At least that is the story of steel rail manufacturers who do not make their own blooms It is edifying to see Mr DePauw pleading for more protection for his plate-glass baby, and clamoring for free trade in behalf of his rail mill. Your own constituents, theowners of the newly-built steel rail mill here in Indianapolis, are considering whether they ean afford to buy such high-priced blooms and run their mill. Congress performs its functions of wet nurse to these babies in a perfunctory way, and with small, if any show of maternal care The good mother of twins bestows her tenderest offices upon the weaker child, but Congress encourages the pampered and overfed young one to im pose upon its starveling brother. It really seems, my frjcnd, t hat in fixing the metal schedules of the tariff law, the steel and iron monopolists had their own way, and that I did not overstate it,when I said, In my first letter, that your honorable body was a mere puppet in their hands. Brother Peelle, your professed friends make a mistake in assuming that criticism of your official action implies recreancy to our party. I was present on one occasion when a majority of the Indiana delegation in Congress were insisting upon declaring open war against the policy of resumption. Governor Porter, then a private citizen, had the “sand” and sense to tell those gentlemen that they were wrong and would very soon retrace tneir steps. He birched them as a lot of wayward boys and they lived to thank him for the chastisement. Afterward General Harrison, then in private life, denounced the extreme Green backers as a lot of idiots, in the presence of a State Convention, and our Congressmen and bosses turned pale and said he had ruined the party. You know how it has turned out. But now, forsooth, Congressmen and Senators are infallible and a humble member of the party who doubts it, and expresses his doubts, is guilty of “flat burglary.” There is going to be a large liberty of discussion on this question in both parties, vou may depend upon it. In its beginnings and in the days of its great triumphs the Republican party had the sympathy and support of the men Who write and read good literature. — "Them dam literary fellers” sand their friends have votes, and our party can not afford to insult or ignore them. They wiite the text books used in schools ani Colleges, and make (impressions upon I

the minds of young men which are not effaced by the campaign documents of a heated political canvass. Hus it occurred to you that our party ia now pursuing a course calculated to alienate men of education and thought? Btcuuse large revenues were necessary iu past ycais, taxes direct and indirect were laid upon the people, who bore them patiently without jeing critical as to the manner In which they were apportioned. Every good citizen was willing to bear his share of th® burden. The revenue being necessary, the motives of legislators who enacted revenue laws were not scrcithiixed.— When our army was costing us a million dollars a day, tariff laws were needed that would put money iu the Treasury, and neop.e did not stop to consider whether the money was raised according*to the tenets of Horace Greeley. But things are changed now. Existing laws take too m”eh money from the people. We are engaged in the busiue-s of reducing 'axes.” Questions of dlscriminaHon con*

front us now and they must be met and answered in a way to command the approval of Intelligent men. The party that insults the intelligence of the country will be sat upon. Gieenbackery was a standing insult to the experience and intelligence of mankind, and when the Indiana Republican delegation in (Jongress were denouncing the policy of resumption, there were enough level-bead-ed men in the party so nu'llfy tbeir influence in the party councils. The defence of slavery bv the old parties was in the face of the protests of civilization. Is it not a matter worthy the thought of our party leaders, that they are adopting a theory and practice in tariff legislation which is at war with the daily teachings of nearly all our schixils of learning?—

The prize oration of Mr. Asher at our recent State oratorical contest is an illustration of the direction young American thought is taking. The denunciation of legislation in the interests of monopoly, which evoked such enthusiastic applause reminded me of the anti-slavery rhetoric of sophomores in ante-bellum days, when grave Whig and Democratic professors shook their heads and smiled at the philanthropic vagaries of the yourg men. — There is a pointer here worthy the tho’t ot grave Senators and Congressmen. W. P. Fishback. Note —Yesterday’s dispatches say tha* manufacturers have agreed to,sell quinine at $1 31 per ounce, and thereby hangs a tale. When they proposed to nut quinine on the free list Mr. Kelley’s constituent’s, Messrs Powers & Wightman, the Philadelphia druggists, demonstrated that it would raise the price of quinine from $4 per ounce to $5, and that the country would be drugged with adulteiated quid ie. But the •ongressmen from the “ague belt” had it put on the f/ee list, and the rat catchor of tne Kankakee now has all the quinine his family can use at

JI 50 per ounce.

W. P. F.

In the State Library at Jackson, Miss., is a crayon portrait of Jefferson Davis as he appeared when captured. “M. Quad,” oi the Detroit Free Press, in an interview with him a few days ago, asked if this portrait was histoV rically correct, which brought up Mr. Davis’ latest revised edition of the celebrated “petticoat” story: “I had laid down,” he said, “without moving a garment. I had high cavalry boots, pantaloons tucked into the tops, a gray blouse and as of that, Upon the alarm being given, I stepped out of the tent and saw a Federal cavalry' man thirty or forty feet away. He ordered me to halt. At the same moment Mrs. Davis threw over my suonlders a folded shawl. I saw that my only chance of egcape was to secure the horse of th» Federal. I advanced straight upon him, feeling that he would fire at me, but believ ing that he would miss his target. Had this occurred there would have been a struggle for the possession of the horse. As I approached the soldier eh lowered his carbine as if to shoot and at the same moment Mrs. Davis rushed up and threw her arms around me. The soldier hesitated a moment, turned his wepon aside and I walked back to the fire and stood there until made prisoner.”