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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3
V-;r"'',W)l''
I
Governor Haskell's Speech at the Nebraska Democratic Dinner
A I, tho dlnnor given January 15 at, Lincoln
by LI10 Nebrnuka democracy, Governor Haskell
or Okluhonui )oko on "Tho Ueapoiisibillllea of
Government." Governor HaukoH'ii speech was
an follows:
It Ih an old Haying Mint, II- takes all kinds of
pcoplo io niako a world and in ialklng to our
subject, we shall construe this ancient oxpres
Hlon, and (ihncm'L Hint liuinaii comfort Is promoted
host when we have the opportunity to enjoy
tho produclM of all our various industries.
Created things are tho root; transporta
tion, llnnnceK and commerce the branches, and
combined in one harmonious aggregate the tree
of comfortable life nourishes.
(lovernmenl. Is at its lust when it effectual
ly protects the rights of each class, insures mu
tual fairness, and protects the weak against the
strong; and the least amount of law necessary
to accomplish ihis purpose is the best form of
government. I sometimes think we have an un
necessary amount of detail legislation, and not
enough of basic principle.
GOVHIINMKNT IS A Itt'KIXKKH PROPOSITION
JOverylhing pertaining to the supplying of
tho necessaries as well as tho luxuries of life,
Is derived by the application of business methods,
therefore, government itself must be considered
as a business proposition, and in a country like
ours, it is indeed a business proposition of vast
magnitude.
The producer must receive the first con
sideration; for without products no business ele
ment would over havo occasion to exist.
Transportation, finances, and commerce fol
low in tho wako of tho producer, and traffic in
tho fruits of his labor; and when productions
are bountiful, all these- other oloments of busi
ness find their activity and profit. Then in
ovory lino of business, lot tho laborer bo worthy
of bis biro, and let government havo for its chief
aim such regulations as will render unto eacb
man .lust remuneration for the part bo performs
in tbe great scbemo of llfo.
PO I;i..CS
It is but natural that honest men sbould
diffor in tho sclenco of government tending to
accomplish this purpose, and it is those differ
ences which give riso to so-called political opin
ion, and from differing opinions to politics, or
political parties; all through the history of our
glorious country we have to a greater or less
degreo of intensity been fighting out tbese dif
ferent opinions.
We of tbe democratic faitb have followed
in general tho teachings of tho groat Jefferson,
wIiobo foundation stono was laid in the true
comont of a people's government, and upon the
declaration "Lot government be by tho people
and for tho pcoplo." In this declaration he did
not moan that tho fanner should oppress tho
banker, nor the great corporate manufacturing
agones os; nor on tho other hand did ho mean
that the farmer and tho laboror should be sorfs,
and subject to tho oppression which it is possi
ble for powerful capitalists to wield.
And we are Jofforsonlans. Tho producing
class asks nothing today but a fair share of the
fruits 01 their own industry, and the govern
ment that guards that equitable demand may do
so without injustlco to the other elements of
business groat or small.
Thero bo, however, at times in political par
ties influences and Individuals who have no siii-
mlS01 "i?11 l,Cl!f; nion wh0 PlSi thS Al
mighty dollar on top of the pedestal, and expect
humanity to kneel supplicating at its feet ni
such individuals invar ably cha go shift n
adjust their so-called politics to suit Ui0 , 'mo
a to emergency; provided that that emergency is
always with them the selfish consideration of
their own avaricious desires. "'ion or
Democracy was never nearer Jefferson i
ism in the last century than it Is today?
Kopublicanlsm was nover further from T in
colnism than It is todav. m Un"
It is a glorious 'privilege that evorv tnio
American, regardless of his politics mirU
less of whether bo was fully ncc'onl Vffh ti?"
patriotic Ideas of Abraham Llncnh, L th,
"Pon that patriot as , oof t enobleSt A mo?
ira
Amn..i,.n i,i ' ,"". S?..1 lt" uiat as an
ftft.AIl.lll Illicit!! I ail J- 1.11 a.
proud oc , .rtci ho" use u TJ?1S,r0m,u1' """
Jho .lays of Lincoln w ( ' sl f h"
tr.ublo.mo time, of hi. day, u u ta'blS
him, offered an opportunity for greed and in
justice that selfishness was quick to grasp.
Patriotism, inspired by war, was made a
cloak for human greed,
Proud ambition for a glorious America was
made an excuse for unjust taxation,
Tariff tax, which was first excused as a
war necessity was continued for private gain.
The honest yeomanry of our land, always
unselfish, always generous, always ready to shed
their blood on the field of battle in the defense
of their country or to suffer the oppression of
taxation for the public good, were deceived by
the genius of those who were able to coin beau
tiful sounding phrases "protection to Ameri
can industry," "protection to American labor,"
bad charms to the ear, and were worked to the
limit of deception until today there stands not
a man, conceded to be above selfishness and a
patriot for the sake of patriotism, who dares to
deny that tariff is a tax upon the consumer for
the benefit of tho favored few, and without yield
ing any measure of benefit to the deserving
classes.
I look back on my own life's experience as
a farm hand until twenty-one years of age; I
observe those who are today engaged in that
lino of Industry, I see that every nail, every
pound of wire, every manufactured implement,
in fact practically all of their purchases, have
attained all the price additions made possible
by our protective tariff, and I ask myself, why
is it that the quantity of material manufactured
in Illinois, for example, and shipped great dis-.
tances to foreign ports, where in competition
with foreign mills, it sells for six dollars and
fifty cents; why is it we here at home, under
the very eaves of this same mill pay ten dollars
for the same quantity of material? There is no
reason for this injustice. It is a result only of
unjust opportunity given a favored few, and they
havo availed themselves full strong of the op
portunity. But government has not accomplished its
purpose when it permits things like these, and
as I have said before, every patriot concedes
this tariff is a robbery.
We only differ as to when the robbery
should cease.
Democracy says let it cease now.
Our opponents say, let it cease after the
next presidential election.
Does our memory serve us right, when we
say that four years ago today they said let it
cease after that presidential election?
I should feel more encouraged if I was sure
that the beneficiaries of this robber tariff were
not going to be permitted in the future, as they
have in tho past, by vast contributions to politi
cal campaign funds, to so endear themselves
to tho republican party that they just wouldn't
have the heart to make them quit robbing the
Nebraska farmer every time he buys a roll of
barbed wire or a keg of nails.
Has the protective tariff justified those
beautiful sounding phrases heretofore men
tioned? Let us see. I believe one example will be
enough to make a prima facia case of "no " em
phatically "no." ' m
A few years after the war, Andrew Car
negie, with a capital of ten thousand dollars
and associating five of his neighbors, entered
the field of iron and steel manufacturing in the
valley near the city of Pittsburg. He saw tho
opportunity afforded by a so-called protective
taiiff. He applied its privilege to his busi
ness. '
Year after year went by, he surrounrtofi
r xrx srr tVoLmeem:
ployes. " em
The fires burned; the smoke rolled toward
the heavens manufactured products nm.riS
forth and tho American consumer inTeivorl
shop an. on every farm paid tribute, the result
of protective tariff. esuic
Twenty-odd years came and went the dav
of settlement came when Mr Gamini y
such a vast army of men y ne of
sixth of all the circulating medium of tho Unit.-d
States.
With this fabulous sum he retired to 1, ,3
mansion, to the rest and luxury made poeM- ,e
by such a fortune.
Now, my friends, he had accumulated r ?
fortune through that beautifully sounding . ,.
pression "protection to American Labor."
But let us see where we find the laborer.
I traverse that same valley again. T',.e
fires are burning, the smoke is still ascending -wraps
the valley almost in darkness, but in 1; o
dim light beneath the smoke, the men are still
alive and able to work, are at the same old po ;
tion, performing the same duties as in days of
Carnegie we grope our way to the same caH-.
that Carnegie built.
Where is the evidence of the laborers' sharp
of that great fortune?
Is there any evidence that the thousands
of men who were supposed to have enjoyed "the
protection to American Labor" realized their
share?
Is there a piano in their parlor, or a carpet
upon the floor?
No, there is neither a piano nor a carpet
in the parlor, nor is there a parlor to contain
any of these things. It is the same old cabin,
where life is eked out in the same old wav.
The "Protective Tariff" was a boon to American
industries in so far only as the proprietor of the
mill wrfs concerned, but to none others.
My friends, the infant industries of this
country as shown by time not only have been
an infant, but to have been a glutton, and those
who nursed the infant, who rocked its cradle,
who paid for its soothing syrup, and who labored
for its welfare, can certainly realize that the
time has come when moral suasion will not re
form the infant, and corporal punishment must
be resorted to.
And he who concedes that it is proper to
stop this robbery (after the next presidential
election) should certainly be called upon to
explain why justice should be so long deferred,
and particularly when it is the third time that
they have made the same kind of a promise.
My friends, if I seem to differ in my views
from those who have been charged with the
duties of government for the last ten years,
please consider that I am simply expressing my
ideas of government, and I always defer criti
cism until I am prepared to suggest a remedy.
An omnibus criticism is easily made, but the
remedy requires careful thought.
If in steering the ship of state through the
shoals of bad crops, and calamities not caused
by man, disaster overtook our country, it would
be excusable, but in the midst of God's bounte
ous harvest, and every reason for peace and
plenty, the ship of state is strained, we naturally
look about in amazement and ask our pilot for
an explanation.
Listen to the explanation: Lawyers would
can it a plea of confession and avoidance."
They concede that conditions are bad tremen
dously bad; they promise to change them "after
the presidential election;" they offer no excuse
for the past seven years.
They say that the panic is due to too rapid
growth, extravagance and over capitalization.
They say the sudden halt precipitating business
calamity may have resulted by them simply turn
ing on the light.
Thus you have the confession which sim
plifies the argument. In detail it is admitted:
i 5 ,he SeiJate wil1 not respond to the
needs of tho people;
That our banking system is insecure;
That our curency is insufficient;
, uyr tauiff is a breeder of monopolies
and results in robbery;
an insUcgeVernment by lnjunction has become
r,,?!: trUSts.' ,moiloPly and inflation are
running rampant in our land;
pwJhSi as a result. of these thInss fu"y flIs"
Sr ? ri ? P S iona,5d disastr followed through
SS, nii 1 iP"0t' and in hIs own language,
?hn &f f aToi(lance says: "I dimply turned on
iie if ii' aind am, not resPonsible for the rotten-
SXi thf 0Se;- Pis plea of avoidance comes
under the head: "Important if True."
ELECT SENATORS
wV tJie.United States Senate, the pilot
5, p?of medy BUgsest but we have, and that
v JwJ Tmh f the United States Senate
oirS?hLVOto f the pePle uPn your state
Btate nfflnf?m0 V?U d0 your governor or other
state officers, and to secure this result do not
4 . 1 J, ?&tW&X -. '