The Commoner.
7
APRIL 7, iiii
I
Practical Tariff Talks
Tho woolen, schedule in the Payne-Aldrlch
tariff bill "was apparently based upon the old
theory that what one doesn't know will never
hurt him. When a witness was before the
ways and means committee of tho house testify
ing that many a man was wearing a cotton
shirt under the impression that he had on a
woolen one, Congressman Crumpacker, of In
diana, one of the right-handy men of the Can
non organization, sneeringly asked:
"What's the difference if they don't "know it?"
The ultimate consumer, however, will have
some difficulty in reconciling himself to the doc
trine that there is nothing immoral or wrong
about cheating a man if he never discovers that
ho has been defrauded. Yet the ultimate con
sumer is due to encounter a number of experi
ences ho may never know about fully while liv
ing under the new tariff law.
For instance: Most men who purchase
ready-made clothing have a price limit beyond
which they rarely go. Thus, a man who has been
paying fifteen dollars for a suit or clothes will
be puzzled by the fact, after reading about the
advances of wool cloth, to discover that his
clothier is still selling apparently as nice-looking
and serviceable suits for the same old price.
Very few men are judges of the quality of cloth
or even of the worth of the workmanship. Yet
this is what happens this spring when the re
tailer goes to the manufacturer to place his fall
orders: He will tell his suit-maker that he
desires so many suits made that he can sell for
standard prices, $12, $15, $18 or $20, and still
retain his usual measure of profit. The manu
facturer will pass the word on to the man who
makes the cloth from which he moulds his suits
that he must have cloth at a price that will
enable him to make his customary profit. Thus
each person in the transaction suffers no loss
of profit on the fifteen dollar suit of clothes
until it reaches the purchaser, who receives for
that sum what twelve or thirteen dollars would
haye purchased a year ago.
The same thing is true of the underwear,
hosiery and other textile goods in which wool
has heretofore been used. The truth is that
the sheep-raising business in this country has
not kept pace with demand for wool in the in
dustries, notwithstanding the enormous protec
tion, for a number of reasons not specially ger
mane to this story. The neavy tariff compels
the Australian wool-grower to seek more favor
able markets, and the American manufacturer,
finding wool scarce and the price advancing, has
had recourse to several expedients. One of
these expedients has been to reduce the amount
of wool in his cloth. Nowadays it is not in
frequent to find nine-ounce cloth made up into
light-weight suits. For many years In the cloth
making business the light weight standard was
sixteen ounce cloth and the heavy weight stand
ard was twenty ounce cloth. At present sixteen
ounces is regarded as the standard weight for
heavy cloths and from nine to twelve ounces for
the light weight. In order to make up the lost
weight heavier lining, cotton wadding or some
such substitute is used.
Another expedient is to make what Is known
in the trade as cotton worsted, which masquer
ades to the retailer as almost all wool. In
truth it is 50 per cent wool and 50 per cent
cotton, alternate threads of each. The hosiery
manufacturer has clipped off some from the
length of the stocking and substituted cotton
for half the wool threads. Much underwear that
passes as wool is made almost wholly from Peru
vian cotton, which cannot be told from wool
by the average person. C. Q. D.
AT THE AliAMO
The 20,000 troops ordered to Fort Sam
Houston in San Antonio, Tex., are on the his
toric spot where the battle of the Alamo wag
fought. There a small force of American
pioneers of the southwest fought against over
whelming odds until death gave the Mexican
fcrmy a temporary victory. The stronghold
whither they are bound bears the name of tho
general who brought independence to the Lone
Star state.
Thermopylae had its message
of defeat. Alamo had none.
This inscription ascribed to Lord Macaulay
la engraved on a monument in the grounds of
tho Texas capital at Austin in commemoration
of the garrison, all of which died fighting against
overwhelming odds in the battle of the Alamo,
which ended March 6, 183 G.
Americans in Texas rose. in rebellion against
tho government of Mexico in 1835. Early in
1836 the rebellion grow Into warfare. Tho
Texans were under the leadership of tho bluff
General Sam Houston as president of the now
republic of Texas and as commander-in-chief of
their little army of volunteers.
It was a daring undertaking for a scant 2,000
men to attempt to wrest tho Btate from Mexico
with its 15,000 drilled troops. But the Toxans,
headed by Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Wil
liam Travis and John Haydon, feared no failure.
The Mexican General Santa Anna sot out
from the Itio Grande northward to quickly con
quer and punish rebellious Texans. His army
of 6,000 men, after a march of nearly 600 miles
across a desolate country, reached San Antonio,
confident of capturing that town and moving
on to the new capitol at Washington, Tex.
The garrison at San Antonio was unprepared
for Santa Anna's coming. The first tidings of
his approach was given by the sentinels posted
on the roof of the Alamo, which was an aban
doned Franciscan mission, built in 1723. It
numbered about 185 men, under command of
Colonel William Travis. When the news of
Santa Anna's approach reached Travis he de
termined to make good Its defense until re
inforcements could arrive. With him waB
Colonel James Bowie, whose name was always
associated with his famous knife, and Davy
Crockett, the frontiersman and hunter of his
tory and romance. They had a few pieces of
artillery, little ammunition, ninety bUBhels of
corn and thirty beef cattle, which were hurried
within the inclosure.
Santa' Anna demanding immediate surrender.
Travis returned a defiant refusal, emphasizod by
a cannon shot. A blood red flag, signifying no '
quarter, immediately was raised above the
Mexican camp, and their batteries opened upon
tho garrison.
Meanwhile, Travis had dispabched messen
gers to Houston and Washington, Tex., ninety
five miles away, appealing fr assistance.
The Mexican batteries attempted a breach
in the stone walls of the mission at dawn,
February 26. For hours every day tho Mexi
cans continued tho siege.
In a1 hot fire which was opened upon tho gar
rison on the last morning in February, some of
the bombs fell close to tho spot whore Davy
Crockett lay. He sprang up and made his way
to the ramparts just as the Mexican gunner was
reloading and before ho could fire again shot
him. A comrade caught up the match and ran
to the touchhole.
But already a fresh rifle had been handed the
Tennesseean and he picked out the Beoond gun
ner as he had the first. Three more Mexicans
made the attempt and met a like fate and for
a time the gun was silenced.
Colonel Travis called the garrison about him
on March 3. He made a brief talk tolling his
comrades that longer hope for assistanct was
useless. He said that the Alamo should bo
surrendered or it should be defended until the
last man was dead. Ho drew a line with his
sword on the adobe floor and said:
"I propose to stay here until I am killed. All
who will be with me will come to this side of
the line; all who wish to surrender remain on
that side."
Davy Crockett leaped across with a trium
phant wave of his cap. Every man in tho file
joined him. It was a grim decision; the garri
son lessening in number every day, the food
supply was almost exhausted and only a few
rounds of ammunition were left for the sur
vivors. Bowie, almost from the beginning of the
siege, was ill with typhoid. In a little adjoin
ing room he lay on a rude bed attended by a
Mexican woman.
Hearing the speech of Colonel Travis he
feebly called to his companions and bpgged
them to pick up his cot and carry it over the
line. A few hours later he became delirious
and never recovered consciousness.
The morning of tho final attack was a warm,
bright Sunday. Colonel Bowie died about 3
o'clock. Death had become so common that
no one paid any attention to the dying pioneer.
They were blackened with gunpowder; they
looked wild from lack of sleep and food; they
seldom spoke and all their words and acts were
those of men most torribly In earnest. The sole
idea of each was to soil his llfo as dearly as
possiblo.
Santa Anna' determined to tako tho Alamo
by assault. Tho band struck up "Duguelo"
(assassin), and amid a boom of cannon ladders
woro brought, tho walla of tho building woro
scaled by 2,000 cavalrymen, whllo battering
rams beat in tho doors.
Tho Toxans ran to tho roof, whero several
cannons had been statlonod. As fast as the
Mexicans mounted they woro stabbed and the
ladders overturned.
Meanwhile, tho Moxican riflemen on the
ground shot down tho Toxans on the roof, and
tho battle raged with tho few Texans who
stayed on guard behind tho barricade
After an hour tho Mexicans had overpowered
tho Texans and woro swarming to tho roof. The
defenders retreated down the stairs, fighting
every Inch of tho way. Then the doors below
were beaten down with huge timbers, and with
a yoll tho frenzied soldlors poured in tho
opening.
Tho little band of Texans was pitifully insig
nificant against tho horde of Mexicans. Thoro
woro yells, and gunshots and groans, in one
long hideous chorus. Not one of tho Texans
sank to death till ho had exhausted all his
strength.
Colonel Crockett stood In tho corner of tho
main room, and with a cutlass slashed all who
attacked him. His shirt was soaked with blood
and a bullet had piercod his cheok. Shot by
a man in front of him, ho lunged forward, sell
ing his life as dearly as possible.
Colonel Travis was shot through tho head
while defending tho stairs.
No ono was spared, and every ono of tho
Texans sank to tho floor fighting. So ended
the Alamo.
Nearly all the information that historians
have concerning the events inside tho Alamo
during the siege has come from Senora Dona
Andrea Castarlon do Dlllanouda, tho nurse of
Colonel Bowie and tho solo survivor.
The state of Texas pensioned her for forty
yeaTS. t
From that day the words, "Itemombor the
Alamo!" were tho slogan of tho campaign
throughout Texas.
In less than two weeks moro than 600 fron
tiersmen, maddened by the massacre, joined
Sam Houston's army.
A month later Houston, with a forco of 700
Texans, facod Santa Anna, with 2,000 soldiers,
on tho banks of tho San Jacinto. Tho battlo
was only an hour long.
The Texas force, with a mighty and exultant
yell, "Remember tho Alamo!" routed tho enemy
and captured Santa Anna, who barely escaped
death.
Texan Independence was then established.
Omaha Daily News.
THE FOE WITHIN
Solomon enriched ethical literature with a
multitude of wise sayings, but it is doubtful
whether he ever expressed a great truth more
strongly than he did in tho thirty-second verso
of tho sixteenth chapter of Proverbs: "He that
is slow to anger is better than tho mighty, and
ho that ruleth his spirit than he that taken a
city." Self control is tho most important ele
ment in strength without it strength Is impos
sible. He has little prospect of commanding
others who can not control himself. The proverb
says that "the man who is slow to anger is
better than the mighty;" he is not only better
measured by a moral standard, but he is greater
in any conflict between the two. When a man
lose his temper he gives his adversary a great
advantage.
Thero is a very comforting thought embodied
in the assurance that it is better to rule one's
spirit than to take a city. With the coming of
that universal peace which all "must desire the
opportunity for taking a city or for winning
distinction by arms will disappear, but there is
an unending conflict in which every human
being must engage from the timo he reaches
the years of accountability until he dies, that
conflict between man's better impulses and his
lower nature. Here victory is all-important,
and it is encouraging to know that a triumph In
this arena is not lees glorious than a triumph
characterized by slaughter and bloodshed. Few
tc rapidly diminishing few can hope to lay
siege to a city, but everyone can declare war
against the foes within and battle with the.
enemies that are to be found in his own flesh.
JMiiMto&W'iAMMkLu io
