The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1866-03-31
Fort Wayne fTnd.) Democrat. !
WHO GOVERNS


MEssRs. EDiToRs:-We have seen that
Eastern capital has direct control Of eight
Senatorial Committees, and that the great
Northwest has the chairmanship Of but
nine Committees in the Senate; md
small as is the number compared with
Now England's control Of Senate Com
mittees, we find upon examination that
six Of the nine who pretend to represent
Northwestern interests, are actually rep
resentatiyes of Eastern capital, and that
in fact the Northwest, with its nine mill
ions Of population, has but three chair
manships in the Senate Committee; and
that the Middle States, with their popu-
lation of over seven millions, have but
two, while the six New England States,
with n population Of but three millions,
have directly and indirectly control Of
fourteen Senatorial Committees - that
number being two more than their whole
Senatorial delegation-while the four
Middle Stntes, with Maryland and eleven
of the Western States. which combined
have population nearly $4,000 900, and
n Senatorial delegation of thirty-two, have
the ,chairmanship OF FIVE Senatorial Com
mittees, three Of which are Patents. Pri-
yate Land Claims, and Pensions, being
one ehsifman OF Committee to every
Z, 600, 900 Of population. Again. we ask
q Who Governs 7" The answer il New
England capital, which controls fourteen
Senate Committees, being one for every
2l4,2 OF population. And the people
West talk Of pclf-government," talk Of
" republican institutions" Of equal and
exact Justice, Of extending our glorious
practice Of governmental equality to all
mankind which. in reality, means that
we would like to enlarge tho field Of the
Eastern capitalists expressions, TO extend
the area of unjust tariffs, shoddy manu-
tactures, non-specie paying bankers, and
pound -of flesh bondholders. Western
agricnlturists bowled against the aristoc-
racy Of shareholders, while they now
assist in creating a manufacturing aris-
tocracy, which places tariff Of twenty
per cent. specie and forty per cent. ad
yalorem upon all woollen goods lnaDufae-
tured in foreign countries, and at the
same time admit foreign wool TO be i'm
ported by paying duty of only four and
half cents. Hence, we see that that
which is necessary to the Western labor
er, as IN article of wearing apparel, and
which the New England manufacturer
has for sale, cannot be imported into this
country without paying an enormous
duty; while that which is produced by
Western labor (wooD, and which the
Eastern manufacturer is compelled to
purchase, is admitted almost duty free.
But We are told we must protect home
industry" Why not, then, protect the
agriculturist in the production of wool,
and more particularly so, as it is almost
the only article of home product which
the Government can give protection to
But that would not be giving the manu-
facturers fair show" according to the
capitalists idea Of fairness.
Can any just reason be given why
Government should load woollen goods
with tariffs and duties, and permit wool to
come in almost duty free
Why should railroad iron pay high
duty g-an article that oil Western labor
ers are interested in for if railroads cost
large sums per mile for construction, the
cost Of transportation must be CORES
pondingly high. Every dollar per ton
added to the cost of railroad iron by tar
ifs and duties increases necessarily the
cost of transportation. thereby increasing
the burthens of the Western farmers in
getting their produce to market But
the iron manufacturers ut the East de-
mand protection at the expense Of the
farmers, mechanics, and railroad compa-
nies; and Of course the Government that
legislates for the few at the expense Of
the many, and that protects Eastern cap
ital at the expense Of Western labor and
Western capital, yields the point.
Respectfully, S. ?. RouRKE.