The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-03-22
Tho Old Tatums Of the Senate.

Tho Old Tatums Of the Senate.
Col. Forsyth of the Mobile Register, who
has been on brief visit North, introduces
in one of his letters the following humorous
illustration, from Mr.. Carl Schurz's recent
great speech in the Senate:
Mr.. Scburz has made mastery defence of
sound principles on this subject (Finances.)
His speech was 30 learned and exhaustive
that Morton was driven to sheer at bis book
knowledge, and to attempt to ridicule the
written wisdom of mankind, when it is
quoted by German Liberal. Mr.. SchurZ
could not reply to such conceit with Sena-
torial argument. He did do it, however, in
homely style of illustration that set the
Senate to laughing at the Indiana dema
gogue. 1 do not think 1 can close this letter
more profitably than with an extract from
to new class of statesmen who will here
after be known as " The old Tatums of the
Senate >,
We have now among US a new school
of political economists who know better.
With the Senator from Indiana, they ex-
said the other day and it must be admitted
they have thrown theory to the dogs most
effectually. They rely upon nothing but
the evidences of their senses, and how can
that lead them astray Well, sir, in this
respect they are, however, not quite origi-
nal. Some ten or eleven years ago, during
the war, / met in the South an old farmer
who was called by his neighbors " Old
Tatum." He was practical philosopher
of the same kind, who relied upon nothing
but the evidences of his senses and mas
much as he could but with difficulty spell
out q word or two in large print, he had q
lofty contempt for book-learning.
1rol Ill AL Il ~
| once in conversation l happened to cay
| something about the earth moving around
the sun. "Hold on" said old Tatum +;
"what did you say there9 The earth
moving around the sun ! Where did you
get that 2" "Well," said, &" / got it from
the books" "There again." cried old
Tatum, and he would fairly roll over with
The earth moving around the sun And
don't see every day with these, my own
eyes, the sun moving around the earth Z"
Laughter.l "Don't see it rise there in
the morning, and don't I see it 60 down
yonder every EVENING"" "Ah," said he,
you book-men can't fool old Tatum.''
Tatum would have been among the new
Laughter. Would he not have thrown
theory to the dogs like the very best of
them 7 "Here 1 see a difficulty" old
Tatum would say; "there are many per-
sons in the United States who want money;
the difficulty is, of course, there is not
money enough to go round. What is to
lie done Inasmuch as VIC make money by
printing it, let US print more until it will
go around" But, you may say, Mr.. Tatum
-n
Mr.. Cameron-Was not Tatum hard
money man
Mr.. Schurz-No; unfortunately he was
not. will show the Senator what he was;
and. in fact, the Senator himself has heard
of him quite frequently. You might say
Mr.. Tatum, these bits of money are not
proper money at all they are promises to
pay money and the more you will print
| of them the less they will be worth, and
the less they are worth the less you can do
with them in business; you cannot make
| the country rich in that way" Such talk
| would not trouble old Tatum at all. He
would laugh right in your face. Do we
not call these paper notes dollars 7" old
Iatum would say " are they not dollars
print upon them, one dollar ten dollars,
one hundred dollars 2 and is not the
country better off when it has fifteen hun
dred millions of these dollars than when
it has only seven hundred and fifty mil
lions of them Alb, you can't fool old
| Tatum, 1 tell you 7" (Laughter.)
Neither would the question of interest
give old Tatum the least trouble in the
world. He would settle it with the same
ease with which the Senator from Indiana
settled it the other day. He would say
Money is capital; do you not call it so 7
And these paper dollars are money! do
we not call them SOL therefore these paper
dollars are capital. Must not every body
see that" You see old Tatum is logician
| Now, old Tatum would continue, when
these paper dollars are plenty, then capital
ls cheap, and you can hire it at a low rate
of interest; wien these paper dollars are
scarce, then of course he would say capital
lie dear and you would have to pay much
more for it. So you cannot fool old Tatum.
Do l not know that when you put more
hogs and horses in the market horses and
hogs get cheaper 7" [Laughter.] Thus you
see old Tatum would be as good at the
horse and hog argument as anybody.
Laughter. Old Tatum is eminently q
practical statesman.
The Liberal Christian, speaking of La