Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-06
A NInnnnnIist Pnw.Wory.


The New York monOpolists held grand
pow-wow few nights ago at Cooper In
stitute. The aged founder of the same
public charity championed the cause oil
monopoly. but as the venerable phllan-
thrOpist is tOttering on the verge OF the
| grave. n is natural that he should hug a
| delusion of his youth. And why should
| Mr.. Cooper really find fault with pro-
| tections He has thriven by its aid, but
| il is lust a little singular that his sOn-in-
/ law. the Hon. Abram :. Hewitt, does not
| indorse the views Ofthe venerable sage and
/ is by no means convinced of the inherent
beauties Of the protective system. Where
| father-in-laW and son-in-law differ so
radically, surely strangers to the former
may differ as widely from him.
Another eminent philanthrOpist, Will
liam F. Dodge, descanted at length on the
necessity of protecting American labor.
/ It may be assumed. though, that practi-
/ cally Mr.. DOdge's charity would begin at
/ home under given conditions. For in
/ stance, were Mr.. Dodge in a position, and
/ should the necessity arise to do so, there
/ can be no doubt that, as against
striking American labOrers, he
/ would not be slow to employ
/ foreigners. fresh from the ''pauper'' cOntin-
/ gents of Europe, who would accept his
/ terms. Mr.. Dodge is a philanthropist as
philanthropists 90, but in the matter of
/ dollars and cents he is ''strictly business"
/ Just so with the rest Of the prOfessed
| champions Of the rights of labor.
/ horraVnfs
/ was made by the Hon. William Maxwell
Eyarts, a gentleman of wide reputation
/ as a lawyer, notorious for the length
/ and intricacy of his periods,
and remembered in some quarters
as the head Of the State Department under
one r. b. Hayes. Judging from the re-
marks of Mr.. Evarts he appears to be to-
tally Oblivious of the fact that there was
an election last November. Whether il
be that he has been wrapped in the sOli-
tude Of his inner self these many months,
or has made up his mind that the hold OF
! monopoly is too strong to be relaxed, he
shares not the fears and anXieties that he
set the once trumpet tongued advocates
of protection, who are now seeking
to. preserve remnant of the
power so long held by the ''barons' by
surrendering much of it tOplaeate aroused
public opinion.
He is not aware that there has been any
great demand for free trade. In this re-
spect he shares the suspicious of most
people. Custom houses have not vet eX-
hausted their usefulness, and the beauties
Of direct taxation are not so enhancing
as vet as to warrant its adoption as a
means of raising the Federal revenues
No, Mr.. Evarts, there has been no con.
Stunning demand for free trade, but the de-
mand for lower duties and relief to tax
PAYERS is so marked that it puzzles the
strategy and ingenuity of Pig iron Kelley
and his cO-attOrneys of the ''barOns' tC
avoid complying with that demand while
seeming to do so. Noting Mr.. Evarts
ObliyiOusness of the modification Of pub
lie opinion, the New York Commercial
Bulletin invites his attention to the pro
ceedings of the convention of Trades and
Labor Unions held at Cleveland toward
the close of November. Says the Bulletin
THAT convention was no mere chance
gathering. but body claiming to speak
{ lOI lllt luuucAtldl CldooCo III INC -nAAuAN
and Northwestern States, and the great
majority of the men composing it were
distinguished not less for their cOnserVa
tism than for their culture and intelli
gence. The antecedents of the Organiza
tiOns composing that National COnven
tiOn ran all in the prOtectiOnist groove
but the predOminating sentiment on the
occasion was that, after tull and IAN
trial, il had been discovered thai
protection does not protect. Hence
after a very earnest discussion OF
the whole question and an exhaustive
analysis of the adverse influences Of the
existing tariff on trade and industry, the
protection plank was almost unanimously
stricken OUTPUT one vote being cast in
the negative. In order to appreciate the
full significance Of the proceedings, il
should be borne in mind that this action
was not only an expression of current
conviction. but the substantial repudia.
ton of previous formal Endorsements by
the National Federation of Trades Unions
Of the Protective Theory as a means Of
sustaining wOrkingmen's wages"
Mr.. Evarts is an admirable type of the
sOphist. If any man could prove that
black was white. 'twOuld be he. In fact
his whole speech was nothing more MOI
less than a threshing of old straw, a clever
restatement Of the fallacies of protection,
by which it is supported as an economic
theory. The popular term for such argu.
ments is the comprehensive word rot. -
The world moves, and the public thought
Of America is undergoing wOndrOus
change on this subject of taxation. Mr..
Evarts appears to be ObliviOus of this
fact, but the "barOns' are painfully con-
sciOus off