Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-09-17
DEMOCRACY VERSUS DEMOCRACY.

AINAA0AR 80 NV
guished of the party in all New
England.
"ExGov. English, of Connect
cut. who is extensively engaged IN
manufacting industries of his State,
saws: The tariff is of no earthly
use to this State or to any one OF
the New England States. Our man
ufacturers would be no worse OIL
even if the policy of the country
should be one of free trade. When
even the manufacturers are turn
ing free traders, why should Viz
ginia farmers favor protection 7"
So writes and inquiries the Alex
andria gazette. There never was
an easier question propounded to
an A. b. c. class. Mr.. English
wants to get the mineral and other
products of Spain, and such other
countries as can supply him with
them at ne-fourth the cost of get
ting them from Virginia. He wants
all he uses taken from ship bottoms
free and cheap, and then he wants
to sell all he makes to Virginia and
other farmers. "Thats a keen
trick" and Mr.. Eaton is not the on
ly Democrat whose interest 1t is
to keep the people of Virginia poor,
and force them to exchange every
cent of money they can get for what
he wants to sell them. Once make
him take in exchange what we have
out of which he manufactures that
which he sells to Nirginians, and
there would soon be men employed
here to receive our money, who, in
turn, would eat the wheat and corn
and meat of Virginia farmers, and
thus keep the money going around
amongst us. Mr., English is not
the only Democrat who would get
all we produce on the free trade
principle. He sees that protection
may do for Virginia what it has
done for Connecticut.
bat here is the other side. Here
is a Democrat not quite so selfish
as Mr.. English. He is from the
same State. He was too much of a
Democrat to vote for the Electoral
Commission in 1876, and voted
alone against it, It's ex-Congress
man Eaton, who served that State
till old age required his withdraw
al from active life. In presenting
the farmers side of the tariff ques
ton he once illustrated it on the
floor of the House of Representa-
tives with the following anecdote
"There was a certain Professor
in my county, a theorlst Of the first
water, a man who does not know
arv more about the practical tariff
than | know about the Hebrew that
he is we'll acquainted with. This
Professor, came up into a large
manufacturing village in my county
to make a theoretical speech, such
a one as my friend from Ohio CMr
Hurd) delights in. There was a
farmer standing by post in the
lecture room, and tho Professor
thought he might be a good subject
to operate upon, so he said to him
"'My friend, you are a farmer :
eyes
"'YOu live here p
dyes
"'DO you know these manufact
urers in this village are robbing
your
"'Why, no, do not know it
How can they rob me? | came
here ten years ego with $500
bought a farm, running in debt
81, 800 for my farm and stock.
paid my debt and have got money
IN the savings bank, and do not owe
any man a dollar. How have they
ruined me p
"The Professor said
"'Well, it appears you have been
hard working man, and have
lived it through. But you pay SIX
cents yard duty for the very cloth
your shirt is made Of
"'Well, Professor replied the
farmer, 'you think so, but you can
lot prove it by your algebra OF
logarithms; you cannot prove it
unless by Esop's fables; for | did
not give but five cents a yard fol
the cloth ="
Here we see that this Harvard
| Professor, capable of teaching al
the sciences and lecturing gradual
ing classes on eyery abstruse theory
didn't know the price of the artl
cles, the traffic in which he was dis
cussing. To have placed him oil
the farm of the old farmer he wal
endeavoring to convince would have
been to start him on the highway
to insolvency and the poor's house
This old farmer had learned thu
practical lessons Of life.
He said raise something to sci
and protection puts men here Il
buy it. What / want / can buy o
them. This leaves US circulating
medium called money right here
and by this process of trade | hav'
paid for my farm, and by it l will
continue to prosper.
What must have been the pro
fessors surprise when told that tn
shirt cotton cost only five cents
yard!
Pouring over books he had no
learned that the cottons and cali
Goes which sold in free trade time
at "ninepence" and shIllings ant
exchanged for eggs and butter a
"fps," "sixpence" and "dimes" ar
now exchanging at half those price
for the same products commanding