Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-01
THE PEACE TARIFF OF 1s4s.


Republican Testimony That 1t W. q
Beneficent Measure.
Ny Republican witnesses to the pros-
perity of lo46-6O are so numerous that
can do little more than give list and
specify date and occasion. | will mention
among them Horace Greeley and The New
York Tribune, The Indianapolis journal,
The Bankers magazine, Helpers Impend-
ing Crisis, Henry S, Lane, Hugh McCul-
loch, Abraham Lincoln, Jame~ A. Garfield
and James &, Blaine. Indeed. | might
include every standard work issued be-
tween. 1850 and 1865, and every Off
cial report and state paper, except,
perhaps, the message of Buchanan
in December, 1857. The bound files of
The New York Tribune for 1860 are before
me. From first issue to last there is fire.
quent mention of the prosperous condi-
tion of the country. On the Gath of Oc-
tober The Tribune, under the heading,
Bonds and Bugaboo, printed a Greeley
editorial boastiug of the eountry's pros
perity and the strength of public credit,
citing the fact that per cent. United
States bonds were at a handsome pre-
MUM On the goth there is an editorial
item on the greatness and prosperity
and inevitable future grandeur and growth
of the country On the 30 there is an
other article boasting of the countrys
prosperity. On November II The Tri-
bune announces a large surplus of gold
on hand and a favorable condition Of
trade. On November 10 Greeley says:
The country was never so rich and
strong as it is now full of cattle, full of
grain and swine. full of everything. Our
exports are large beyond precedent, Specie
has ceased to flow from US and will soon
flow towards us. Our mines, our herds,
our farms, our factories, are all doing
we'll"
All that autumn Henry S. Lane had
been stumping Indiana, declaring that the
prosperity and progress of the free states,
the improvement of the laborer's condi-
ton and the general advance in education
and other good things exceeded ANYTHING
known elsewhere at any time in the his
tory of the world. Helper had lust pub
lished his Impending Crisis, which is
long and tlorid boast of the prosperity of
the free states. But little later the cen
sus showed that the south too had shared,
to considerable extent, in the general
advance, and James e. Blaine handsomely
admits that fact in his history, Vol. |,
page 216, as follows;
The south was enjoying exceptional
prosperity The advance of the slave
states in wealth was more rapid than at
any period of their history Their staple
products commanded high prices, and
were continually growing in amount to
meet the demands of a market which rep
resented the wants of the civilized world.
In the decade between 1850 and 1860 he
wealth of the south had increased three
thousand millions of dollars, and this not
from an over valuation of slaves, but
from increased cultivation of land, the
extension of railways and all the arts and
appliances Of vast agricultural enterprises
Georgia alone had increased in wealth over
three hundred millions of'dollars, no small
proportion of which was from commercial
and manufacturing ventures that had
proved extremely profitable. There never
was a community On the face OF the globe
whose condition so little justified revolu-
ton as that of the south in 1850 Indeed,
it was a sense of strength born of excep-
tional prosperity, which led them to their
rash adventure Of war.
The Bankers Magazine O. 1850 is a
first class witness to the abundance of
money, the glut Of gold and the fact that
| silver change was ahoat in excessive
| quantities. The files of The Indianapolis
| Journal bear frequent witness to the
/ prosperous condition of the country
| Hugh McCulloch, in his report on the
| state banks Of Indiana. may also be cited.
Abraham Lincoln cheered the patriotic
| with a statement of the facts that the
country was rich and strong, and the
/ financial authorities agreed that the loyal
states contained an immense surplus of
coin
Now mark what followed. North and
south this people put forth such strength,
made such an exhibition of resources, as
was never equaled i'll the world Talk
about this country being poor or weak
| in 1860
Why there never was such lavish album
| dance Of all necessaries on call. Arms
and munitions IF war there were not. of
course, for we had been long at peace. but
we clothed and proyisioned twelve hun
dred thousand men and did it out of our
surplus. before the pressure began to be
felt by those at home. Why, Just think
of it, prices did not even rise till the four
teenth month OF the war In June, 1862
the cost OF living in Indiana was as low as
in April 1851. Weak Why we "ached
with strength" and were spelling for g
fight, as Mr.. Blaine SAYS in other words
Poor? Why we were SO rich in grain anC
goods that We did not feel our losses til
100000 men We're in the field. NJ
manufactures No great enterprises
Why we had the finest railroad
system in the world. the best fac
tories of rifles and small arms
more agricultural machinery than al
Europe. and such well equipped irol
works that in SIX months we put aHoat
7 feet of gunhoa-s that made the navies 0
! Europe obsolete and rcvoutionized mari
e time war. tnprogressjve? Why tn
/ country in 1860 was moving forward wit
, such solid strength and rapidity that tn
acquired momentum carried US throug
the war almost without a check Their
was but one element of weakness: the oil
system of currency did not permit stuff
GENTLY rapid conversion of the wealt
e with which the country was gorged
e That defect supplied. the nation aston
Il ished the world with its display of wealt
and strength, and even the much abuse
Q weakened" we are told, fC
want of high tariff-held out four vear
against the largest armies of moder
times. The facts Of the war itself al
u unanswerable proof that the tariff Of 1874
: had left the country in the highest po
sible state of vigor and progress,--J. /
k Beadle i'll Rockville (lnd.) Tribune