The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-05
THE SPEECH OF A STATESMAN.


guments concerning the surplus and exposing
his threadbare sophistries on the tariff ques-
ton. and no other man could do it better
than John Sherman. The President, at
tempting to place himself before the country
as the foremost champion of free trade, pro-
claimed with surprising self-assurance that
the way to make the Nation great and pros
porous was to allow foreign governments TO
dictate our domestic policy. Mr.. Sherman
quietly steps into the arena of debate as the
friend of American industry and the cham
pion of a policy that would promote the
prosperity and welfare of his country as
against any and all others. Grover Cleveland,
the newly fedged statesman and recently
discovered political economist, advocating free
trade, and John Sherman, the veteran pub
lcist, the lifelong legislator, and experienced
man of affairs advocating the protection of
American industry! The contrast between
the two men is not greater than that between
the Presidents message and the Senators
speech. One is the effort Of a small-beer poll
tician and tvro in public affairs to grappie
with subjects on which he evidently gets all
his information and ideas at second hand; the
other is the utterance of statesman who
knows what he is talking about, who supple
ments bookknowledge with world-knowledge,
and who presents arguments instead OF spec
ious sophistries.
Mr.. Sherman addressed himself first to the
surplus question. He denied that there was
| anything alarming or dangerous in surplus,
peg Sc, but held that it was rather an indica-
ton of general prosperity. A surplus is not
new thing in our history. though it was
never before made a pretext for attacking
American industries. But, argues Mr.. Sher-
man, if it is an evil why have the President
and his party been so long in discovering it
| and so slow in suggesting remedy And
| why did they increase the surplus by refusing
| to make needed appropriations for public i'm
| provements, for soldiers pensions, etcf And
why had not Mr.. Clevelands Secretary of the
| Treasury applied the surplus, from time to
| time, to the purchase or redemption of gov
| eminent bonds, thereby reducing the public
| debt as the law, which the President did not
seem to understand, plainly authorized him
to do In simplifying this line of argument
| Mr.. Sherman completely demolished the
Presidents position regarding the surplus.
| Passing to the revenue question proper, Mr..
| Sherman declared himself in favor of re-
| duction of the revenue, but always keeping
in view the protection Of American industries.
| If the President merely wanted to get rid of
| the surplus, why did he not favor the repeal
| or reduction of internal revenue taxesR Be-
| cause, said Mr.. Sherman, it was the protective
| industrial policy built up by the Republican
party that he was aiming at and wanted to
| break down. He would leave internal revenue
war taxes untouched as q cover for attacking
the protective tariff policy. Mr.. Sherman
then entered upon defense of the American
policy, which, judging from the report, was
complete and unanswerable The striking
characteristics of this part of the speech are
| it's practical, business like tone its easy
handling of facts and figures, and
the spirit of broad nationality by
which it is pervaded. Mr. Sherman
repudiates the idea that protection is for the
benefit of a few individuals or classes. He
recognizes the solidarity of the American
people, and holds that policy which benefits
| one section, one class or one industry benefits
all. This makes the difference between a
demagogue and a statesman. The President
treated the people as divided into hostile
camps, and endeavored to array one class
regards them as one community. whose
in terests in large sense are absolutely
identical. Capital and labor, employers and
employees, the manufacturer, the mechanic
and the farmer, are all alike benefited
by policy that protects American
industry, encourages American produc-
ton and maintains American wages.
The President approves protection of Ameri-
can industry in the interest of foreigners,
| while Mr.. Sherman defends it in the interest
of Americans, not because it benefits class,
but because it benefits all. His argument on
this head lifts the subject out of the sphere OF
partisan politics into the higher region OF
craftsmanship and is doubtless one of the
best presentations of the practical workings
and benefits of the protective policy ever
made. Mr.. Sherman does not hold, nor does
any Republican, that our present tariff law is
perfect nor that it ought not to be amended
to meet the changing conditions Of
commerce and finance; but he holds as the
Republican party does, that protection is
right and wise, and that whatever modifica-
tons of the tariff are made should be made
by the friends and not by the enemies of pro
lection, and by methods which regard the
principle as beneficial and not upon theories
inimical to it as vicious inequitable and
illogical"