The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-07-29
INGERSOLL ON THE TARIFF
The Colonel Tells Why the Mills Bill
Passed the House of Representatives.
Had Randslls Health Not Given Ont 1t Would
Have Been Defeated-The Purposes Of the
~SDuth-Fate of the Bill in the Senate.
pecial TO the Indianapolis JournaI.

the subject of the Mills bill.
Question-"What, in your opinion. is the sig
nifcancs of the vote on the Mills bill. recently
passed in the House, in this: l find there were
l62 for it and 149 against il; Of these, two Re-
publicans voted for and Eve Democrats agaius,iD
Answer-'In the first place. / think it some
what doubtful whether the bill could have been
passed il Mr.. Randall had been we'll His sick-
ness had much to do with this vote. Had he
been present to have taken care OF his side, to
have kept his forces in hand, be. in my
judgement. taking into consideration his won.
derful knowledge Of parliamentary tactics,
would have defeated this bill. 1t is somewhat
hard to get the average Democrat. In the alb
sence of bis leader, to throw away the prospect
of patronage. Most members of Congress have
to pay tolerably strict attention to their political
fences. The President. although ~clinsins With
great tenacity to the phrase civil service has
in ell probability pulled every string he could
reach for the purpose Of compelling the Demo
cratic members not only to stand in line, but to
answer promptly to ther names. Every Demo
crat who has shown independence has been
stepped on just to the extent he could be reached;
but many members. had the leader been on the
ioor-and a leader like Randall-would have
followed him.
There are very few congressional districts 10
the United States not intensely Democratic
where the people wantnothing protected. There
are q fey districts-where nothing grows except
ancienu4~ olitics, where they cultivate only the
memory Of what never ought to have been
whore the subject OF protection has not vet been
reached. ! have heard an old story about the
citizens of a certain town, many years ago, hav-
ing clubbed together to subscribe for one paper.
This was in 1910. Every Sunday they met, and
the member who could read started In at tho
left hand upper corner of the paper and read
until the majority lost interest or fell asleep.
He then marked the point he had reached with
q piece OF ochre. On the following Sunday he
commenced at that place. The result was that
be did not keep up with the papers. In 1914 he
struck the war OF 1872, and afterwarc. on tell
ing the story, be took great PRIDE in saying that
every one of his hearers then and there offered
to volunteer. When these people reach the
doctrine of protection and understand it. I'M
doubtedly they will be for 1t.
THE impudence requisite to pass the Mills
bill is something phenomenal. Think OF the
representatives from Louisiana saying to the
ranchmen of the West and 10 the farmers OF
Ohio that wool must be on the free list. but that
for the sake of preserving the sugar interest of
Louisiana, and a little portion OF Texas, all the
rest Of the United States muss pay tribute.
Every body admits that Louisiana is not very
we'll adapted by nature for raising sugar. for
the reason that the cane has to be planted every
year, and every third year the frost puts in an
appearance just q little before the sugar. Now
while l think personally that tho tariff on sugar
has stimulated the inventive genius of the
country, to find other ways OF producing
that which Is universally needed; and
while l believe that it will not be
long until we will produce every pound Of sugar
that We consume, and produce it cheaper than
We buy IL now, l am satisfied that Ia time.
country extremely cheap, not only from beets.
but from sorghum and corn. and it may be from
other products. At the same time. this Is no ex-
cuse for Louisiana; neither is il any excuse for
South Carolina asking for u tariff on rice. and at
the same time wishing to leave some other In
dustry in the United States, in which many
more millions have been invested, absolutely
without protection. Understand, 1 am not op-
posed to a reasonable tariff on rice. provided II is
shown that We can raise rice cbeaply. and at a
profit, to such an extent as finally to become
substantially independent OF the rest Of the
world. What / object TO is the impudence Of
the gentleman who is raising the rice objecting
to the protection OF some other industry of far
greater importance than his.
AFTER all, the whole thing must be a COM
promise. We must act together for the common
good. IL we wish to make something at the ex-
pense of another State. We must allow that
State to make something AT our expense. or ct
least We must be able to show that while it 10
for our benefit il is also for the benefit Of the
country at large. Every body is entitled to have
his own way up to the point that his way inter
IoreS Win SOMEBODY else. states are ike l0Cl-
viduals-their rights are relative they are sub
ordipa,ed to the good OF the whole country.
For many yesN it has besn the American policy
to do all that reasonably could be done TO foster
American industry, to give scope TO sAmericau
ingenuity and a field for Ameri-
can enterprise-in other words, q future
for the United States. The Southern States
were always In favor OF something like free
trade-they wanted TO raise cotton for Great
Britain, raw material for other countries. At
xAa& 49, - -. rr.. .i.u takz- "a Alauv
could not hope ever to have skilled labor, be-
cause skilled labor cannot be enslave1. The
Southern people knew at that time that IL a man
was taught enough of mathematics to under
stand machinery, to run locomotives, to weave
cloth-if be was taught enough OF chemistr
even to color calico, it would be impossible tn
keep him q slave. Education always was and
always will be an abolitionist. The South advo-
Gated a system in harmony with slavery, in har-
moDy with ignorance-that IL to say. q
system of free trade, under which il might
raise raw material Ii could not hope to manu-
f~aeture. because by making it's labor intelligent
enough 10 manufacture it would lose ii. In the
North men were working for themselves. and,
as / have often said, they were getting their
hands and heads in partnership. Every little
stream that went singing to the sea was made
10 turn a thousand wheels; the water became a
spinner and a weaver, the water became a black
smith and ran a trip-hsmmer, the water was do
ing the work of millions of men. In other
words, the free people OF the North were doing
what free people have always done-going
into partnership with the forces of nature. Free
people want good tools. shspely. well-made-
tools with which the most work can be done with
the least strain. The free man buys these in
struments and therefore takes care OF them.
For this reason they can be made lighter. while
tools for slaves had to be made strong and
clumsy so that they could not be broken. The
problem of slavery always has been how to do
the least work in the longest space OF time.
Anything that requires thought is not for the
slave. He can, after all, only be made a slave
outwardly-that is to cay, you only enslave his
body. 1t is impossible for the master to tell
whether he is thinking the best be can or not,
so that after all the mind Of the slave TO q Ger
tain degree escapes from bondage.
Suppose that the South had been In favor of
projections; suppose that all over the Southern
country there bad been workshops. factories.
machines of every kind; SUPPOSE that her people
had been IS ingenious as the people Of the North:
suppose that her hands had been IS deft as those
that had been accustomed TO skilled ~lsbor-then
one of two things would have happened: Either
the South would have been too intelligent TO
withdraw from the Union. or having Withdrawn.
it would have had the power to maintain its
position. Nv own opinion is that IL would have
been too intelligent 10 withdraw. When the South
seeded il had no factories. The people OF the
South had ability. but it was not trained in the
direction then necessary. They could
not arm and equip their men; they
could rot make their clothes; they
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