The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-05
the centers of population.
Voorhees,, the Coal Miners and "Pro-
lection"


The Journal, which is doing all it can to
embarrass the Clay county miners in
their brave fight for existence, denounces
Senator VOORHEES, because, in sending
them a timely and unsolicited contribu-
ton, he veptured to remind them that
they were starving under the highest pro-
tective tariff the country had ever known.
In view of certain recent occurrences at
Washington, we should have supposed
that the Journal would have felt little
delicacy about attacking Senator VooR-
HE'S. But let that pass Its onslaught
upon Mr.. VOORHEES, will not injure him,
but it will serve to invite public attention
to the fact that President HARRISON has
not yet contributed penny out of his fifty
thousand-dollar salary to the relief of these
unfortunate miners for whose welfare he
professed such deep solicitude before the
the election. But let that pass also.
What we wish to emphasize is the de-
spicable meanness of the Journals insinu-
alton that Senator VOORHEES, took meas
ures to have the amount of his contribu-
tons 10 the miners fund.- published"
This low insinuation is entirely character
istic OF the Journal, and wholly gratuitous.
We happen to know that Senator VooR-
HE'S took no measures TO have his con-
tribution or the letter accompanying it
published; and that the letter was given
to the press without his suggestion or
knowledge, in the hope that it would
S Emulate contributions from other
sources.
This is not the only meanness in the
Journals article. As is its habit, it puts
words into Senator VOORHEES, mouth
which he did not utter and then makes
them the text for denunciation OF him.
1t speaks of "his assertion that the pres
ent duty on bituminous coal is the highest
ever known in American history" But
he made no such assertion" or anything
like it. The Journal quotation from his
letter shows that what he did say was
that the present tariff was 1.-The highest
protective tariff ever known In American
history" And so it is. And as the pro-
tectionists contend that a protective tariff
benefits all classes of laborers alike,
whether they are engaged in protected in
dustries or not, the amount of duty on
coal cuts little figure in this matter.
The Journal concludes its screed with
this: If the duty on foreign coal causes
miners strikes in this country, as Mr..
VOORHEES, would imply, what causes them
in free-trade England?" What Mr.. VooR-
HE'S implies is not that the duty on for
eign coal causes miners strikes in this
country, but that it does not prevent
them. This, even the Journal will have
to admit. These striking miners are
taxed an average OF Il per cent on almost
everything they and their families con-
sumo, and are told that by paying this tax
they secure for themselves steady employ
ment at good wages. Do they? II, after
paying this tax, they are forced to choose
between work with hunger and i1leness
with starvation, is it not plain that thu
tax is a wicked imposition, fraud, a
robbery? And is it not due to the men
who have been so cruelty swindled that
the wrong OF which they are the victims
should be pointed out to them? As to the
miners in free trade England" if they
occasionally strike, they at least have the
satisfaction of knowing that they are not
heavily taxed under the pretense that
they will be thereby saved the necessity
of striking In other words, they are not
Systematically lied TO and robbed as the
American miners are. And as a matter
OF fact, to-day, while tens of thous nds of
the protected" coal miners OF America and
Germany are in enforced idleness the
unprotected coal miners of free trade
England" find steady employment at
living wages. Which the Journal ought to
explain, if it can.