St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-25
SOME HISTORICAL FACTS.

This astonishing and deplorabie state
of affairs explains the recklessness with
which sentiments utterly foreign to
their mental complexion are now daily
put IN the mouths of the authors of our
institutions. Mr.. BLAINE, for example,
in his letter to Mr.. MANLEY, which the
GLOBE has just mentioned, says that
towards the close of JEFFERSON adj
miniStration a considerable surplus had
acc umulated in the national treasury,
and that the question arose whether
the tariff should be reduced or this
surplus be maintained. He then repre-
Sents JEFFERSON as asking, "Shall we
suppress the impOsts and give that adj
vantage to foreign over domestic manu-
features ?" and as favOring the mainte-
nance of the imposts and the DISPOSE
ton of the surplus in various public
improvements. One would infer from
reading his letter that the question of
protection or freedom in trade was al
ready squarely at issue in this remote
period, and that JEFFERSON was him
self on the side of the protec-
tionists. In fact, Mr.. BLAINE says this
in SO many words when he adds that
JEFFERSON did not hesitate to recon-
mend protective tariff.
1t would be hard to find happier
illustration of the point the GLOBE is
trying TO make than is thus afforded.
Mr.. 'BLAINE'S quotations from JEFFER-
son are as much forgeries as though
they failed to give correctly single
word which he wrote, and the Plumed
Knight was simply gambling with his
admitted knowledge of human nature
Oh the lack of information of the audi
ence he was addressing. In truth and
reality, JEFFERSON was not talking
about a tariff at all in the passage to
which Mr.. BLAINE refers, and the word
tariff nowhere appears in it. He was
simply defending hopeless theory of
international diplomacy which the
events of every passing day were dis
| crediting, and which finally collapsed
forever in the disastrous confusion of
the War of 1872.
When France and England, to harass
| each other during the Napoleonic wars,
undertook to drive our neutral COM
merce from the high seas, instead of
| maintaining Americas rights by force
Of arms, JEFFERSON conceived the i'm
| possible project of accomplishing the
same end by peaceful means. He was
| opposed to the expenditure of public
moneys on battle ships and ammuni-
| ton, and he undertook to save our
carrying trade from destruction abroad
| by an embargo which forbade American
vessels from leaving American ports.
| The embargo Of 1907 ard the non-inter
| course and non-importation acts which
followed it, and which continued in
| operation until MADISON's succession
10 the presidency put an end to such
| nonsense. were not revenue measures at
all. They were not designed to encourage
domestic manufactures. nor to increase
the governments income. They were
simply an application of JEFFERSoN's
peculiar theories of government, and an
attemp. to wage war without powder or
shot.
The space open in newspapers col
umns for the discussion of such mat,
tiers does not permit an extended pres
entation of the facts involved. But
this is enough to suggest how secure a
protection is thrown about the man
who deliberately invents American his
tory for the purpose of partisan argu-
ment, The Saddest spectacle in our
ante-bellum record is THOMAS JEFFER.
SON as he appeared during the last years
of his presidential term. As a declpIe