Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-01-08
Mr.. Mills Boy Charley.
A LITTLE STORY WITH A BIG MORAL

| LITTLE STORY WITH BIZ MURAL
Melville d. Landon, of New York, bet
ter known as "ElI Perkins," was in the
city last evening on his way to Vermil.
lion, where he lectured last night before
the students CT the University of South
Dakota, says the Sioux City Journal. A
Journal reporter encountered the humor
ist at the train and spent 20 minutes OF
bis wait in his company. When asked to
relate something fresh on Western ex-
perence, be said;
"On the Omaha train for Sioux City to-
day was Congressman Mills, of Texas.
With him was his bright little boy, who
had been in Minneapolis school. The
little fellow was as bright as his father,
but did not seem to know anything about
the fallacies of politics. He was ready
to answer all questions, and his astuttness
astOnlshed even his father.
81 asked Mr.. Mills ii l might ask the
little fellow some questions and note his
quick school boy answers.
Certainly said the genial Congress
man, go ahead and you will find Charley
bright enough to answer anything
"And you won't interrupt us ~ | asked.
Certainly not
Now, Charley ! said, calling the
bright little boy mp to me, 4 am going to
ask some hard questions, harder than
cube root, and I don't believe a little fel-
low 12-years old like You can answer
them
"T reckon l can, said the proud little
Texan.
well, Charley said, if you lived
in town where all the people sent over
to the next town to buy all their things,
What would be the effect'
WHY said Charley, 'our merchants
would be poor, for all our money would
90 away, would it not We'd all be poor,
sure
Fright, Charley said. Now how
would it affect nation that IS digging
500, 900, 900 ont of the ground every year
and raising 100000 worth of cotton
and. 500 100000 of wheat it it sent
this gold and cotton and wheat over to
other nations and traded them for store
pay like gloves and silks and linen and
tin and sugar =
"'Why, we'd be poor like the town, OF
courss.'
"'Yes, Charley said. But suppose
our nation made its own sugar and linen
and tin and wine aud kept its 500, 900, 600
dug out of the mountains and sold Its to-
bacco and cotton for gold ?
why, it would make our nation aw-
ful rich, wouldn't it ? said Charley.
ayes. my boy said, it wonl1p
Again. Charley. suppose our country
had kept SlO0000,000 of gold and So III
over $500, 900, 900 worth of wheat and to.
bacco for thirty years, how much would
we have in this country 2
"'Wby,' Charley, figuring on piece of
paper, we would have $4,000 900 000 But
why did we keep it9 Why didn't we
manufacture our own thingsi Amt we
never going TO manufacture them =
"'Yes,' said. I'VE are trying to now.
Cow Charley l continued, suppose they
are paying Go cents day to poor laborers
in Europe for making knives aud sill and
tin, and the freight from Europe is only
ten cents q hundred, and our workmen
are making 81 day here, what wonld our
workmen do If we had free trade =
"'Wby, they would have to work for
the same wages they do in Europe plus
the freights. Uf course any one can see
that, can't they fatherP And Charley
looked up at the father of the Mills bill.
"'Bnt. Charley if we put on a protec-
tive tariff of about 80 per cent. on these
European things made by cheap labor,
how would that effect our laboring men =
why, we could ray them more wages
CT course that's plain as day ?
" Then. Charley. what do we gain by
putting protective tariff against Euro
pean manufacturers p
"'Wby, then we have TO make them
here. We pay big wages and keep our
money home f; any fool can see that, can't
they pap
".Here, Charley said Congressman
Mills, taking of his glasses and wipins
them with an American bandana, let me
ask you a question now
"'Don't you see all the pauper laborers
of Europe coming over here, Charley !
Nov, my son, how can we keep them
back p
why, papa, We could take off this
tariff. couldn't we, and then our wages
would go down as low as theirs, our fac
tories would stop. and their factories
would start up, and they wouldn't want
to come here, would iheyl They would
not come here, papa, il our wages weren't
higher than theirs, would they ?
"Mr Mills didn't answer. but went in
to the smoking car to think.
"While he was gone | asked Charley |
what he thought would be the effect of
putting a tariff of % cents against wheat |
corn, rye, oats, barley and potatoes raised |
in Canada. In country twelve times as
as large as Dakota.
SIT will keep that stuff back, won't |
c~tI GIor1axv fon1 rafaa fha nriaQ |
here p
"'And how will that affect the price of
land, Charley y
"'wby, better prices for wheat would
make that 90 up, too, and | heard farm
Or telling papa this morning that land
all over Iowa and Dakota and Illinois
was going up fast. Is itP
Eyes, Charley, II u.s. said. The
farmer is getting on top again. Thou
sands of manufacturers are making sugar,
,ilk, chicory, linen, tin, glass and pottery.
they are moving over from Europe and
loon our manufacturers will eat up all
he surplus wheat aud then what, Char
IeyP
"'Well, l guess they'll have to pay
rood price for it in gold, too, by ginger
Ind that will make the farmer rich, won't
tt And so we will have lots Of gold aud
OTIS Of manufacturers, everybody will be
wages will be high, compe-
itIon will make manufactured articles
heap, aud we will be Q great country,
Won't we =
"'You bet we will, Charley said,
and when you got TO be man, II you are
IS sound on these questions as you are
low, We viii make you speaker of the !
house,"