The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-01-26

q struggle of the weak against wealth
and numbers for constitutional CAV
eminent, Roger @ Mills, true to the
noble impulses OF mis- patriotic heart,
drew his sword and faced shot and
shell tor the cause of the people
whom he loved, offering his young
life willing sacrifice on his country's
altar During that four years Of
carnage and death, he suffered in
common with his countrymen the
hardships and privations of war, and
upon every battlefield where his COM
mander lead him, he stood shoulder
to shoulder with the bravest and his
young brow, beaming with courage,
he faltered not when the charge was
ordered and beat no hasty retreat.
And today there is no stain OF dis
honor or c1wardice upon the
escutcheon OF Roger Q, Mills. The
war over, he returned TO his people
with sad heart and broken fortunes;
he sought not the recluse of the her.
NIT nor the retreat of the exile on
foreign shores, but in open fields he
began the battle OF life atresh and Ok.
pended his splendid energies and
superb courage in repairing the desc.
lation that the cruel war had
accomplished. Elected tn repre-
sent this state at large in congress, he
began his great life work for which,
by nature and education, he was go
well equipped aid adapt, &, there, ioE
twenty years, he stood by the constr
tuition and battled for the rights of the
masses against the encroachment OF
power and unholy bounties and sub
sides which favored classes, realizing
the en0rmity and Injustice OF exorbit-
ant and unconstitutional taxatien he
began the great fight for tariff reform,
and for years, almost single handed
and alone, he battled for the principles
he held sacred, until the whole Union
caught the spirit OF his inspiration,
and with sovereign voice proclaimed
J that the nefari0us policy of protection
should have no lasting abode in free
and DemOcraticA merica. AS chairman
of the ways and meaus he exhibited
again his master mind and constructed
through our popular branch of our
, national legislature measure of re-
lief which, being defeated by a Re-
publican senate, sounded the death
knell of Republication in the United
States. But croakers say there Is
nothing in the tariff question, not
withstanding under the operation of
that system of taxation there have
been taken from the Southern states
since thu war, not less than nine bill
ion dollars, all of which. except the
small per centum that fluids its way
into the federal treasury, has gone to
the manufacturing states to swell the
Golfers and enrich their homes. Sirs,
under this systemthere annually col
lected from the people over $18 per
capita, and last year the amount Of
Honey taken from Texas alone was
over $l3,000,000, more than all the
gross earnings of all the railroads in
the state. No wonder that the people
are poor, no wonder that times are
hard Gnd money scarce; no wonder
that the people are restless aud
discontinued. On last November the
Democratic party promulgated its
platform, Darshalled it's hostes and
sounded the bugle note Of tariff reform
and went forth to battle for the right
of humanity and the common liberty
of all, and after q fierce and trying
conflict achieved most splendid VIC
tory in modern politics and buried the
Republican party 80 deep that the
notes of the last trumpet will not
resurrect it from it's eternal sleep.
Texas had knightly son who bore
q conspicuous part 10 that bloodless
conflict whom we cannot forget.
There is no man in the United States
who contribu ed more to the election
of Cleveland and Stevenson than our
own "Lion of the Tribe of JUDAH"
Roger @. Mills. Wherever the strug-
gle was fiercest there fell his battle
axe fastest. We find him in Ohio
leading the charge Again In Illinois
and Nebraska and other Western and
North western states. We see him
encouraging the "boys in the
trenches" and showing them the way to
victory and success. He loved the peo-
pie and sought to secure them from OPP
preston aud wrong He showed them
richer and the poor poorer. He pointed
aces" Of the tariff nabobs and COM
pared them with the damp. dingy
novels Of the poor. He showed
them the sparkling jewels on the
fingers of the rich and compared them
with the highly taxed wooden that
covered their children from the win
ter's storms. He told them that gaunt,
hungry poverty stalked abroad In the
land and begged for the crumbs that
fell from the untaxed tables Of luxury.
Fellow senators. draw not from the
mythology of the ancients to depict
the character of Roger @.