The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-06-28
A Letter From "WV
of The Republican.

L nave become aware that some
of my eX-Confederate friends have
taken umbrage at what l have said
from time to time through the col
umns Of THE REPUBLICAN.
This is to be regretted. for what
soever haye written was intended
to have none other than very gen
eral application.
| was near being read out of the
Republican party in 1876 for in
sisting with the liberal Republicans
that the PROVISIONAL government
and bayOnet rule should be with
drawn from the South and that to
the people Of that section should be
turned over the full control of the
State governments and that they
should be held morally responsible
for the maintenance Of a Republic
can form Of government therein.
| believed then that the South
would respond in 4 proper spirit to
generous treatment and that an era
of reciprocal confidence and fra
ternity would result. But the an
swor was the "Solid South" and
the needs of the Democratic party
have kept it solid ever since.
In the days of slavery the policy
of the South was to raise cotton
with slave labor and exchange it for
the cheaper products of foreign
countries; and, although it was not
patriotic view to take of the mat
ter, yet it must be admitted that
there was business sense in it.
But slavery being dead the South
don't want Free Trade any more
than the North wants it; and
really there seems to be but one
rational explanation of the position
the Southern people have taken on
this question and that is that they
are controlled by their prejudices
and not by their interests or by
reason.
The importers and manufacture
ers Of foreign goods want Free
Tade for they have made vast for
tunes in their lines of business.
1t has been to their interests to
fight the manufacturers Of this
country and to sHbsidize for this
purpose the great dailies published
in New y ork and elsewhere and to
float the country with literature at
lacking the citadel of Protection.
but after ali that has been said
or can be said on the question nine
tenths OF the people of the United
States, South as well as North,
need Protection; their interests
demand it.
The South needs it to build up
and deveIope the.country more than
the North needs it, and the sense
less worship of its fetch of Free
Trade will send millions upon mil
lions Of dollars away to be invested
elsewhere that would otherwise have
been used in the development Of
the country.
Free Trade in lumber will divert
millions Of dollars that the South
needs and should have had to the
pineries Of Canada.
Free Trade in wool will also take
a great many thousands Of dollars
out Of the pockets Of the farmers of
the border states of the South and
send it abroad to benefit and en-
courage our rivals in this branch Of
industry.
| don't wish to be Unjust to any
one but what can be said of . set of
political leaders who a few years ago
were under arms for tine overthrow
of the National government and who
after thirty yeaNs of waiting signal
ize their first advent into power by
a relentless war against the indus
tries and the prosperity Of the ma
ton?
Take my business as an example:
| have devoted the labors of life
time to it, and finally when with
she toll and asXietY and with years
of weary waiting | was getting my
feet on the solid ground the briga-
diers came into power and my bus
mess is paralyzed and my pros
poets blighted. 1 am not alone;
everyone else is in the same situa-
ton. The lines of industry to
which they had devoted themselves
are interrupted and they must look
about to see if they can discover
anything better to do, They are
confronted with loss, disappoInt-
nent and dissatisfaction. Nirtu-
ally it means coniscation, outrage,
robbery.
The commercial agencies estimate
the aggregate losses to the country
since the Democratic party assum-
ed control at not less than thirteen
billions of dollars and there seems
to be but one explanation of it, and
that is the unfriendly attitude to-
ward the industrial interests of the
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