The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-06
REFORM BY ALL MEANS.

To the Editor of the Globe.
Our tariff systems have protected the re-
people. but commerce and finances have
been so controlled that the results Of labor
have flowed to few persons.
The. working people Of the Unltea states
may be continually employed manufacturing
the wants of the nation under a high tariff
but with what profit to them under
financial and commercial system that per-
mits a few to absorb the results OF the Ell
forts of the many and limit the amount Of
money they may need, making them only
continually employed wage workers ana
slaves. -
why is it not wisdom to consider financial
reforms of more Importance than tarin
measures?
We need time for the employment Of our
morals as well as our hands, more time than
should be required to earn our physical needs
That system of labor which demands all our
time for those needs is slavery.
The object lessons Of late have been very
numerous that a moneyed aristocracy has
become too powerful, and is causing more
distress to humanity than ever the slave
holder Of the South did, for said distress
reaches around the world. This moneyed
power has become so greedy and its oppres-
sions so great that men are organizing to
prevent the misuse Of money. That 1t may
be prevented by the ballot and not by ply
steal force is my earnest prayer.
d. B. Lovejoy.
There are few things more painful
to the sincere and disinterested man
than to witness the misdirected expen-
diture Of honest effort and conscien-
tious intention. 1t seems .intolerable
that there ssshould be- such a waste of
human life and courage and ,vigor and
reaching ont after better things as to
find all these, precious forces arrayed
through error on the side Of wrong in
stead of right. Such a case seems to
us to be that of, the, gentleman who
writes to us as above. We cannot en-
tertain a question of his sincerity. We
believe that he is heart and soul on
the side of what hes thinks to be right.
But we are sure that he would not
think it right if he were to study dis
passionately the history of nations and
their different experiments with
money. ~, 800 - sE
The fountain from which misconcep-
ton seems to flow in the case of the
above communication is indicated by
it's opening reference to the tariff. The
writer seems to have, fallen a prey to
that fatal theory that the prosperity
of a people is dependent upon and can
be created by legislation. Legislation
may remove impediments to the pro-
duction of wealth aid the reign of
equality. That u.s. the best we can
hope from it. It1seenas to us that the
disappointment Whichb the writer has
experienced in the case Of the tariff
RI 70 n
He is now convinced that working peo-
pie may be continually employed UNI
der high tariff,,t.fbutl sswithout profit to
themselves. Instead of tracing this to
it's source, however, he again runs af-
ter another fallacy like the protective
system itself, and thinks that this
condition is due to wrong financial
system. 1t ought to be evident to him
that law which simply enables an
employer to charge more for his pro-
duct than it is worth, and then trusts
to his own generosity to distribute
that bonus among his laboring men,
runs contrary to all human nature
That is why a protective tariff is not
only wrong, but absurd, when it pre-
tends to benefit the working man. 1t
has produced exactly the fruits that
might be expected of it: men, both high
and low, both employers and employed,
both capitalists and laborers, being
what they are and having an immense
amount of the Old Adam in them.
If our correspondent will think upon
the matter again, We believe that he
must realize that the evils which
he sees and which we all
see are the results Of quail
ties as old. as the history of man
himself; namely, &xariee, injustice and
inhumanity. Danish these from a state
and it would maj nQs whit of differ
ence what kind Of tasfiff system or
financial system you ahuilt upon. But
to attribute the efeetssNhich they pro-
duce to some temporary legislative
enactment. or the,wanF of it, is to go
on chasing moonbaeams while men suf-
fer ever more and more from the mis-
take. Our finaneiaBs sfstem does, in
deed, need reform. but an act which
runs counter to skxpeIfence for ages,
and whose evfl effects can be so plainly
foreseen and foretelds like the free
coinage Of silver. is not entitled to
that name. This country has been
prosperous as never before under the
gold standard. s-England is at this mo-
ment enjoying better times than she
has known for years under the gold
standard. The change to the silver
basis simply offers one more epportu-
nifty to the Spectator and the con-
scienceless man whose sole ambition is
to pile up wealth at the expense. of