USA > Indiana > Early Indiana trials: and sketches. Reminiscences > Part 51
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A few thoughts upon these questions. What is the object of gov- ernment ? I answer, to protect the people in all their rights of life, liberty, property, character, and the pursuit of happiness ; and any government that neglects or refuses to do this, comes short of the purposes of its creation. Every government must raise the means of its support from the governed, by one of the means known to national financiers, by whatever name they may be called. Our Government carly chose the system of tariff duties on foreign imports, as the least objectionable. These duties are levies under our present tariff laws, upon a horizontal scale, ad valorem upon all classes of imports, exclu- ding a large schedule of free articles from their operation.
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No question since the organization of our Government as connected with its eivil policy, has given rise to so much feeling between the leading politicians, as the adjustment of the tariff. At one time, the Union itself seemed to be on the point of dissolution ; Mr. Calhoun and his Southern associates, insisting, that in consequence of the tariff of 1828, the State of South Carolina had the right to secede from the Union, peaceably if she could, forciby in any event. Gen. Jackson by his proclamation, followed by the force bill, denied the nullifica- tion, seceding doctrines of Mr. Calhoun, and declared that any overt attempt to carry out such principles, would be treason ; a levying war against the United States, and would meet the whole power of the Government to put it down. No overt act was committed, the Com- promise Tariff Aet was passed, and South Carolina professed to be sat- isfied. The tariff of 1828, for which I voted, with Mr. Buchanan and Silas Wright, was considered by the South a high tariff, covering the protective principle, and she cried repeal from the moment of its passage. Her statesmen in both Houses denied the power of the Government to go beyond the levying of duties sufficient to produce the necessary revenue, even incidentally, where protection was one of the objects of the levy. They insisted that the tariff of 1828 would produce too much revenue, and therefore the duties must be reduced. We denied the principle and the effect, at the time; we insisted that the reduction. of duties on the ad valorem scale, would increase, and not reduce the revenue ; that the true principle was to let in free of duty, all articles of necessary consumption, that did not come into competition with those produced or manufactured in the United States, and maintain the Government from duties imposed on foreign articles that did come into competition with our industry, discriminating against foreign luxuries that were not necessaries, and might well be taxed high to the consumer. The effect of the tariff of 1828 was to stimulate and reassure American industry, as was anticipated at the time, and at the same time to supply the Treasury with sufficient rev- enne. The Compromise Act, brought about by the hostile aspect of South Carolina, and yielded to by Mr. Clay and his friends, it was believed by Mr. Calhoun would reduce the tariff of duties, and place it up on the horizontal platform, designed to withdraw all discrimina- tion in favor of our own manufactures, and intended merely to raise sufficient revenue for the use of the Government.
The act of 1842, under which the Government and people prospered in a high degree, laid fair discriminating duties, for the revenue pur- poses of the Treasury without creating much surplus. But here again the ery was raised in the South, and repeated by some in the North,
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East and West, that this tariff was too high for revenue purposes ; that it raised more money than was required by the Treasury, and locked up the surplus from the people. The act was repealed, and that of 1846 passed, reducing the ad valorem standard on the scale of many articles of import. This it was predicted would reduce the revenue. But here again, the principle seemed to work adversely, the low tariff increased the revenue largely, the country was inundated with foreign goods, to be paid for with bills on our shipments of pro- duce, or in specie. The revenue Treasury, was soon filled to plethora, with the duties, taken and held from circulation, over and above its immediate wants. The gold of California became insufficient to sup- ply the vacuum created by the export to pay our European indebted- ness. The steamer from San Francisco, loaded with millions of the precious treasure, but arrived in time for the shipment in the next European steamer, and at the end of the month, we were minus in the gold account ; our banks drawing in their accommodations, and sus- pending specie payments. How could it be otherwise? In 1856, our exports of specie was $45,745,485, and our imports only $4,207,682; against us $41,537,803. Our wholesale merchants suspending, our retailers falling like autumn leaves, our manufacturers closing their doors and discharging their laborers without the means of support of their families ; our workshops transferred to England by our policy, leaving the workmen here.
It has been said that the effect of protecting our industry, is to raise the price of the manufactured article to the consumer. To this, I say that even if it were so, he could afford to give more, if he could feed the workmen out of his produce, and keep the money he gave for it, at home for circulation ; but the great purpose is, to give a permanent stability to our manufacturers, that can not be effected by the contin- ual changes in the policy of other nations, leaving the home competi- tion with the foreign duty added, to bring the price to the lowest point at which the article can be afforded, to the consumer.
I fully concur with those who contend, that there should be no more revenue raised than is needed, after the National Debt is paid, for an economical administration of the Government ; but I contend that the present tariff policy is destructive of the interest of the Government and the people, and is one of the main causes of the present monetary embarrassment. It raises a large amount of surplus; this surplus is gold and silver, it is taken from circulation, depriving the people of its use ; it largely increases the dutiable importations, to drain the specie from the country in their payment, thus combining the two elements of depletion of the circulating medium, enough in itself to create all
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the embarrassments we are laboring under. This should be corrected by Congress, and must be before we can expect permanent relief. Our embarrassments are attributed by some to our railroad indebtedness in Europe. I, do not see it in that light, I take a strong case for illus- tration. Suppose a railroad in America built entirely with capital borrowed in England, for which bonds were given drawing seven per eent interest ; the road built and running, whose road in fact is it ? It belongs to the English bond-holder, for profit and loss. If he gets his interest, it is only upon his investment; if the road is kept in operation, the real benefit results to our citizens ; if we pay fares for the use of the road, it is but the interest on the capital invested ; if we are paying the foreigners the interest on their bonds, we have the use of their capital.
But, is the idea that we hear in the mouths of the multitude, true, that there have been millions of dollars sunk in railroads ? How sunk ? Was not the money expended and put into circulation in the construction of the road? was the money destroyed? was it sunk ? Suppose the road worthless, and no consideration whatever for the money it cost, does that sink the money ? or does it merely fall upon and sink the capital of the builders ? The money changes hands, but it is not sunk. Thousands both in Europe and America, of their best men have been ruined by their connection with railroad enterprises ; but there is just as much money to day, as if no railroad had ever been built. I have not the time or space, to go into the railroad policy of the United States, although from a temporary connection with a branch of the system, I have looked somewhat into it. It has become like the arteries and veins in the human body, essentially identified with the prosperity of the people. It must be maintained, or a universal paralysis will follow in all the industrial departments of the nation. From a mere luxury, our railroads have become a necessary of life. Is it not strange then, that they should hang like an incubus upon the stockholders ; they should support themselves, or rather the country, for whose use they are built should support them, by the payment of such freights and fares, as shall be sufficient for that purpose after the expenses of operating the roads shall be reduced to the most economi- cal standard. There is scarcely a railroad in the United States, that does not cost double for ordinary expenses, what it ought to. The salary of the officers in many instances, is highly disproportioned to the duties. I noticed some time ago, that Mr. Moran, the president of the New York and Erie Road, receives the same salary as the Presi- dent of the United States ; and I uoticed soon after, that the stock of the road depreciated daily, a natural consequence.
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The immense business transacted in the commercial relations of the people of the United States, render it impossible to barter and exchange one article for another, as was done in the primitive ages of the world, and as is still done in the interior of Asia and Africa. We require a medium of exchange and circulation, by which the value of all articles of commerce and trade can be fixed, as well as the price of labor. The question as to what that medium shall be, has occupied the minds of many of our most talented and patriotic statesmen. Mr. Benton and others of his school, insist that the only medium should he coin-gold and silver. They refer us to the Constitution, that makes coin alone a lawful tender. Wc admit that fact, but say, that in this age of the commercial world, to confine the circulation to gold and silver would be impossible, and if possible, not desirable. The effect would be to bring down the value of both real and personal property to a mere tithe of what it is now, and bring ruin upon all the indebted property-holders in the land. I introduce the idea of an exclusive metallic currency, not for the purpose of discussing it, but to show that we have distinguished hard-money men among us. The United States, with the other commercial nations of the world, have passed it by, as an obsolete idea, and with one accord have adopted the mixed currency, composed of coin, and paper, called bank notes. England has her National Bank, so has France, and other European nations. We once had a Bank of the United States, that acted as the fiscal agent of the Government, in the collecting, transmitting, and disbursing of the revenues. That Bank furnished a paper medi- um of uniform specie value, in every part of the United States. Its charter expired, it closed its existence, and liquidated its affairs, redeeming every dollar of its issues, and paying every cent of its deposits without the loss of a dollar to any body. I was, at the time its charter expired, and still am of the opinion, that we shall never have a better paper circulation than it afforded. While we maintain a paper currency, it is perhaps the most difficult problem ever solved, as to how that currency shall be furnished, how regulated. It admits of no question, that the effect of a redundant circulation is to inflate prices, create speculation, increase importations, take up the public lands to be held against actual settlers, inflate individuals. On the other hand, a large withdrawal of circulation must bring with it con- sequences the reverse of those I have named. Still the question arises, what is a redundant currency in a country like ours,. with its ten thousand times ten thousand ramified interests, requiring capital ? Our progress may be too rapid for permanent results, but who shall stay the energy of our people? or who shall say to the active mind, .
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of even the Western pioneer, thus far shalt thou go, and no further ? He takes his faithful rifle, passes the Rocky Mountains, descends the plain to the Pacific Ocean, sees its waves lashing the shore, and inquires for a steamer to carry him over to the ocean islands.
How much currency do we want? This depends again upon the state of public confidence in the institutions that furnish it. With confidence, to give it motion, much less will answer all our purposes ; confidence withdrawn, and money will be scarce, and times hard, no matter what amount of money there may be in the country. The recent developments have shown most conclusively, to my mind, that the banking institutions of the United States require radical and speedy reform. If they are to maintain their chartered privileges, giving them rights over the citizens, the public, and their customers, they should be amply secured. No bank should be authorized to issue paper, or receive deposits, without giving to the public undoubted security. All banking operations should be based upon specic, and specie securities. It should be made a penitentiary offense for a bank to shut down upon its deposits. The public know nothing as to its affairs behind the counter, and it is nothing less than obtaining money by false pretenses for the officers of a bank to receive deposits in cash without knowing that they would be able to repay them on demand, and without providing the means to do so. My very heart has bled, when I have seen the poor laborer, the widow, and the orphan, stand- ing at the locked door of a suspended bank, begging for a few shil- lings of their deposits, to get a little provision in market, while the well-dressed banker was living in style upon their money, regardless of their cries for justice. This the public call bank suspension. I call it bank robbery.
But we must have banks. If so, let us know what kind of banks we have, and when we have them, let us not destroy them by distrust and want of confidence in them. No bank in America ean stand a run of bill-holders and depositors, requiring specie, a single day ; and why not? Because no bank can afford to keep in its vaults an amount of specie equal to its issues and deposits. It is doubted whether a bank should be permitted to discount or trade on its depos- its by many. If not, then it could not pay interest on its deposits. I would leave that to the bank officers, at their peril, if they shut down or closed their doors against depositors.
But the leading banks have suspended specie payments. How could it be otherwise ? They could only exist as specie-paying institutions so long as they retained the confidence of their bill-holders, deposi- tors and creditors. The moment that confidence was withdrawn, and
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the run made upon them, they could only pay out what specie they had, and close their doors. Did not the creditors know that when they trusted and run upon them ? And why complain now, if they have acted honestly with their assets. The defect is not in the officers, but in the system, which is rotten to the core, and must be reformed, if we are to look to them for our paper circulation. I would not destroy them, but I would reform them, so as to give confidence in their circulation, without which they can not long continue to exist.
There is little real poverty in the rural districts of the United States. The large importing cities contain ninety-nine of every hun- dred of the poor and distressed. It is there that drunkenness, licen- tiousness, poverty, and crime stalk abroad by day and by night. This is owing greatly to the fact, that the foreign emigration from all parts of the world land at our seaports. The question has frequently arisen, whether we ought not to regulate this emigration, so as to reject foreign paupers and send them back to their own country. Thous- ands have been asent here to get rid of them in Europe, and the moment they are landed, they become a charge upon those cities. We can not say that foreigners shall not be received into our country. We open our arms and bid them welcome. Many see danger in this. I confess I do not. I would not check foreign emigration of the right kind, but I would direct it to useful purposes. The large por- tion of the emigrants that land at our seaports are laborers, the very kind of men that are needed to open and cultivate our Western lands that lie idle, waiting to be improved. These emigrants, instead of being permitted to settle down in the seaports, adding to the mass of idle vagrancy there, should be taken charge of by the Emigrant Societies, and transported into the great Western field of labor and food. This would be true philanthropy to the emigrant, and the true policy of the large cities.
I have thus briefly given my views of the true policy of the Gov- ernment, and of the currency question. A few remarks upon the causes of distress among the people associated, and in their individual characters. I have already said, that man is a creature of imitation. To that fact, and to the disregard of the unpopular but true saying, that men should live within their means, I attribute the present embar- rassment. We have, in this country, millionaires, and many of smaller estates, who are able to live within their means, and yet expend their hundred thousand dollars in a splendid mansion, furnish it in the most costly style, and keep up an establishment at a yearly expense of many thousands, and yet live upon their income. Iu one respect these come within the rule . but do they in fact ? Yes, if they
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live alone, outside of society, upon'a solitary island, where their influence would neither be seen or felt. But they are surrounded by imitators, who can not live in their costly style without going above their means ; they are creatures of imitation-like the poor crow, they see the eagle stoop from his eyrie and raise the struggling lamb to the young eaglets on the mountain cliff. They must have a fine house and a splendid establishment alongside of the wealthy nabob. They imitate closely, with a few extras to talk about. They enjoy it as long as Phaeton did his ride in the chariot of the sun; and like him they are dashed to earth again for the wondering crowd to look upon. He inflated his balloon with the gas of self-consequence-he thought it raised him majestically ; hut the bubble burst, and what sane man supposed it would not ? His fate is that of the thousands who have, within the last few months, fallen from their supposed wealth to pov- erty. They have been the imitators who have lived above their means. Could they have fallen, like the venturous youth from the chariot of the sun upon the banks of the river Po, doing no other injury but to destroy themselves, there would be little cause for tears. But unfortunately the most of them have dragged down with them, many honest men who had given them their confidence.
It may be assumed that ninety-nine out of every hundred of all the failures in the United States, have occurred by living on imaginary, and not real means; or, as they would say in Wall street, "fancy means." The man who lives upon his means, and creates no debts beyond, can not break, unless he intrusts his means to dishonest hands. This seems plain to a common understanding ; and yet, how hard it is to live up to this golden rule. There are ten thousand seductions to draw off the best fortified minds. Speculation stands before him, with credit in her hands, offering immense gains. Not. more seductive was the serpent iu the garden, when offering the apple to mother Eve. The ordinary process of industry is too slow to make a fortune. Like the bee that went from the hive to gather honey, he passes by the opening flowers, from which he had been aceustomed by industry to load himself for the hive, and falls a victim to the vial of honey, made without his labor, suspended from the branch of the tree. Man was destined to get his living by the sweat of his brow ; but he has sought out many inventions to pervert the text and make it mean, the sweat of the brow of others. How small a portion of the expenses that occur in the affairs of men, in this age, ean be set down to the account for actual necessaries. How few would fail, if they would use industry, practice economy, and only expend their means in the necessaries of life.
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STEPHEN A. DOUGLASS.
THERE is, perhaps, no citizen of the United States, at this day, who holds a more prominent position in the public mind, than the subject of this sketch. Judge Douglass, for many years before his elevation to Congress, held high offices in the State of Illinois-representative and judicial. I had no personal acquaintance with him until after he had served in the House, and had taken his seat in the Senate of the United States. It was in this exalted body of great men, that his extraordinary powers of mind were fully developed. It is far from my object to attempt to analyze his political course, all that is the work of political writers ; my purpose is to present Judge Douglass as I saw and heard him in the Senate of the United States. He is con- siderably below the common hight of men, thick set, large expanding chest, remarkably large head, square capacious forehead, dark hair and eyes, wide mouth, prominent features, loud full voice. As a speaker he is forcible, strong, clear, rapid, impressive ; as he progresses he throws his whole soul into the subject, and forgets himself. His gestures are such only as are produced by his subject, and feelings at the time. There is nothing artificial about him. I met him at Terre Haute, after he had made his speaking visits to Southern Illi- nois ; he was quite exhausted, both in body and voice ; his bronchial organs were much affected, so much so as to compel him to leave his appointments. I saw him afterward at Washington city much im- proved. Judge Douglass is one of the strongest intellects of the nation, and possesses great energy of character. Now only in the meridian of life. I give the readers, to show his style, an extract from his speech on the Ocean Telegraph :
" I do not regard this as a war-measure, in any sense of the word. It is essentially a peace-measure-a commercial measure, so far as its advantages are concerned ; and I am disposed to look upon it purely in that light. I agree with the Senator from Virginia, that our mer- chants, and our commerce, will derive the same advantages from this telegraph if the United States Government does not contribute, as if it does contribute. The Company will follow their own interest, undoubt- edly, in the management of the work, and those interests will require them to do as much business as possible, receive every customer that comes, and get as much money out of cach customer as they can obtain, at the rates charged. I have, therefore, no apprehension that our commerce will not be on an equal footing with English commerce when this line shall be made, no matter which government patronizes
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it; or whether either patronizes it or not. I believe it will be of vast advantage to the commerce of both countries. I believe its tendency will be to cultivate better feelings between the two countries. I be- lieve the closer it brings us together, the more it will obliterate those prejudices which certainly do exist to a considerable extent between the two nations. Our policy is essentially a policy of peace. We want peace with the whole world, above all other considerations. There never has been a time in the history of the Republic, when peace was more essential to our prosperity, to our advancement, and our progress, than it is now. We have made great progress in time of peace-an almost inconceivable progress since the last war with Great Britain. Twenty-five years more of peace will put us so far in advance of any other nation on earth, that even the Senator from Kentucky will not have sueli a dread of the power of Great Britain as he seems to have to-day. Sir, I do not think his apprehensions are well founded, even now. There is a wide difference between the power of this nation to-day, and what it was during the war of 1812. The additions that have been made to our population, the additional States that have been admitted into this Union, now furnish more of the elements needed in a war with Great Britain, than the whole nation possessed at the time of the last war. I trust we are never to have another war with Great Britain ; yet I would not surrender any great material interest of ours, nor would I tarnish the American honor to avoid a war. If England forces it upon us, let it come ; but I would do nothing to encourage it. I would not court it; not because I believe that at this day we could not meet her in a fair field. I firmly believe that if we should have a war with Great Britain, she would not come out of it, at the end of three years, with one foot of British soil on the American continent. New England alone could drive every British soldier from the whole coast, and take possession of the colonies that are connected with this end of the wire. New England would take the job to capture Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick, including Halifax, their great fortress. While that was being done, the West could dispose of the rest of the Canadas.
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