North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1867-04-10
Protection--How 1t Works,

c0mf0rtaDle, Well-Ieu, Well-clad persoNdSe
whom, at first sight, one would hardly take
for beggar. "Protect me / own but
ten thousand acres of land in the world. 1t
is my all. is full of coal; but the Eng
lishman and Nova Scotians have got coal
too, and they offer to sell it cheaper than
the price | want. Shut out this foreign
coal and protect me, an American laborer.'
He looks even less like laborer than
beggar.
"What makes coal so dear when the
weather is so dreadful cold God help US
poor!" came from the chattering teeth of
toil-worn, care-worn, shiyering woman,
as she measured with stingy eye scanty
fresh supply of fuel to her waning fire. No
cry from her to Government for protection.
No protection to her from the greed of the
strong, the cunning, the avaricious. Work
for Yourself. Work or starve Sclf-help.
Every one for himself If Government
gave bread or clothes or fuel to the poor,
it would dcmoralize them. Take better
care of the pennies you earn. Lay them
up in the summer for winter day" Such
are the answers she would get if she asked
for protecion-if she turned beggar. No
chance for her to put in replication. The
voices of the coa-owners are mighty to
drown hers. If she could be heard, she
would say, "How can lay up my pennies
when the strong arm of Government takes
them from me, day by day, as fast as can
earn them, and hands them over to my
richer neighbors? On every spool of
thread buy, Government takes from me
penny or two to pay over to the Woon-
socket Factory Company, so that they make
dear thread and big dividend. On every
garment wear, it takes pennies and shil-
lings from me wherewith to ill the purses
of the rich men who make cloth and stock
ings and shawls, and who cannot be con-
tent with less than fifty or hundred per
cent. increase of their wealth every year
to paw them for making their clothes for
the American laborer. When buy stove
or pair Of scissors, must pay some of my
hard earned pennies t. support the wealthy
iron-maker of Pennsylvania. | beg no
protection to my labor and | ask none.--
Let us both alone-me and the manufac-
turer As you let me work my humble
way along as best can, leave him to do
the same. Give him no part of my earn
ings, and am content with my little share
of this worlds goods" If it demoralizes
society for Government to give the poor
food and clothes and fuel, ia it not equally
demoralizing for Government to give to the
rich and the strong? And when it gives
to the rich by taking from the comforts of
the poor, is it not demoralizng society at
both ends!
SMOTHER, do give me another blanket, l
am so cold" begs a shverirg child, of a
winters night on our Northern frontier.--
" have no more, child; blankets are so
dear. John, what makes woolen things so
much dearer than they used to be "
81 don't know but they say it's all done
to protect us poor folks. A tonguey man
told us the other night the other night the
Government must protect us from the
blanket-makers in England and other for
eign countries"
YES. bat John. over in Canada they
have nothing but English blankets, and
you can buy two there for what one costs
here The English blanket makers don't
seem to be so hard on the poor people after
ALL"
"WeIl, can't tell the story exactly; but
the tonguev man made it out clear. | think
he said, too that wool wouldn't grow on
our sheep unless they was purrected.'
"Well, John, you dor't mean that they
kver our American sheep with blankets to
make their wool grow, and that's the reason
blankets are so scarce and dear!'
"WeIl, don't know about that; but he
made out that the sheep must be purtect-
ed to get the wool, and then the men who
made the wool into blankets must be pur-
tected; else we'd have to use the cheap
foreign blankets, and then he said we'd be
worse off,"
John, don't you think the tonguey man
was pulling some wool over your ewes? If
I could get two blankets instead of one TO
keep the children warm, the sheep could
DO we'll enough with their natural kivering.
1t seems to me that we poor folks, what
don't have natural kiver of wool growing
on our backs, want purtection more than
the sheep
w CIi tudt just "Idl DedCOll "tluOh
says; he says these prices purtect us as
well as the sheep, and You know the
Deacon subscribes good deal of money
to the poor.
"That's all true, John; but then the
Deacon don't seem to get any poorer for
all he gives away; and the Deacon has
got great many sheep of his own and
whatever is'gocd for his sheep must be good
for the Deacon's own pocket; ard they do
say that he owns part of big blanket fac
tory down in Rhode Island; and so, may
be, the Deacon wrongs us poor folks out of
ten dollars and then gives US back one
dollar of it in charity maybe, if the poor
cheap blankets and cheap clothes, they
wouldn't want any charity. You can't
make me believe we're any better off for
having only one blanket when, ifthey were