Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-07-01
IRISH MopEINGNEN.

States.
IRISH WoREINGMEN.
The heavy work of this continent
is, to a large extent, done by our poo-
pie. On the farms, in the workshops
in the mines and manufactures, o.
| 1Aneraca, their number is legion. 10
them the question Of wages therefore,
is one of paramount interest. Now
without full and efficient protection to
native industry, high wages is a sim
pie impossibility. Under what is call
ed the Free Trade regime OF Demo.
cratic days-during the Presidential
term of James Buchanan for instance
the wages of the workingman wa:
about 75 cents day. A third of thi;
was paid in money. The remainder,
when paid at all, had to be taken out
in store goods. We all know what
that means. Since then, with the re-
turn of the Republican party to power,
Protection to American Industry has
been partially restored. And the con-
sequence is that the workingman can
easily earn two dollars and upwards
per day, all paid in good money. The
cost Of living, owing to the war ex-
pendlturc. has, in the meantime, in
creased not more than onethird. This
tells its own tale. 1t proclalms, with
trumpet tongue, that Protection should
have the earnest and enthusiastic sup
port OF every Irish workingman in
America. 1t is the interest of the
farmer as WELL For, when men are
starving on inadequate wages how are
they to pay 4 rcnumcrating price for
the produce of the land In fact, with
tho exception Of the class who deal,
to their country's ruin, IN foreign-made
goods, Protection is the interest OF
every man and class of men III Amer
lea. And, above all the rest, is the
interest OF the Irish people, who. in
ninety-iive instances out of hundred,
are compelled to live by the wages OF
their honest toll
DEMOCRACY AND FREE TRADE.
Now, it Is notorious that the Dem
ocratic party, South and North, is a
unit for Free Trade with England. If
returned to power, one OF thcir first
measures will be to flood our markets
with foreign-made trash. The effect
of this on the price of Anerican-made
goods is not hard TO foresec. 1t will
reduce it to onchalt, and eventually
drive our own manufactures out OF
our own markets. Then comes the
"running half time" Then closed fac
tories and machinery rusting III idle
ness. Then for the workingman and
woman, half wages and semi-starva-
ton. The reduction OF the free citi-
zcns of America, of the sovereign Re-
public, 10 condition rs degraded and
wretclcd as that OF the hungry and
halt-ted seris who drag out hopeless
existence in England is inevitable. And
our countrymcn havc been voting for
all this in tens and hundreds OF thous-
ands. This would be Incredible, II the
proofs were not before us, sometimes
III very offensive forms, every year
and almost every day of our lives. If
for no other purpose, for this one alone
the Irish Republicans OF America are
bound to organize their power III ov-
cry corner Of the land. Hy this means
they will be able to let their deceived
countrymen know The truth, and thus
topreseve the Amorican Republic from
becoming mere drawiarm to some OF
the worst and most oppressive OF the
despotisms of the earth. BY protect
ing our own industry, and excluding
the white slave-made goods of Eng
land, we can make America the man
utacturing country, the very work
shop OF the world. This will be to
raise the Republic to the very pima
clio of power and wealth, toenable her
eventually to dictate her own terms to
the tyrannies that Cypress the world,
and to point, and perhaps to lead, the
way by which down trodden lands and