Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-11-30
PROTECTING HOME INDUSTRY.

PROTECTING HOME INDUSTRY
The doctrine of so shaping our national |
policy as to protect home industry, meets |
with its strongest opposition in the city of
New York, where large proportion of the
population is engaged, either directly orin-
directly, in importing goods from foreign
countries. Their interest is to sell all Of
these goods they can, and whatever oper-
otes.to encourage our people TO manufac-
ture their own goods, IS a stroke at their
business. Touch mans pocket and you
are sure to arouse his feelings When
mans private business suffers especially il
II Is a paying one, he is very apt to do al
in his power TO remove the cause Of the
mischief. This is what is the matter with
New York. If our people manufacture
everything they use, these importers must
look out for some other method OF earning
money. Knowing this, il is not surprising
to find them working i'm the interest of free
trade. If they were the only persons in
terested, it might be proper to gratify their
inclinations. There are nearly forty mil
lions of people in this country, less than
one million of whom reside in New York
With such n vast population we must look
out for n diversity of employments All
cannot follow agricultural pursuits Some
must be observation-disclosures In
order 10 protect our mechanics, and save
them from coming into competition with
The pauper labor of Europe, we must lay
tax upon European products, and here is
the whole question in a nutshell II is
- n ~ Ia "
our mechanics and laborers, wages sulii-
cient TO enable them and their families TO
live comfortably and decently or will we
force them to work for just enough pay TO
keep soul and body together. Politicians
paid by New York capitalists and with
British gold, may raise n great hue and cry
about monopolies, determinations, &c,
,,..but the whole question is one Of wages.
We can manufacture pig-iron just rs cheap
as it can be done in England, provided we
are heartless enough to insist on men per-
forming labor at the low price paid there.
But these men say we lived under II sim
pie revenue tariff from 1916 TO the time that
the Republicans came into power. Exact
ly, and the material wealth Of the country,
~ exhibited in manufacturing establish
Dents, has increased more in the past four
years than it did in the whole fourteen
in the days of Democratic supremacy. We
have evidence Of il right here at home.
Here in Knoxville we have more manu-
iacturing establishments than ever before
in our history. In Chattanooga We see
manufactures springing up on Il magnifi-
sent scale. AT lockwood, in Roane coun-
~, we have the largest blast furnace in the
South. In Greene, Washington and Car
ter counties, we have blast furnaces and
other manufactures, all of which have
been put in operation under this system Of
protection.
Then would il bc wise in us 10 90 against .
policy that will certainly be TO our interest
that will certainly result in developing
our resources, and make Us n prosperou,
and wealthy people? Is the whole coun
try TO suffer, just for the purpose of putting
money into the pockets Of foreign manu-
lecturers and New York importers? VIII
'Ee purchase foreign commodities at tn,
sacrifice of home productions, and force
millions of mechanics to gain livelihood
by tiiling the soil, thus reducing the pric,
of grain to almost nothing? VIII We in
sist upon keeping up our manufactures by
paying mechanics such inadequate wages
~ 10 leave their families in want? Or
will we pursue the wiser course, of 50 pro
iecting home industries rs to enable MI t
i've comfortably and pleasantly? The,
IRE questions for our consideration.