The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1872-03-07
The Protective Policy.
BY HORACE GREELEY.

York CITY, Horace Greeley deliver
ed an Address, in which among
other things be laid down the doc
trines of the Protective Policy after
this style:
PROTECTION OUR POLICY.
This Association is made up of
men of all opinions, as it is of men
of all pursuits and vocations. We
have no creeds. We have never at
any time proposed to establish any
formula of belief as basis of this
Institute. And yet it has always
happened-men say things happen,
| mean to say it has always been the
case-that this Institute has had for
its officers, and the men who spoke
its sentiments, Americans who
strongly believed in the policy of
protecting home industry. Call it
chance, call it accident, we have
been American mechanics, Ameri-
can artisans, American inventors or
improVers in art, and because we
were such we have sympathized-
nay, we have shared the convictions
of that great class who at all times
and in all parts of the country have
believed it was wise and benefcent
to protect our home industry, and
to seek by protection to develope
and diversity that industry, to build
up new arts, to stimulate invention,
to call into existence new factories,
new furnaces, new forges, and every
variety of Industrial achievement
and institution, and device, which
contributes to the great work. Yes,
we have as body so felt, so spoke,
80 acted.
DOES PROTECTION PROTECT?
This coat 1 wear, you see it is not
very good one, was made in New
York by q journeyman tailor, who
got $l2 for making it, after it had
been all cut and fitted and made
ready for his needle. They tell me
that just such coats are made in
Europe for 81. Admitted, admitted
"Then," says friend, "your inter-
est is to get your coat made in Eu-
rope" No, it is not; it is not my
interest. For to be able TO buy
coats at all, l must have purchasers
for my newspapers, and those can
not find in Europe, but 1 can find in
America, if the workman is we'll
paid and we'll fed. 1t is my interest
that the American workman should
be paid American wages, and live
like an American freeman.
But my neighbor says, "No, bet
ter buy the European coat" 1 tell
you there is no class among US to-
day so we'll protected by the tariff as
the poor seamstress in the garret.
Take off this tariff and we should
be flooded with European clothing,
with the contents of all the slop-
shops of Europe, cheap perhaps, but
whore would be the American tail
or? Either be must have coats at
European prices, or cease to make
coats altogether. Suppose he ceases
to make coats. At once he becomes
a competitor with you or me in our
vocations, for the man must live in
some way. Of course he is an infe-
rior workman at his new pursuit,
and he must work fer an inferior
price. His labor gluts the market,
lowers wages, throws other work.
men out of employment, and so the
circle widens, widens till the whole
community is distressed. Do you
believe the corner grocer and the
man in the tenement won't feel
that? If the tailor works for Euro.
pean wages will he get his living
cheaper? We are sending provi-
sions to Europe and certainly he
cannot get them cheaper here by
reducing his wages. Still they say,
80, he'll get his living somehow, by
hook or crook; he'll manage to live
on his S4." Well, I hope those who
are going to oonvice the working
man of that will have a good time
doing it. They can do anything af.
ter they have accomplished that.
AMERICAN WAGES THE BEST IN THE
WORLD.
But consider again. Here are men
to-day coming from England, from
Ireland, from Germany, from Cana.
da, from all parts of the world, to
get American wages and to learn
} American conditions of living. They
have in Canada just the condition oI
things we are told We ought to have
: here. They have everything as
cheap as may be, and very low du.
ties indeed-lower than we should
require for revenue purposes alone
Why, then, do Canadians come here
by tens or hundreds and thousands
Why but because they know by ex
perience that they can buy coats
cheaper hera with American wages
, than they can get them there with
Canadian wages? They prefer the
conditions of mechanical industry
here to those existing abroad.
l have only chosen to say what
seemed to me necessary to show
that while this Institute has ne