American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-03-23

| g There fair maiden of Mcdford
| Who WAS smashed on youth in New Bedford;
But he smclcd so of oil
That his suit il did spoil
Oleaginous chap of New Bedford
| To which a New Bedford editor re-
| spends:
. There was fine lad in New Bedford
| Fell in love with lady in Medford;
But she smelled of rum
He quite overcome
This prohibitory youth of New Bedford
What Kadicalfsm Has Done for Work.
ingmen.
SENATOR HENRY WILSON went up to
New Hampshire last month, to tell the
workingmen of that State what the Radi-
| cal party had DONE and were doing, for
them. And he told them some very inter
esting things. For instance, he said that
the Radical party maintained the policy
| of the small farms against the great plan
tations," while the Democratic party had
always maintained the opposite policy.
Applying upon this good point, he
said:
Eve passed the Homestead bill, and James Bu-
chanan vetoed it, and the Democratic party sup,
was to save the vast public domain to landless
men that they might have small farms rather than
that few men might have great plantations. We
were defeated; but the first year the Republican
party came into power in the midst of the struggle
bill, and saved the public lands the free laborng
men of this country forever and forever
Some of the facts illustrating the very
peculiar manner in which the Radical
party has maintained the policy of small
farms, and Saved the public lands to the
free labOTing men of this country forever
and forever" Mr.. Wilson conveniently
forgot to mention. He neglected to state
such facts as these: Not very long after
the Radical party came into power, it be-
gan to give ''small FARMS to Railroad
corporations. 1t has given away no less
100, DOC, COO acres to these corporations, 150,
900, 900 to the three Pacific roads alone.
These farms are, for the most part, held
by the Companies on speculation, and do
not get into the hands of the free laboring
men until they are willing to pay the
prices demanded by the corporations.
The lands were given away on the theory
that the grants would at least double the
price of the alternate sections reserved by
the Government, so that the Treasury
would lose nothing by the gift. The Com
panies generally act upon the theory that
these lands are worth a good deal more
than Government price. The Northern
Pacific, for instance, estimates its lands
worth on the average ten dollars an acre.
SO the free laboring men can have their
small farms on the line of that road by
paying an average of ten dollars an acre
for them.
Another fact to which Senator Wilson
did not allude was that while near
ly 100000, 600 acres have been do
mated to corporations, no more than
"A, O0O,O acres have been enter
ed under the Homestead law, and granted
for military services. Still another fact
is that one-third of the entire public do
main available for agricultural purposes
has already been given away, and bills
calling for more than the whole amount
SO available are now before Congress, and
likely to pass if the Radicals remain in
power. 1t is in this way that the Radical
party has Saved the public lands to the
free laboring men of this country forever
and forever"
Another thing that Mr.. Wilson told the
workingmen of New Hampshire was that
to-day the laboring men and women of
our country are earning from three to four
times as much in a day as they could earn
forty years ago, and a days work is shorter
than it was then" The first thing to be
said about this is, that it is not true. II
may be that working men earn three times
as much money as they did forty years
ago but they do not earn three times as
much moneys worth. They do not earn
three times, nor twice, as much food,
clothing, and general comforts. Nor is
it true that the hours of labor have been
very much shortened. 1t is true that
skilled workmen in many of the trades
work fewer hours than formerly, and the
same is true of large classes of common
who work in masses, and under
such conditions that they can act in con-
cert. But these are not the only working
men in the country. They are, indeed,
few, compared with the millions of farm |
ers and common laborers who are under |
the necessity of working as of old.
But granting that laboring men work !
less and earn more than they did forty |
years ago, which is undoubtedly true with |
respect to many of them what then ?
Has the Radical party brought this about:
Has the Radical party constructed the /,
railroad and telegraph lines of the coun- |
try Has the Radical party produced |
one of the thousand labor-saving machines |
that have done so much to increase the |
wealth of the country and the world, and |
to relieve man from the necessity of hard |
and unremitting toll? By no means. |
These things are not the fruit of party |
policy. They are the fruit of individual |
skill and ingenuity and enterprise. They
have not all of them come into beng I
since 1861. Most of them existed and |
were working out their grand results years
before the Radical party came into power.
The only effect of Radical policy has
been to discourage enterprise and inven-
ton, and to impede the development of
he Astounding resources of the country. |
BY the enormous duties on iron and other |
the extension of our railroad
md telegraph systems has been hindered.
By the same means ship building has been
and the export of manufac
ured articles, which was rapidly grow
ng in importance during the last years of
Democratic administration, has been re-
luced one-haif. In these and other
ways, Radical policy has operated to
'educe, rather than increase the wages of
abor.
Another thing that Mr.. Wilson told the
of New Hampshire was that
,ur 700 millions of currency is worth
40 millions Of dollars, or 20 per cent,
more than it was three years ago. The
aboring man who has earned two dol
ars to-day has received forty cents, in
eal gold value, more than he would have
eceivcd three years ago this day" In
cal gold value, yes; in real bread value, no.
t is not true that the workingman's two
dollars will buy 20 per cent. more of gen
raj commodities than it would have
bought three years ago. But supposing
t to be true what of it 1t necessarily
ollows either that the workingman is
low receiving 20 per cent. more than he
arms, or that he was receiving II per
ent. less than he earned three years ago.
Probably Mr. Wilson will not say that
wages are now higher than they ought to
re. He must therefore take the other
lorn of the dilemma, and admit that
hree years ago the beautiful currency
ystcm which the Radicals have given us
vas robbing the Iaborer of II per cent
# his earnings There is nothing in that
# which the Radical party can be par
iculo rly prOul Il Hjra0o Times