The Shasta courier., 1872-09-28

| 'hos shoy nave W pay tdAes are, lnueeu dimoSt
taxed out of existence. A document is circulated
to prejudice the laboring men against the Admin
istration, on account of the high rates of duties
In my judgment, the wise and sound policy is to
tax luxuries highly to put the burden of taxa
ton upon articles that come in competition with
our own, and to make a free list as large pos
sble. We have great debt to pay. We shall
have taxation enough for many years. That
burden, the legacy of the slave Democracy, will
rest upon the labor Of the nation for years to
come.
1t was my privilege last summer to spend a
few weeks in England l hardly heard anything
else there but complaints of our tariff If went
to dinner-party, or met Englishmen on ship
board or anywhere they had much to say about
our exorbitant rates of duties. English impor-
ters, German importers, French importers, all
berate our rates of duties These identical docu-
ments that the Democrats are circulating in New
Hampshire are not paid for by the Democratic
party, but by men who want to take care of
foreign interests rather than our own. Applause.
| asked these men abroad what they wanted
"Why," they said I'VE want to sell more goods
in your country" | had no doubt of that. They
said, d" You are a great agricultural country; you
ought to raise agricultural products, and we
ought TO make the manufactured articles"
WELL" said, " | find that you bought thirty
two million dollars worth of wheat last year,
and only eight millions of it in the United States.
find that you bought millions of dollars of corn,
and only few thousand dollars of it in the
United States" l asked them if they would give
up their agriculture if we would give up our man.
ufactures, and they said their agriculture was
worth great deal more than their manufactures
They came right to the point, for they could tell
the truth on the subject in England their friends
do not like to tell it here. They said, The
price of labor is too high in the United States
You pay too much for labor l has bad effect
1t causes a great MANY of our laboring people to
90 to the United States to seek better weges ; it
makes those discontented who remain at home ;
they demand higher wages, and we have had to
pay higher wages in this country this year than
ever before" "Well," | said, that does not
hurt my feelings great deal l am very glad
they get good wages in the United States; | re-
joice that the toiling men and women over here
are getting better wages"
! l saw everywhere l went, especially on the
Continent, women engaged in the toughest and
hardest work Women have to bear heavy
burdens there | saw women doing all kinds of
hard work You have heard a great deal said
by our women's rights people-of whom count
myself one-about the rights of women to work.
They have that right in the Old World to their
hearts content. Laughter and applause.
am glad that workingmen are complaining.
| am glad the workingmen in Europe are getting
discontented and want better wages and are get
ting higher wages and fewer hours. | thank my
God that man in the United States to-day can
earn from three TO four dollars in ten hours
work, easier than he could forty years ago earn
one dollar, tong from twelve to fifteen hours.
The first month | worked after | was twentyone
years of age went into the woods, drove team,
cut milllogs, wood; rose in the morning before
day light and worked hard until after dark at
night, and | received for it the magnificent sum
of six dollars. Each of those dollars looked as
large to me as the moon looked tonight Laugh
ter.
On the farm on which served apprentice
ship | have seen the best men who ever put
scythe in grass working for from fifty cents to four
shillings day in the longest days of summer.
Yesterday visited that farm. | asked the Nen
who were there what they paid men in hayihg-
time last summer, and they said from two dol
lars to two and half day. This was paid on
the same ground where men worked forty years
ago for from fifty cents to four shillings, and
took their pay in farm products not money. |
have seen some of the brightest women go into
the farm-houses and work for from fifty cents to
four shillings week, milking the COWS, making
butter and cheese washing, spinning, and weav-
ing-doing all kinds of hard work. | was told
yesterday that many young women were earning
in the shops dollar day, and that those who
worked in houses were getting from two dol
lars and a half week to three dollars and a
half
In 1882, in the great debate in the Senate on
the tariff it was said by those who advocated
protective duties that they had raised the price
of labor in the United States so that it averaged
/ 6ftu 10 This
is the most prosperous winter the United States
has seen in its history. Everybody is at work.
There is very little suffering anywhere Why
this change? Why this improvement? 1t is
because we have smtten down the slave system,
broken down the slave power, lifted up, dignihed
and honored labor, and tried to protect and di-
versify our own industries 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 days work is
shorter now than it was then. After l had learned
mechanical trade in the place where now live
| worked fourteen and fifteen hours day,
month after month, to earn forty dollars month.
There are hundreds of men there now who in ten
hours can earn a hundred dollars more easily
than could earn forty in fifteen hours. | am
greatful to God that this is so. | do not care
anything about few men or corporations piling
up a great amount of money. The wealth of the
Astors the Stewards, and the Vanderbilts has no
allurements for me- | believe God made this
world to grow good men and women, and not to
pile up money. That is my belief, and | want to
see the men and women who bear the burdens
and do the work have a full share of all they
earn, and that an honest days work shall always
have fair days pay. Loud applause
| Why is it that the Democrats of New Hamp-
shire are circulating free-trade documents, pic
torials and cartoons over this State? Why should
they strive to deceive poor laboring men, when
they were never SO prosperous as now under the
system that tends to diversity our industries,
| increase our production, add to our own wealth,
/ and take care of our own country? My heart
goes out to the workingmen of England and Ire
and, of Germany and France, aye and of Asia
and Africa. too. A man is a man, no matter
where he was born or what blood courses in his
veins | believe that God made him and Christ
died for him., and that he is destined to an i'm
mortal inheritance believe, too, in that CON-
prehensive policy that watches over the poor
and lowly and takes care of the interests of all
the world but, after all, l am for the Republic
of the United States, one and indivisbe, and the
people of the United States, before any other
country or any other people Appause.
am for taking care of our own interests and
/ 81 Of 81,