Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-03-06

TAXATION enough tor years 10 come IL was
my privilege last summer to spend IL"
weeks in England. | 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 a. out our exorbltaut rates OF duties
English importers caught 1t; German import
ers caught il. These identical documents
that the Democrats are circulating in New
H,mpshire are not paid for by the Democrat
ic 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, .'we want
to sell more goods in your country" l had
no doubt of that. They said: You are a
great agricultural country; you ought to
raise agricultural prodAcis, and We ought to
make the manufactured articles" NV ell,
l said, Il find that you bought between thirty
two and thirty-three million dollars worth OF
wheat last year, and only eight millions OF
it in the United States. | find that you
bought millions of dollars worth of corn,
and only few thousand dollars of it III the
United Stales." / asked them if they would
give up their agriculture if We would give UP
our manufactures, and they said their ag'cul-
ture was worth great deal more than their
manufactures. They came right to the point,
for they could tell the truth on the subject
over there; their friends do not like to tell II
here. They said, 1.-THE price of labor is too
high in the United States. You pay too much
for labor. 1t has bad effect. 1t causes
great many of our laboring people TO go to
the United States to seek better wages; 1t
makes those Disconnected who remain at
home; they demand higher wages, and we
have had to pay higher wages IN tins country
this year than ever before. y WELL l said,
"that does not hurt my feelings great deaf.
I lad fbpy
United States; l am very glad the toling
men and women over here are getting better
wages" saw everywhere went, especially
on the continent, women engaged In the
toughest and hardest work; women had to
bear heavy burdens there. ] saw women
doing all kinds of hard work. You have
heard q great deal said by our women's rights
people-of whom count myself one-about
the right ofwomen to work. They have that
right in the old world to their hearts content
| Laughter and applause. Well, gentlemen,
| l am glad that those men are complain
| ing about it. / am glad the working men in
| Europe are getting discontinued and want
| better wages. / thank 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,
working from twelve to fifteen hours. The
first month | worked after was twenty lone
years of age l went into the woods, drove
team, cut mill logs, wood, rose in the morn
ing before daylight and worked hard until
| after dark at night, and received for it the
magnificent sum of six dollars. And when
| to got the money those dollars looked as large
| me as the moon looked tonight. Laughter ]
! On the farm on which l served an 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.
Yesterday l visited that farm. | asked the
| men who were there what they paid men in
| haying time last summer, and they said from
| two dollars to two and 4 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 pro-
ducts, not money. l have seen some of the
brightest women go into the farm house and
work for from fifty cents to four shilings q
week, milking the cows, making butter ant
cheese, washing, spinning, and weaving, do
ing all kinds of hard work. l was told yes
terday that many young women were earning
in the shops dollar day, and that those
who worked in houses were getting from two
dollars and half u week to three dollars ant
half.
: In 1882, in the great debate in the Senate
on the tariff, it was said by those who advo
Gated, protective duties, that they had raised
it averaged fifty cents day. How is it now
This winter is the most prosperous winter the
United States has seen in its history Every
body is at work. There is very little suffer
ing anywhere. Why this change? Why this
improvement? 1t is because we have smitter
down the slave system, broken down the slave
power, lifted up and dignifed and honored
labor, tried to protect and diversity our own
industries. To-day the laboring men and
women of our country are earning from three
to four times as much in day as they could
earn forty years ago, and a days work is
shorter now than it was then. After had
learned a trade in the place where l live
worked fourteen and fifteen hours a day,
month after month, to earn about forty dol
lars month. There are hundreds of men
there now who in ten hours can earn hun
dred dollars more easily than | could earn
forty in fifteen hours. l am grateful to God
that this is so. l do not care anything about
few men or corporations piling up grea,
amount of money. believe God meant 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 full share Of
all they earn, and that an honest days work
shall always have a fair days pay. LouC
applause.]
Why is it that your members of Congress
from this district, and other members of Con-
gress from New Hampshire, are circulating
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 indus.
tries, increase our production, add to our
own wealth, and take care of our own coun.
try. My heart goes out to the men of Eng
land and Ireland, and 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 immortal inheritance.
l believe, too, in that comprehensive 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 people of the
United States before any other country or
any other people. Applause. l am for
taking care of our own interests, and not al
lowing the importing houses of Englishmen,
or Frenchmen. or Germans to control the
financial or business affairs of the people OF
the United States, nor TO control the policy
of the United States. think we are old
enough to take care of ourselves. APP