The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1873-09-11
PROTECTION.

PROTECTION. 4 .ss;rs*8ssib
We extract the following morcean from .
late letter by Don Piatt. tho inimitable. The
Don Is sarcastic, but in these days Of universal
corruption and crime, one has to be sarcastic to
tell the truth Especially can one not be too
sarcastic upon the robbers trick Of protection,
which is fast sapping away, not only the little
property of the common people oil the over the
country. but the morals and liberties Of the ma
ton. But why such scheme should be called
protection passes our ken. Certainly no one is
potected by it, nnless it is foreign nations These
we belieyea are and partiularly so, their CONNER
cial interests, while almost excluding our own
ships from the sea- Who ever before heard
ofa nation Of 10000, 600 Of people enacting laws
for the annibilation Of their own shipping, that
a few public plunderers might grow suddenly
enormously rich without labor or effort Of any
kind except efforts to corrupt legislation; in
which they have been alarmingly successful.
Yet such is the very position in which we stand
to day. Our tariff is 50 high that it amounts TO
prohibition on every important articles fimpor-
tation, and instead of Government deriving any
benefit from the barbarous interdiction-in-
stead Of wages being increased by it as is pre-
tended-the advance on the prices Of protected
articles goes into the pockets Of the rich man.
ufacturer; q source Of revenue is shut off
from government by reason of the non.impor.
tation Of the excluded goods. and the price Of
labor reduced by sending stories Of high wages
abroad to encourage tradesmen from all parts
of Europe to come here in the hope Of better
ing their conditioa-getting higher wages
who, when they arrive, beiug poor and unable
to return tO their own countries, must work
for whatever is offered them. or else steal or
starve. But it will not be thus always. The
people are becoming more and more enlightened
on the dark ways in which they are deeeed;
and when the storm which 10 now brewing
bursts. many gigantic fortune will 20 down, and
many . rich beggar go UPON the end Of rope
no more convenient way Of getting rid Vi them
is found. 1.-The laborer is worthy Of his hire"
which he is fast finding out is not paid him, and
it will not be long ere he will demand and have
his dues. twenty-five years ago, in the State
Of Iowa. we could 60 to town with 81 60 in our
pocket the product of four days labor, and with
that sum purchase IA lbs. Of coffee and a like
quantity Of sugar. To day. in the same State,
it takes four days work to earn IS 90 which
will only pay for 10 lbs. Of coffee and the same
amount of sugar. A plow which then cost the
wages Of Is days work, it now takes25 days to
purchase. In addition to these facts, wages
statistics shsw that laborers are better paid in
the unprotected than in the protected 2 Estates;
and that even in the 30 called protected States,
wages are better in the unprotected than in tho
protected districts. But to our extract: t-n
eve embarked" says Piatt. eat noon upon the
Glasgow, Scotland. It is . melancholy. fact, known
to ali the world. that all lines plying between our
point and Europe carry foreign hags and are owned
abroad We happened to be present In . late dispute
between the White Star and German ines before the
General, for the privilege Of carrying
spectscle The 6ae that once aossed in pride over
every sea has been driven away from our ports
through the greed Of protectionists possessed OF
lie to assert that the cruisers Of the Confsderates
during the late war brought this about. That var
lasted four years on land, two years at sea- and cur
American energy and enterprise would have rem
saied the trouble long since; but in the meantime
ron has revolutionixed ship building and owing to
our high price Of iron. caused by protection and
inflated currency, our ship builders cannot compete
With the builders of Europe. and with . stupidity
hat is without parallel prohibit the purchase OF
'hips abroad There are three things we cannot
purchase abroad: one is obscene books the other 10
spurious currency. and the third Is ships We need
'nly one Of the three. We have . good supply Of
obscene books. thanks to Harriet Beecher Stowe.
dessrs. Woodruff h ClafliN. and the immortal Walt
Whitman. Heaven knows we have enough OF spurt.
'us circulating medium. But We do need ehtps;
nd. differing from every nation on the face Of the
arth. we prohibit the purchase when they can be
purchased st proht." e3 54Es tfa