National Republican., 1880-04-27
word TO OUR woRKINGMEN.

WORD TO OUR woRKINGMEN.
Here are two or three significant facts, taken
from our dispatches of the last week, to which
we wish to call the attention of American
workingmeu and women.
1. During the last six days thirteen largo
steamships havo left the Mcrsey for North
American ports loaded with emigrants, nearly
all of whom are bound for the United States
The number is unprecedented.
2. During the last month the tide Of emi.
grafton has increased to an uncxamped extent
at this season Of the year, not only from Ire
land, but Germany, England and the SCandina-
vian nations. Most of tho emigrants from
every country but Ireland are reported to be
mechanics, skilled workimgmen or servants.
3. The demand for this foreign labor is still
greater than the supply The superintendent
at Castle Garden has hundreds of applications
for women servants in advance of their ar
rival. Swedish, Danish and French women
are preferred, because they arc sSillful, respect
iul and neat or, in other words, because hav-
ing taken up domestic service as mon do
trade, they carry into it the qualities which
enable them to succeed. Good homes and
liberal wages are waiting for them. Now,
every American city and village is full, on the
one hand, OF housekeepers who want such SER
wants, and of American girls, shrewd, nimble.
fingered and intelligent, who either prefer to
starve at some other work, or ii they 20 to
service scorn TO make themselves either skill
ful, neat or respectful.
| There is fact for the consideration of our
workingwomen now for the workiugmen.
A. Applications are sent in, far beyond the
| supply of emigrants to fill, for mechanics of
every grade, carpenters, weavers, gardeners,
| workers in every kind of metal, etc. AS our
| readers know, bodies of skilled workmcn have
been imported during the last six mouths by
our manufacturing firms by the hundreds, to so
| large au extent Us to close many of the mills in
| England. Yet every American town and vii.
| age is crowded with idle boys and young
men; not idle Of their own choice, but seeking
vainly to find work as boollkeepers, clerks,
| or perhaps starving as brieiless lawyers and
| patientess doctors. Comfort and a competence
| await the foreign mechanic, while the Ameri-
can of the came class goes hungry. The prn-
| cipal cause of this is that our trades q genera
| tion ago closed their doors on apprentices in
| order to keep down competition.
The owner of the largest printing establish
ment in Philadelphia tried in vain, few
| years ago to find admission for his son as an
apprentice in his own establishment. The
same rigor has been observed in almost every
trade. While however they can keep then
own and their neighbors' SONS out, they can
not exclude the foreign mechanic who, as We
have shown, is coming by the hundreds and
the thousands to step quietly into the com
Portable places from which our own people are
shut out.
1t is time that our working people should
waken to the folly of this suicidal policy. II
is all very well for us to boast that America
offers Il refuge for the oppressed Of every
nation. She has done it in the past and long
| will continue to do it. But ii is hardly con
sstont with such a character of universal
| benevoleuCo that her own children should be-
| the only ones forbidden to earn their bread il
tue manner which seems best to them.
The above, which we copy from the New
York Tribune, is worthy the careful reading
and prayerful contemplation ofevery Ameri
can worker. This sudden influx of skilled
labor from Europe is the result of the mar
row policy of our labor organizations in pro
hibting the learning of trades except to
limited extent by young America. The neg
lect to educate our own skilled mechanic
has created demand for labor that is to b
supplied from Europe, while vast numbe
of Americans are left to idleness simply be
cause they are not permitted to educat
themselves as apprentices to the variou
trades of the country to supply the demant
for skilled labor In this the labor organi
cations of the United States hay
overreached themselves, and are bein
hoist by their own petards. Their polio.
has been of the narrow gauge for the pur
pose Of securing n scarcity and monopoly q
skilled labor that the rewards thereu
might be controlled and appreciated b.
themselves They never calculated upo
the possibility that demand would dray
upon Europe, flood the country with ior
eign skill, and thus overwhelm the countr
to degree that would defeat their ow
hopes and bring them under q competition
which must inevitably reduce the reward
of labor to a lower figure. This may lea
{ to difficulties between native and foreig
labor, but the laws are adequate to proteC
the rights of all when called into actor
This we hope will teach salutary lessor