The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-10-26
HARTER's SPEECH.
,NTINUED FROM THE SECOND PAGE.

Stlll more distinguished JarlH advocate
rests his argument on the fact that free
trade in England killed Irish manufac
| tureTs. But, as Irish manufacturing is
on a much more extensive scale now
than when England established the great
reform, which we know under the name
of Free Trade, he surely will excuse q
humble individual like me for under
| taking to act as attorney for the prOtec-
| tiOnists tonight. The prOtectiOnist
| says that while the people suffer for
awhile that it is only temporary, and
| that in little while no more will be
asked or needed. As eighty years ago
protection was asked ana received, and
we see all the worthy beggars who ap-
pear before the Tariff Commission are
like the horse leech's daughter, asking
| for more, we conclude that projections
| ist reckOns time like Moses did when he
said "a day is as thousand years." But
the prOtectiOnist also says that protected
industries soon become strong and self
supporting. How is it that instead of
asking to have the tariff reduced they
are asking for increase? The protection
ist also says that the people get lower
priced goods through protection, and
points to the fact that we can buy the
$4 French cloth we were speaking about
at SO now, and claims this was brought
about by his system. If we are buying
it at less than it is sold for abroad, this
reasoning is true, but if not, it is false.
How is it? Fortunately, the protection
ist furnishes us the club with which to
beat his brains out, here, for he refuses
to-day to give up his tariff, which shows
that even now we could buy the cloth
still cheaper but for him, and as he
wants more tax still, we find we are
worse off to day than at the start, and
20 - u m 70 yHyith
eign manufacturers than ever. But he
says the labOrer is benefited by this tax.
Let us see whether he is or not. 1st.
The labOTer in his cloth mill receives
only the average price paid to labOreTs
in other manufacturing industries, and
the cloth he and his family uses costs
him more than it would otherwise; and
so 1T is hard to see how even this class
of labor is benefited. And I'd. Where
one labOrer is engaged in mnking the
cloth, at least one hundred use ii, and
each of the one hundred are losers by
the tax put upon it, as he has to pay
more for every yard he uses, and there
is not even pretext made that his
wages are effected while this increase is
made in his living expenses. Even if
those engaged in making cloth were
benefited (as they are nOt), would it be
right that the hundred should suffer for
the advantage of the one man? The fact
that every leading industry which re-
ceives protection Is getting more than
it did eighty years ago, and asking for
further increase, now shows as cOnclu-
sively as anything can that protection
is an utter and absolute failure In es-
tablishing and rendering any business
self-suppOrting, and we will therefore
examine still more closely than we have
so far done, its claim that it is for the
advantage and good of the wOrkin gman.
You have so often seen the claim made
that but for protective tariff the Amer
ican labOring man would be working
for starvation wages, that it deserves
careful examination. The honest pro-
makes this his bulwaTk when demand
| ing the imposition of unconstitutional
| taxes. Now, what are the facts? We
| have a country in which natural re-
| sources are cheap and abundant; all raw
materials have been given us with a
| lavish hand, and if labor were cheaI
there would be no grounds whatever for
asking for protection, because it would
be cOnfessing imbecility to say we could
not compete with other nations if we
| had cheap labor and cheaper materials
The fact is then that labor is naturally
| high in America and always will be so
| long as it is not inteTfered with by tariff
| legislation. Instead of tariff taxes be-
| ing levied for the benefit of labor they
are always aimed at it. They OppTess
the working man from his birth to the
| grave; he is wrapped in taxed swaddling
| clothes when he comes into the world
his poor father is taxed on the common
clothes he wears during childhood and
youth; when he marries, his wife's COM
mon dress is taxed at higher rate than
ha of hn nTSf 3, e,
his common carpet is burdened out of all
proportion to the Administer that COW
ers the floor of the palatial home of the
protected mOnOpOlist, and when he dies
they put him in a coffin made of taxed
wood, fasten him dOWn with taxed nails,
the minister says the service over him
out of a taxed book, his bones are hur-
ried out to Gods acre in hearse made
of taxed wood, iron and glass-the
ground is thrown on him with taxed
shovel, and the pTOtectiOnist would fol-
low him to Heaven with taxes if men
who take their neighbOrs' goods could
find entrance and reach him there.
But while he is in the flesh he learns
that his representative in Congress has
asked for tariff on hoop iron, or some
such article, for his benefit, and when
he goes to the manufacturer and asks
for an increase of wages which will
give him perhaps very small part of
the money taken from the consumer in
his name, he is told he cannot have it
and that unless he keeps on with his
work his master will close his mill and
shut him out of his livelihood. do not
advocate strikes: l am the last man to
defend them. We never had one among
the men i'll our employ. 1 believe only
unmiXed evil grows out of them, but
surely the workman is entitled to at
least small portion of the large sums
taken from the consumer by force in
his name. But the utter hypocrisy of
the cry that protection is for the labor
ing man is shown by the fact that this
class of manufacturers, while they OBJ
ject to the Importation of goods which
compete with their goods, are constant
ly importing labor to compete with
their wOrkmen, and whenever their
wOrkmen do strike they crush them out
by putting foreign labor into their
places. For shame! If you want to pro-
tect your wOrkLlen by tariff at all, put
your tariff on labor or forbid its impOr-
tatiOn altogether and thus do what you
pretend to do for him. Just here make
statement which any man present is
at liberty to question, and that is that
for every Chinaman employed by man
ufacturer who is opposed to. the robbery