The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-08-17
| PLAIN TALK TO WORKIxGMEN.

0fB are gwen WHAT tney O0Manu.-W e0C-
eyn Rural.
A PLAIN TALK TO WORKINGMEN.
From Tie lows state feader.1
The farmers and the laborers have the
votes which change elections. They
are also the men upon whom falls the
heavy burden Of taxation, for II is con-
ceded that wealth has a faculty for
eluding the assessor. 1t follows then
that when the real workingmen-the
men whose sweat kneads the dough for
their daily bresd-once learn how un.
justly the tariff presses upon them there
will be q revolution. The following
clear and powerful statement Of their
case is from the pen OF Mr.. E. NJ.
Turner, Of West Virginia, in reply to
some musing sophistries Of the Wheeling
Mtciiigcncer. It is the most complete
answer and thorough humiliation we
have yet seen:
upon me in the Inteiligvncer OF the Goth Of
June, and your inquiries - 70 the position as
sumo upon the tarl6 in reference to the farmer
and other unprotected clasres In this country,
beg leave 10 say:
ny position upon The tariff question il based
upon the following proportions, which. / hold
10 he essential truths In oil popular govern
institutions, namely: That oil government Is
instituted Tor the purpose Of securing to the
PEOPLE Who live under II the equal enjoyment
Of life, liberty and property; that oil taxation
should be equal and uniform, no far - the ma
ture Of human COVE, nmcnt can make i 20 that
every man has . natural right to the fruit Of
his own labor, which fruits no government csn
rightly takeaway from him without reward, ex-
G. pt for the maintenance Of government itself
that every Law which takes more than this 10
tyrannical and wrong.
protective tariff is an enactment which, in
our case, compels the larger number OF our
population to surrender : large part OF the
profile Of their labor TO smaller number With
ont compensation which restricts the right Of
the producer OF wheat and corn, or the labor
for hire, to exchange his product or his wages
for the greatest quantity and best quality Of
trading, except under heavy penalties, where
these things may be had most cheaply. The
object Of protective tariff ID TO raise the price
Of manufactured articles Of various kinds, up
on the ground that uey cannot be produced
here - cheaply ~ abroad on account OF high
W0SVuy 0I1O luc CupNtycT HUM lucIctOEC Ue III
lowed to add TO his price the additional cost Of
labor. Tue consumer OF the article pays the
increased price and Ii the loser OF the differ
ence between that and the natural price, or
the price without the tariff. For exam
pie. II he IL compelled by the sarin to pay
$l.lO for an article which without the tariff he
could buy for II, he loses 40 centA But You
assert that this 10 made up Ito the farmer at
leas) BY the incre ased price he gets for what he
has 10 SELL either productions or labor. But
IL he makes 1t hack again he must make it hack
from those whose industry Ii protected for it
II their demand for the farmers products which
You say has increased the price Of them. But
this destroys the object Of protection, for II
the protected workman has 70 pay out his
increase Of wages for increased price Of farm
products, how 10 he protected? He simply
pays out Of one pocket what he puts into the
other. And 30 with the farmer. He pays out
for what he buys al the increased price he gets
profted by such an operation.
Protection therefore cannot protect the work
man unless Il takes from some one else part
OF that Others earnings and give il to the work.
man. The other person il injured 10 the ex-
tent to which this u done, and no one can
make i up to him. The largest unprotected
class In this country consists OF farmers and
farm laborers. They are also tho largest con-
sumefs and therefore most injured by pro-
tective tAri6. II We did not produce more
agricultural products than our people could
commune, the case would not be 30 hard upon
them. But producing large surplus, - we
do, OF agricultural products, they must find
market il Europe and other countries. As
matter Of fact, our foreign market is mainly
England, fice-rade country, and the price OF
cur surplus il liked by England, and the price
Of the surplus determines the price Of the whole
crop. 50 that, ~ matter OF fact, our farm
labolers aud farmers cell their labor and their
I'M trAA0 bat
i cheap pAuper-lab0r market, while your
protective tAri6 c0mpcls them 10 bny al home
IN > market which you acknowledge to be :
dear market.
What ars the facta2 The average price OF
wheat In New York from 1876 to 1861. I period,
~ you know, OF tor tariff in this country, vas
&l.66 from 1861 TO 1851, period Of the high
ssi tarin this country has ever had, tho average
price Was el.5l. Tho average price Of corn
WAS from 1886 TO 1851, seveuty-three cents !;
from 1851 TO 1880 1t WAS sixty-six cents (see
report Of Director Of the Mint for 1880, page
ifty). What has become Of your Increased
pEioc under the high tariff?
The number Of the c,untry's working force
IN 1857. supposing pro-rata increase from
1870 was fifteen mlllions. and divided - fol-
lows
Employment No. FER cent.
Agricultural. .synso.ooo ~
Trade and transportation $4,000 3
Manufacturing, mechanical and
mining. ................. s,JWsUW ~
This means, protected workers, $500, 900, in
Guiding mechanics. many OF whom are not
protected, and miners also unprotected. H.
700, co., Why should II, COO, 600 Of workers DO
taxed 1t the average rate OF 40 per cent. on
nearly everything they consume and wear In
order to give high wages TO 3,OO0, OO0g What
was the amount Of that taxation In 1892 Let
M ace. Tho consumption OF manufactured
articles Was not less than 4l.50 per head, in
clud'ng their families. making VI, $50, 900 600.
The extra cost was $a7O. 000, 900 |; deduct &l00,-
000,00 for tariff on foreign goods imported
and we have &370, OO0, 900 a. tho price which
the unprotected classes paid TO the 1000, 600
protected wurkcrs-more than 600 to each
man. This estimate il very moderate one
Out prefer to be entirely within the TRUTH
And yet the farmer has no cause of complaint
according 70 your doctrine And yet with Oil
this bonus your protected workmen find en-
ployment in cur protected industries, notably
the IRON industries, only about nine months
IN the year, aud have 10 strike every
year or two to live. Where does all this bonus
50. then, Il not to the protected worker?
Let tho census report on tae iron and
.tecl industry made by your pet statistician Mr..
James NJ. Swank, President Of the American
Iron aud Steel Association, answer. Your iron
industries made profit in 1880 Of 20 per cent.
on = capital OF *23).VOO.OO0. The Pennsylva-
lila Steel Company e part OF the Bessemcr
steel r.ngl divided profits in the last three years
81 2ls per cent. on cal i.al OF 20, 900 OO0 tho
extra tarin rates on spool thread amounted to
tG,Oo0.O0O, divided among three firms in hi.
country census bulletin $50 shows the profits
OF manufactures flom wool 10 have been IS per
ceit. ON capital Of ti5l, 900, 900; this il where
thst $3.50, 0Ot. 900 exacted from tlsl unprotected
people OF thia country went. And yet YOU ask
me in derision il these are the people whose in
r. rtsaxv IT, eaHx