The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1884-07-31
Mr.. fuckers Speech.

all disguise and exhibits himself as the
enemy of the section he seeks to repre-
sent. whilst at the same time he affords a
striking illustration of the danger that
would follow the elevation of the Demo-
cratic party to the control of the National
He frankly admits that he
is still a believer i'll the principles which
practical, common sense men thought had
gone down in the shock Of battle he ar
raigns the Republican party for bringing
on the war he denounces them because at
the close of the war the conquered section
was not permitted to take control OF the
Government it had sought to destroy he
tells us that every Republican who comes
South is intent on arraying race against
race: and that those who invest their
money here to develop the latent wealth OF
the State, are heartless cormorants who
seek to grind down the poor in order that
they may spend their ill-gotten gains in
the North He lives in the past. He feeds
upon the bitter memories of the war and
reconstruction, and the only redeeming
feature of this representative Bourbon is
that he has the candor to boldly give utter
ance to the faith that is in him.
Mr. Tucker not only has not forgotten
anything. but he resolutely refuses to re-
cognize that twenty-five eventful years
have wrought change in Virginia; that
the people are looking now to practical
benefits from legislation that they have
ceased to breathe in an atmosphere of alb
stract theories, and have ceased to look
for leadership to abstract theorists that
they can no longer be influenced by blatant
appeals to sectional hate that they are look
ing to the future for peace and prosperity,
and that they are welcoming northern ell
terprise and capital to develop their re-
sources. All this is a sealed book to Mr..
Tucker. He still upholds the old States
Rights doctrine. He still advocates prac-
tical free-trade. And even in this he ex-
hibits his thorough Bourbonism. The
tariff part of his speech on Monday, was
but the reproduction, in almost the same
language, of his speech at TT. Defiance in
this county, two years ago. We were
tempted to insert criticism of that speech
published in this paper Oct. 10, 80, but
our limited space forbids it. Hesought to
make almost precisely the same points
then that he endeavors to make now, and
the failure was quite as conspicuous.
Let us enquire into some Of his tariff
,,ronnc;f;opc HE 1aboroI ofTo,.t to prox,o
that the pooc man is compelled to pay 500
per pair for coarse, common blankets, is
met by the fact that the poor man who
listened to Mr.. Tucker had but to walk a
square and get his blankets at from serenity
fUe cents to three dollars per pair. In our
editorial of Oct. 80, '82, we exposed this
whole blanket romance, but need not re-
peat it here. The simple, practical test is
sufficient. We are manufacturing and SELL
ing common blankets under protective
tariff as cheap as they can be bought IN Eng
land, and nearly SO per cent. less than
under free-trade. If anyone is disposed
to doubt this statement let him inquire at
the stores.
Again, take the item of pig iron. the
duty on which is 1912 per long ton. Under
the Morrison bill, subject to the proviso
of the Morrill, bill, it would have been
Sc. 90 per ton. Mr.. Tucker states that the
cost of labor necessary to produce ton OF
pig is II per cent. in this country, and S
per cent. in England. and if protection to
1ohor xxroro alopa docirod tho I,1tv Should
be fixed at per cent. the differ
ence between and1 II. This he contends
would secure to the laborer all of the pro-
lection afforded under the present law.
provided the laborer got the full benefit Of
the duty. According to his figures the
cost of ton of pig in Virginia is S12,
II per cent. or $2.04 of which goes to the
lahorer. Let us see how this works.
McCreath's Mineral Wealth of Vir-
ginia, a recognized authority, estimates
the cost of a ton of pig at Pulaski, where
the ore and coal lie almost side by side, at
S11.95, as follows
Ore 21S tons a 4.79
Coke IA tons q S2.65................ 3.3l
Limestone ........... ...................... so
lncidentals. LIS
sll .95
Now let us look at the actual cost of
labor:
The average royalty paid for iron ore in Vir-
ginla is % cents per ton, SO that cost OF
labor for ORE less royalty would be......$ ST. .26
Fully 80 per cent. of the cost of coke is for -
Cost of labor for Limestone, ................. IS
Labor of manufacture Observation-Disclosures. 200
Proportional cost of labor included in incl
dentals, % per cent............ III
Cost of labor.......... ....."............. $9.T
or 50 per cent. of the whole cost, instead
of II per cent, as stated by Mr.. Tucker.
But even this 80 per cent. doesn represent
the cost of labor. Every implement en-
ployed, from the pick to the wagon that
hauls the pig from the furnace, is the re-
suit of labor, and its cost, less reasonable
profit, is the price paid to labor, and so on
| through all the infinite ramifications of
| trade.
| If the cost of labor in a ton of American
ore is 81 per cent, then by Mr.. Tucker s
| figures the cost in England would be
S-17ths of that amount, or 80 per cent.
50 per cent. ON American pig at.$l2 per
ton would be $9.S4 80 per cent. on Eng
lish pig at $500 per ton would be $3.12,
and the difference solely the
cost of labor-would be 1912, or exactly
the amount of tariff duties levied. If
Mr.. Tucker could be induced to look a
little deeper into the subject upon which
he attempts to enlighten the people, he
would find that the Republican party
builded wiser than he dreamed in adjust
| ing the customs duties.
| According to Mr.. fuckers theory only
the men engaged in the actual manufacture
of iron should be protected. The Repub-
lican theory is that no American, be he
common laborer or artizan, should be
forced into competition with the i'll paid
wage-earners of England.
In trying so arouse theprejudices Of the
farmers against the manufacturer, Mr..
Tucker told them that the Bessemer Steel
Works realized net profit of 66 per cent.
a year on their invested capital, whilst
grinding the labor to the earth. And then
asked if they 1.-THE farmers) could make