The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1884-09-18
simply by sending his goods here, IL wo do not

simply by sending his goods here, II wo do not
take care to control that sending of goods III
the Interest OF the American peupla. tGrtat ap-
pianseI have Thought u convenient that
everybody shall understand exactly what o
tarif means We have had men, almost atatce--
men, that do not understand II. ] hsve thHughf
some ~ then, believed Y was sJmething 70
Evsts body could see Il II they would give
little attention to 1t, and everybody Will then
deal with u according to the interest Of the
s working men and women Of the country and
Tor the hchffit of the country.
Now, want to call your attention to another
trlng. and that IL the reason why your markets
west are rot what they ought TO I've. and that is
the East We are full Of cotton goods aud cannot
sell them: Of woolen goods six months supply.
AMI we cannot sell them: OF shoes. enough 20
that q everybody may be shod, and there are men
and women In the West that want shoes of all
descriptions, What with us? You cannot sell
se'r wheat and corn and your lumber at the
East Why? We want 1t. Why shall VIC not
have it2 will tell you. In 1868 corn was worth
10 cents bushel, wheat sl.5o, butter so cents
pound. eggs ~ cents dozen. They have gone
now to almost one-third of that price, wheat,
still we cannot sell them. The railroads in 1868
carried you on an average. East and West fot
and make money at that. Iher bnsi,el 1T corn
Y will not. While all yonr produce has g,tne
down East and West, bur manufacturers have
gone down IN the same ratio: cotton goods We're
i peg Why Should they not have gone domaas
well as the farmers produce and the manufac-
tuted goods When you ask a railroad u an
what makes the cheapness OF all these prodnc-
will tell you il Is over production / tell yon it
Is derconsumption. What Is the diff
ferencci you will say. 1t is this: Over
more, corn and wheat than ANYBODY
could eat and use and SELL Under
is when men cannot get the corn
aid wheat to eat, because they have no wages
with which to buy. What keeps You apart? 1t
Is your railroad system. The railroads are pub
lie servants, great conveniences, but they claim
In some States to be above the law, and they are
held by some Legislatures and some Governors
above the law That is not true. They are
creatures of la., and you can, by Your legisla-
tion regulate them "a You choose. When they
are not prevented by law they make laws for
They make bargains and combi-
nations by which they will keep up the price of
OF freight and passengers, and
that puts such . burden upon the farmer that
he cannot carry hts corn to the railroad can
not send 1t to towti and he has to feed it TO his
cattle in many instances in order that he may
Ilrice II to market on hoof You will understand
this at once said 1t was your fault. and 1t is
your fault, because you have been tied to PARTY
names and party cries. and been voting party
instead OF voting for yourselves. There IL
Peoples party, but you hear 1t said ii yon vote
for that party you will be throwing away your
vote.
Now. my Democratic friend, you have been
voting for the Democratic ticket for quarter Of
a century. Don't know but you have voted for
it ever since Jackson What good has 1t ever
done youg Haven't YOU thrown away your vote
every time for twenty-five years. You have
gained no. hing by It, Vote for yourself four or
live years, along with us, and then IL you find
You cannot do anything tou may &c. back and
vote the Democratic ticket again the rest OF
your life.
MY Republican friend over here what are you
laughing at? You have been voting the Repub-
lican ticket for arly quarter OF century.
since 1856. The first thing you did was very
great and noble and wonderful work. in doing
which, although II cost the most horrible and
terrible war that ever was, Won freed 4.oo,soV
human beings from slavery. Worth all IT cost,
worth all your votes. and while you voted for
that could understand that You voted just as
yen went to war, determined that that great
evil should be crushed: but that evil has been
crushed for almost twenty wears, and still YOU
keep voting the Republican ticket, just as II the
Republican party had not been formed for tho
very purpose pf freeing those slaves, and for no
other purpose whatever. IL was great and glo-
rious rarty when it was formed OH a great and
glorious idea, and II was almost as poor. as far
as worldly wealth went, as the Peoples party
now. But the capitalists got into IT. The war
attracted them as molaSses draws flies. Great
fortunes were made and the capitalists became
very strong. The two thousand national banks
and the railroads now control the Republican
party. fApplause.I You are throwing your
ii You vote the Democratic party in. the Inonop-
olists control that. We could not get a resolu-
tion In favor OF American labor through the
Chicago convention because that was against
the interests Of capitalists and mono olists, and
the monopolists of the South-for there all are
and rightly so, in one sense, be-
We're brought up to own labor. The la
bor of the North took away that kind
of property. and they have never for
given the North for it and never will: and now
tlaxa har ,ppc n vnf /,
the men of a single State, the state Of New
York substantially, to vote down labor at the
Democratic convention. and they control on the
one side, and it Is OF no consequence which
party gets in. You will never get in by any ac
cident. You cannot get an act through Con-
gress that means anything. They will pass an
act a that the statistics OF labor shall be taken
What Is that? They are to lind out what you
want. Don't you know what You wants That
is a tub to the whale to keep the laboring man
quiet. il there anything else you got through?
When / was In Congress advocated and rot
passed the cight-hour law for Government
Not that l thought Government
ought to be preferred over any
body else; did not think SO At ali bnt this was M
that he ought to work, and do all that ought To
be required for him to do, II he gets enough to
in comparative comfort his family in
el ght hours. He said to me, and believed 1t.
Gen. Butler, in the time OF the revolution,
when everything was made by hand. the
laborer got q comfortable subsistence, and he
the inventive machinery, have
added a thousandfold TO production since.
The laborer by his hand then produced enough
to supply the wants Of everybody, and every
body got fair sustenance. BY machinery and
st am power more than one hundred, and
in some instances, has the
productive power been increased. As pro-
junction increases, still the laborer has to work
all the time that he can work in the hours
OF the day. In order TO get the same COM
Portable sustenance that he did when production
was only one-hundredth and one thousandth
part much. Where has all that great increase
of wealth from this increased production gone
Well, / said it has gone into the hands Of the
monopolists. Now. he saws. cannot the expert
ment be tried whether eight hours day will
not produce enough for the laborer to live on 7
said the difficulty il the one have found in
Massachusetts, in fighting down the hours OF
labor there from thirteen hours day to ten
said AS much in a series of years can be ac-
complshed by a man working ten hours as
thirteen, and think in series of years as much
can be done in eight as in ten: because the
laborer can and will work with more diligence
and with more power and energy during the
eight hours" But the answer was to me, and |
put ii to them and talked to them, when asked
them to try the experiment They said: We
can't" The moment that we employ our labor
eight hours day our neighbor who employs his
ten hours will run US ont Of the inark ket." Then
said "the government has been making certain
how much has been produced working ten
hours day. Now, the government can at
ford TO try this experiment ana employ
their workmen eight hours dav. and SO
how the cost of making what they do make, such
as arms at Rock Island and in the arsenais. and
the work done in the navy yards-see whether
eight hours day will accomplish tha same, or
whether 1t Is best. They can afford ii. and
whether or not they can afford IL, they are bound
for the sake OF the people to try the experiment.
We got the eight-honr law through, and the
theory was that the government officers would
keep an exact account OF what was done In eight
hours, we would compare it with what was done
III ten and then see what the result would be:
and III the result WAS as i believed, and a. the
laboring men believed 1t would he. shen private
establishments would agree tn IL. Hut what did
the monopolists do2 Every government offieer
refused To execute that law. He refused 10 em-
ploy the laboring men eight hours day. lie re-
fused TO keep any account: and there has never
bean power enough. laboring men aud men oil
Michigan, and honesty of purpose enough under
any Republican administration for the last ten
years and more since that law has been in eS-
istence TO enforce IL and try the experiment: he
cause capital said IL didn't want that experiment
tried.
ask you here to- night. what Is the use ol
passing laws in favor OF laboring men, II You
cannot get an Executive in the char who has
got nerve enough aud sense enough To enforce
III. And Yet we thought We had made -aln Iui
labor. There have been all manner of contfis-
ances to prevent this being tried. Nothing vii
ever be done for the iabofing man and woman
for the small producer, in Congress or else-
where, until the people take In III hand. ns
soa know your power There are supposed u