Daily Republican., 1884-02-16
A Free Trade scotch :. Thistle"


ticle on Wednesday, under the heading
Of ;" A Practical Argument for Protec-
tiOn," gave the substance of a conyer-
sation with couple of natives of Scot
land, in which it was plainly made to
appear that Scotch working people We're
better off in protected America than
they were in free trade Scotland. To
this view of the author a correspon-
dent of the Ev ry Evening, evidently
a Scotchman, over the signature Of
Thistle" takes exceptions. This
tie " claims to have lived in Dundee,
Scotland, four years ago, and he says he
was better paid in his line of business
than in this city that the hours of
labor there are only from II to 81 hours
per week that the wages of trades
men and workmen is greater consider
ing the purchasing value of the money;
that education is compulsory on chill
dren up to - years of age. Thistle "
also says children are not employed in
any factory under ten years Of age, and
school rules are more strict than in this
country. He says there are building
societies there AS here, and thousands
of workmen have their own homcS;that
they have every facility for moral, in
tellectual and scientific culture that
they are well supplied with schurches,
schools, libraries and free lectures that
Scotch men and women are - well
educated and are much better of than
they ever Were under protection; that
free trade has doubled wages, made
every commodity plentiful and cheap,
enabled manufacturers 10 have the
world for their customers. and with a
bountiful supply of work for all
Besides all these the workingmen
have the advantage Of cooperative So
cieties which yield them a profit of 10
u II per cent, and enable the renter
to pay his rent when it becomes due.
The foregoing We believe is the sub
stance OF the communication.
In a review answer we do not hesitate
to say that America might profit, in n
measure, by adopting Scotlaud's COM
Pulsory school laws, her co-opera-
i've associations, free libraries and nee
ertures, but only in these respects can
there lie any show of superior manage
mrnt and privileges in that country
over America.
The general Testimony Of Scotchmen
in regard 10 The wages of mechanics
and lahurers is exactly the reverse of
that Offered by Tmstlr," and that
testimony is that wages there are only
but about nifty per cent. OF what they
are i'll the | nitrd States also that the.
purchasing power 0t money is about
the same in both countries. Facts are
stubborn things, and We Shall deal only
in facts in reviewing this question As
CLEANED from statistical testimony sup
ported by the testimony of tive-siXthS
of the labOrihg SCufChmrn who have
imnigrated 10 this country in search
of better wages and better homes. Then
We would ask not only " Thistle" ifhr
is laboring man or a mechanic, bur
all other honest lahoring men and mt.
chanicS thar came from Scotland, if il
is not fact that from fifteen to righ
teen >hillings day, for lahorcrS, an,
from tw"nty-e!ght TO thir = ehilliugs ;
day for maChimStS and other indoo
workers, have been the general prevail
ing wages III scotland"
Let It's >ee, that reduced To Unite,
~ N,
week for labor"rs, and S6.12 and =. ,
for indoor mechanics, such as machin
lists, moulderS, cabinet makers and shoe
makers. Tradesmen that are engage,
ON work that cannot be removed +
another country, get IA shilling or 50
week higher, II is easy to ship st-al
engines and machinery, but not So ras
To ship houses, and therefore hrirklav
ers, carpenters, and all housr-buildiu
mechanics get little more.
We are not afraid of the figures W
have given being successfully contra
dictcd. Now then how do these figure
compare with wages in this country
Are there any first class mechanics il
this country, who, as general thing
do not make an excess of Sl2 y week
do not the most of that class get nparr
Sl5 and Slt week" allowing Sl2 t
stand as an average. If " Thistle" is
mechanic he knows this 10 betrup. Tn
depressed state of business at thi, tim
must not he taken as criterion fo
wages either in the past or in tn" fll
ture.
But We are told also that the pu.
chasing power Of money in Scotland i
greater than in this country. Tn
truth "f this assertion Is not borne on
by fact. II is the general testimony Il
all laboring Scotchmen who have live,
an both countries and who are not Dem
ocratlc free trade politicians, that tn
purchasing power Of a dollar in tn
United States is as great as in Scotland
Beef costs little more, bread as mnch
and bread and beef rule the Market |
this were not so why is beef shippr,
from this country to scotland .
If beef and bread are cheaper in Scot
Land than here what tremendous fool
onr beef, grain and flour merchant
must he to ship these articles TO Scot
land for less than what they sell for a
home. But we will help "Thi,tlr"
little bit in his argument He mirh
have said that the rent Of houses i,
Scotland is more than in the Unite,
States. but he didn't do that It is
fact, however, that they are cheaper
This is not strange when we conSidr
that the labor used in building house
is only about 30 per cent. what il is il
this country.
" Thistle" in his caustic criticism o.
our informamt's information make, no
allowance for the lapse Of som" ten
years between the period he speaks ol
aud the period alluded to by our in.
formant. We have it from several
sources that fourteen or fifteen years
ago children eight years of age did
work i'll the factories one half of the
day and went to school the other half.
But as in the United States public
opinion rev0lted at such an inhuman
Rt tiHa nd IN, t., IL