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

Here in Virginia the ore costs 50 per ton,
OF $500 for the two tons. The high tariff
| is kept up so that they can bring the ore
| from Lake Superior instead of manu-
featuring in Virginia. 1t is to our interest
| to reduce the duty so low that. Pennsyl-
vania can't afford to make it, and then
they will have to bring their capital South.
I knolc 1t is to the interest Of Varginsa to
haze the duty on IRON reduced and attend
to advocate at. Those northerners come
| down here and with the cry Of helping the
/ laboring men, pocket big dividends and
grind down the poor. Lowmoor and Long
(! dale are making Shopper ton profit on the
output of their furnaces, and men like
Firmstone, who are not Virginians, are
taking it up North and spending it there.
| and in order to keep up this profit and
put money into the pockets of these pro-
pretors the people are made to bear an
unjust and onprons tax.
Not long ago, saw from statement of
Mr.. Swank that the profit on the manu-
| fac; nre of Bessemer steel was GO per cent.
The price paid for labor in these works
was about $500 per man. So that the
man who puts a thousand dollars in,drew q
dividend of 1866. whilst the man who
worked day in and day out Only got 800.
That is valning a man at about 5000.
Why, our negroes used to bring more than
that on the block 1t is a crying shame
that capital should thus be allowed to grind
labor to the earth.
Mr. Tucker applied pretty much the
same argument to the manufacture of cot
ton, claiming that it could be produced
without the tariff, and that the imposition
of duty was simply in the interest Of the
northern manufacturer. He also claimed
that the American worked one and Il half
| times as much in twentv-fom hours rs the
English artisan. tfH Aetl
| Blaine tells us that the increased wealth
has been marvellous. How much have you
| gotten of that increase Millions have
been piled up in the North. but how many
of you are millionaires? The whole policy
of the Republican party has been to enrich
| the few at the expense of the many, and
| they advocate high duties to accomplish
their purpose.
In closing Mr.. Tucker said that the
Democrats did not propose to reduce the
duties suddenly, but by grad ual reduction
relieve the poorer classes of the burdens
placed upon them. He appealed to the
working man to support the party, and an
nounced that he was in a crusade in their
behalf. There was little applause during
his speech Of two hours and a half. except
at his facial contortions and grimaces.
! The Democrats looked depressed, and
especially those who cannot endorse Mr..
| It's ultra free-trade and States rights
| theories had the appearance OF severe I'M
| happiness. Mr.. Il. seemed to be speaking
against time as much as anything else,
but for what purpose we know not, unless
| it was TO prevent Micajah Woods, Esq, of
Albemarle, from addressing the people.
Mr.. Woods was present, but he was EVIL
IDENTIFY notl numbered among the select
fossils Of the party, and his views might
not have harmonized sweetly with those
of Mr.. Tucker. A number of his party
friends were anxious to hear him, but
their anxiety was not shared by the man
ayers. f