St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-09
TARIFF SUGGESTIONS.
Tax Importation of Paupers TO Abb
sOIuIe Prohibition.

If those manufacturers who are loudly
calling for what they term protection 10
American labor would favor 4 tariff on the
ship-loads Of paupers brought by them 10
this country to compete with and drive
American laborers out OF employment. the
thinking people Of this country would not
look upon their protestatiOns Of friendship
as pretense. The Iowa Homestead SAYS:
The proposition of the prOtectionist that
a tariff should be levied to cover the i'll
creased cost Of production in a new country
has always seemed 10 us just and reasona-
bic. If with fair wages a given article
costs 81 in England and Sl.25 in America
it would seem just and right in the interest
of American wOrkinCmen that a tariff of -
per cent. should be levied. This is. as we
understand il, the core of the pro-
tectionists argument. But, brought up
as we were, in mining region,
where very few OF the farmers
boys eyer became miners because the for
eigners would work cheaper, it occurred To
US that the prOtectioniSt was not consistent
and stopped far short Of the logical cOnc!u-
sion. The boy crop was a large one in that
country, and it always seemed 10 uS that
the parents who raised these boys were not
adequately protected. Ii cost more To raise
about the same proportion that it cost more
to make the goods We never figured il
exactly, but we estimate that by giving him
mush and milk, and oatmeal porridge and
sausage in the winter. a boy could be raised
for about $1,000. But this same boy could
be raised for $500 in Ireland, Germany or
Sweden. Now why not levy a tariff for
protection on these $500 BOYS, which the
manufacturer hires and brings in TO compete
with our 600 boys raised at home? 1t
strikes us that an amendment 10 our tariff
laws to cover this point would make our
system more logical and consistent and sat
isfactOry to the whole people
There rs another point on which the pro-
tectiOniSt is sadly inconsistent. America
is the great silver-producing nation of the
world. Wall street shivers like a Florida
cracker with the break-bOne fever or the
HOOsier with the ague at the suggestion
that some of our idOliZed gold may 20 across
the water outside OF the pockets OF wealthy
tourists, and some of that cheap silver come
over in its stead. The great creditor ma
tions 0Ter there who lend 10 all the world
and borrow from none conceived the idea OF
dishonerng silver and giving the poor peO-
pie the truck, but bearing gold. and by do
ing so increasing the value of every note
and decreasing the value of property. Why
not then protect these hardy miners who
risk their lives to give us silver by puttnga
tariff of 30 per cent on its Importation
This would at once protect our miners and
if the duty is added to price, it would bring
the dollar of the daddies" up alongside of
the aristOcratic gold dollar, and it could say
Il am as good as you are, and good deal
bigger" Then if the ''effete monarchies
Of the old world want to diShOnOr silver
and make it the exclusive money of the
''po'h white trash over there it's none of
our business. We don't fancy this prOtec-
ton that protects one thing and not an
other We plead for the dollar of the
daddies," and want it protected against
foreign avarice. We plead for the laborer.
who is the daddy of all dollars" be they
gold or silver, and we want him protected.
We take our tariff straight. as we used TO
take our mush and milk and shorter cate
chism.