Daily Republican., 1886-03-22
shat the Gates OF Free Trade.

done In this country in order that capt.
tai and labor shall both be protected
and that both shall reap their legiti-
mate reward In the first place both
will be protected by not lowering the
tariff on imported manufactured goods
but by raising 1t. This great country
Of ours spreading from ocean to ocean
and from the northern lakes TO the
southeru CULTS, with its population OF
sixty millions, has every material
necessary for les prosperity in Its own
soil. Were there NO other country In
the world the United States would be
selfsusiAining. Her soil u rich and
produces foed and her minerals lay In
rich profusion within easy grasp.
With our gold and silver mines none
should b poor. With the keen inventive
genius that has characterized our peo-
pie, the United States should be the
irst In the List Of nations In the inge-
nuity and manufacture Of machinery.
With our sixty million OF people 20
feed and clothe and provide with every
comfort, We have our full share of the
world 70 take care Of, should every
nation confne itself 10 Its own. In
Supplying our own people, there need
be NO competition with the cheap Labor
OF the outside world. Tho United
States can give what 1t pleases In
wages, declare what dividends In prof.
Its 1t pleAses without the interference
OF other nations. Here we are met
with the argument that We would cut
off commerce BY hemming In ourselves
with Q protective tariff. To o certain
extent this argument would be true,
but not absolutely 30. There need be
no restrictions Of commerce In things
which cannot be produced in this coun-
try. Free trade that far Is all we need,
but We want high protective tariff
upon al articles that can be produced
I'm our own country. Last month
$36, 600, 900 worth OF iron and steel
rails were imported while our own
mountains and hills are underlain with
the best Of raw materials Of which rails
are made. Why were these rails i'm
ported, are We asked? Simply because
European nations by paying In many
instances not half the wages We pay
here for labor, can ship iron rails and
undersell our American market. IL
this not lamentably true? The work
ing people Of this country do not in
tend that their labor shall come In con-
fiict with the cheap labor of Europe,
and 10 protect themselves they must
have strong protective tariff that will
amount to . prohibition of foreign
manufactured goods that can easily
be manufactured In this country.
A committee Of workingmen who
went from youngstown, Ohio, q few
days ago to Washington, 10 protest be-
fore the Ways and Means Committee
against any further reduction OF the
tariff, understood the question OF labor
aad protection properly. One Of the
delegates, Mr.. Roger Evans, used the
following very plain, pointed language:
"You can't rate the American lAborer
by the amount Of beef and bread he con
sumes. He merits more than this and
he will have 1t. He must have clothes
S6r his wife and education for his chill
drep, and you must not take from him
the opportunity to earn these by fran.
ing laws that discriminate against him.
Don't make any mistake about this,
for II you do you will be sno wed under
by the votes of American workmen.
What we demand from you Is that you
shall do no act that will deprive our
manufacturers OF our own markets and
thus prevent us from earning our own
living. We give you this warning fol-
your own good" At this point free
trade member of the committee said
that the committee were striving tt
frame law that would make 1t uu-
necessary TO i'm port pauper labor.
Mr.. Evans was wide awake and
happy in his reply: Eyes, but you ar
framing Law that will food our mar
kets with the products of pauper lsbol
and thus make paupers OF u.s." Their
IN no chance OF Misunderstanding thi
kind OF language. The Freetrsde
comes TO the workingman and tells hin
shat he Ia paying too much for his hats
his shoes and his clothing. II we tax
of this tariff, cheaper goods will b
imported and you will get your cloth
ing thirty or forty per cent. cheaper
Very true, but what then becomes @
our manufacturers? They will hav
TO shut up, and then where will tn
Y
buy cheap imported goods?
We have reverted to one phase @
this question OF protection, bat there
another that we would not pass owe
and which Ii Of equal Importance. W
aliude to the Importation OF chea
labor. This Is one OF the evils OF tt
times that must be dealt with by legi
lation. The country is suffering no
as much from this evil rs from the q
tempt to inaugurate free trade. Man,
facturers, partly In their ambition
become rich and partly by being pusht
TO the wall by free trade agitation, ha'
been 90 uRwise as to import foreil
cheap labor. This cheap labor is OF
of the principal causes OF the lab
troubles OF this country at the prese
time. From these cheap import
laborers have arisen the organic
bands Of socialists and anarchists th
are making trouble, and with who
We are glad to say, the real iegitims
labor orgauiza lions OF the country ha
mo affiiiation. Instead OF opening
the gates o. free trade and letting
the products Of cheap labor, and che
labor itself, the laboring men OF 1
nation demand that these gates shi
be closed, and the sooner Americ
lawmakers look this question fairly
the face and aos accordingly the sooI
will the labor troubles OF this count
end, and the sooner will capital 81
labor cease to clash.
---@--~--s
The Coal Famine.
The manufacturers OF our city, a
the wofkmen as we'll, are likely