Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1888-02-01
PROTECTION TO AMERICANLABOR

IesSeS 10 represent, ~ IS evident tnat as
spokesman ofthe party, he has brought
into prominence and placed clearly
before the people of the country an
issue of vital importance to all, that is
reduction of unnecessary taxation.
And it would seem in the nature of
things that system of ta4ation in
augurated and made necessary by the
exigenoies of great national struggle
requiring the raising of thousands of
millions of dollars must have some
elements that are not adapted to a
condition Of peace, when such require
ments Of expenditures gre 10 longer
necessary, Instead Of discussing the
question Of ouy taxation calmly with
an earnest desire to remedy it, we see
that it has already become a fruitful
basis Tor making political capital and
inducing the masses to vote for our
side. Politics is a trade, and political
honesty seldom rises above the con-
sideration of how to win, and in poll
tics the end justifies the means and all
methods of deceit are fair. And we
already see in our prominent journals
squibs and caricatures, calculated to
ln1ame the prejudices of the poor
against the rich, and to make them
believe that the proposed reduction OF
the tariff has, for its sole object, the
decrease in the cost CT luxuries to the
latter and the scaling down of wages
OF the former, Now as long as the
American people can be deceived by
such shallow articles, just so long will
they continue to be the tools of the
monopolists, the great trust companies
and the politicians.
In all this cry of protection to Amer
lean industry and labor there is one
item, and that the most important of
all, that seems to have been entirely
ignored and lost sight of, and that is
protection to the American lsborer
himself. While heavy tax is placed
on every necessity of life, that is liable
to come into competition with a foreign
production, the Importation of cheap
foreign labor is practically free and
unrestricted--and under this order of
things they have come, motley crowd,
ignorant, bigoted and superstitious,
aliens 10 race, language, creed, man.
ners and customs. And in the CONNIE.
petition thus forced upon him, the
American laborer has been to able to
see no,redress. He knows that some
thing is wrong and that he is being
crowded, but be is sllenced by the
assurance that he is being protected,
and his attention is directed to the
great question of saving his country
by voting with Sle or the other of the
great political parties. Many of those
who have come to onr shores for a
home are intelligent, and as jealous OF
their rights under our constitution
and as proud of their adopted country
as any free born American, and such
are welcome and become desirable
citizens. But mixed with these is the
ignorant element above referred to,
and against which we really need Fro.
lection. Unrestricted immigration
and universal suffrage although theo-
ritically defensible are proving 1t to
be in practice, dangerous to the per
manence of our free Institutions or at
least threaten to become so.
The remedy is. with the American
citizen himself We have already
seen the result of unrestricted Chinese
immigration to this Coast, when its
evil became so crying that the people
arose in their might and discarding
all party ties declared that it must be
stopped, and it was stopped, and al.
though the moralist and philanthropist
held up their hands and quoted the oft
repeated assertion that the American
republic is an asylum for the poor and
oppressed of all nations, the people
showed that when once aroused and
confident OF their rights, they are not
apt 10 regard theories with any degree
OF respect, and once convinced that
they were being crowded did not long
hesitate to apply remedy. In many
respects the same arguments that were
applied against Chiness importation
Can more truthfully be made against
this class of which we speak. Self
preservation is the first law of nature,
and sooner or later the American peo.
pie will awaken to the evils of the free
importation of this ignorant foreign
element, and will unite to put an end
to it.-.:An,eric an