Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-10-12

pTOVlu6u L aJ6 no mOT6 LucIe Ludu
here"
"Yes," l said, "you could live
there cheaper than here if you ate
the same things, bat you would
not do it. Now what do you eat
hereT
"Well, sir" he said, as he placed
his left hand on his brow thought
fully, 81 have five children-seven
mouths to feed. Now, | buy seven
pounds of American bacon a week,
besides American -four. My wife
cuts this bacon into seven pieces.
She hashes it up, puts In potatoes,
mangel wurzels, turnips, and Sits
in some flour, and it makes a nice
stew. We eat this stew three times
a day.
"Do yeu have coffee 2"
"Oh, no; we can't afford that"
spies and cakes"
"You are jokingw
"Do you have butter |"
"Oh, no; We have PLAIN bread.
That's ALL"
| told this mechanic that in
slave times IN America seven slaves
would have received three and one.
half pounds of bacon each, or twen-
ty.four and one.half pounds for the
seven.
"But," | continued, sour Ameri-
can mechanics who get 81 and SO
day because OF our protective
tariff often say that 81 will go
farther IN Europe than in America.
awe do make it 60 farther" said
the mechanic, as his eyes moistened
''but we starye ourselves to do it.
The question with us is not how TO
make or save money, but shall we
always have enough to eati Shal!
we never starve 7"
"It IS cold, l see,' continued,
"and do you wear no woolen coat ~
"WooIen coat :" he exclaim ed.
"You are joking again. Woolen
coat - be repeated half musingly.
"Woolen coatr Why gentlemen
wear them in Belgium and France,
not workingmen. Workingmen
wear Gotten blOuses. If ! should
wear q woolen coat the other work
ingmen would laugh at me. We
do make O dollar 60 farther in
Europe than in America, surely,
and we do it by scrimping in
clothing and food"
When | got home to America l
went into a mechanics boarding
house IN Fort PLAIN. The men
we're dressed in wooden coats like
gentlemen in Brussels. Their wa
ges were $3.50 per day instead OF
50 cents. The table groaned with
roast beef, broiled chicken, white
bread, coffee, butter and cake. 1t
was a dinner for a Prince in Bel
GUM. No one asked "shall we
always have food or shall we never
actually starve y They talked
about buying houses. 81 shall put
5000 IN the bank this year." said
one. Another wore diamond in
his scarf. All had watches and
many lighted cigars after the meal
that cost more than the poor Bel
gian's whole meal, and then re-
marked
"They say that a dollar goes
further in Europe where they have
free trade and low wages than it
does here where we have protec.
tive tariff and high wages
noticed one handsome mechan.
ic didn't eat at all. He looked at
the chicken, clawed over the pie,
and finally slipped his coffee, and
said:
"pve got dyspepsia, boys. Too
many fried oysters last night. I'm
of my feed. | guess III take some
Apollinaris water and then smoke"
"Yes," | thought, "Sl goes
farther in Europe than in America,
tor the price of that Apolhnarls
water aud cigar would baye gone
all day il Belgium with the big
family of q poor mechanic whose
labor is unprotected. The status
of the Belgium mechadic results
from 200 years OF free trade. The
status of the American mechanic
results from % years of protection
WOrkmen, when you vote think
of this.
A collision occurred on the Me-
tropoltan Branch OF the B. & o..
X. r., thirty seven miles from
Washington Saturday night, in
which the st. Louis and Cincinnati
express ran into a freight tram.
Three persons were killed and
seven injured.