Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-10-11


Almost daily professions of the suf-
fering ones formed on Astor Place and
marched down Broadway, from 5000 to
10000 in number. The writer saw them.
They filed past the City Hall, bearing
rude rag banners on which were in
scribed, 1--WE are starving. We don't
mean blood, but we must have bread
etc, etc. We saw, too, the long, wind
ing lines of laboring men and women
gathered in front of the numerous free
soup houses, waiting for their turn at
the soup. One of the city missions gave
away free-food tickets to the poor, which
had been paid for by those having means.
But in spite of the utmost exertiOns of
all charitable committees and of indi-
vidual efforts, starvation and deaths
from hunger were reported in January,
February and March, 1855, as the daily
journals now report yellow fever.
Only few weeks ago the writer met a
lady, now wealthy, who was at that fear
full time striving to support family of
three little children by coloring fashion
plates for an illustrated magazine. By
her utmost exertions during her entire
waking hours she could barely earn So
per week. All her little salable trink-
cts as well as clothing had been sold for
food. For months her little family,
huddled in one room, without meat,
milk or vegetables, were drawing near
er to the point where there would be
but one loaf of bread as their store. At
last that fearful moment came. And
with it came rap at the door, and a
wOrkingman who declared that his fam
lily were dying; that they could not keep
the free soup on their stomachs, and he
begged for bread. The lady said: This
is my last loaf, | have not a penny left,
and have three children to feed. But
if you say your family is actually starv-
ing, will divide this loaf with you"
She cut it evenly in two, and gave the
visitor half, leaving the other half on
the table. He grasped it tremblingly,
and began, while biting into it voracious-
ly, to weep and mutter his thanks. OPP
pressed by his apparent excess of emo
tion, the lady thought to relieve his en-
barrassment by turning away to the
window. Instantly, with a wild yell,
the starving man shrieked: "God help
you'll | mnst have it allp' Turning,
she saw him seize the other half and flee
into tne street. He was bearing it away
to his family. Scenes like these were
of constant occurrence. About twenty
years later, in the protective period that
followed, that same lady had accumula-
ted fortune of $4,000 in a female in
dustry. And yet the free traders of to-
day never tire of reiterating the mon
strous falsehood that the period from
1S47 to 1860 was one Of prosperity and
comfort to American labor. In fact,
politics became pauper-feeding. Politi-
clans got or lost control of New York
accordingly as they showed or failed to
show that they had converted the whole
city treasury into paupersustaining
fund by unlimited largesses in the form
either of free food to the suffering or
enormous contracts for whatever prema-
ture but plausibly justifable improve
ment could be made means of en-
ploying the starving.
1t is to be hoped that the misstate-
ments that are being made about the
Mills Bill will not deceive the people.
The story that it effects reduction on
ly of duties that now stand at AZ per
cent. so that they will stand at Al per
cent. is monstrous and fraudulent i'm
position. That assumption is arrived at
by omitting the SO articles which the
Mills Bills places on the free list alto
gether from the calculation of the re-
duction. On the same principle, if ev-
cry duty on the tariff list save one had
been repealed, and that had been left
unchanged, it might be said there had
been no reduction in average rates of
duty! Yet the result would be absolute
free trade except in the one article,
which might be, perchance, bananas!
Another convenient falsehood is, that
reduced duties will reduce the revenues,
and so remove the surplus. In five of
the principle cases in which duties were
reduced in 1888 the revenue was increas-
ed. In 1916 the reduction of the rates
of duty one-half quadrupled the impor-
tationS and so doubled the revenues if
we compare the averaged imports and
revenues of the whole free trade period
with the whole protective period. The
Mills Bill means ultimate free trade
heavy importations, increased revenues,
an export of gold, financial crisis and
hard times for labor-just as similar
free trade measures enacted in 1916,
1888 and 1916 produced those results.
To doubt it, is to be deaf to the voice of
history, and blind to the results of ex-
perience.
THE LIGHT OF HOME.
a cheerful, healthy woman is the light
of home, but through Over-exertiOn in her
efforts to minister to the happiness of the
household, her health is often impaired,
or weakness, or displacement brought on,
making life miserable, and clOuding an
otherwise happy home with gloom. The
thoughtful and tender husband, in such