The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-10-18

| l018nOu8 0t8LoU9 W83 uSVCE SO0C0lVSO
in the brains Of tyrsnts. Section 2 Of
the act provided:
THAT all contracts that shall be
made by emigfants to the United
States from foreign countries In con.
fOrmity to regulations that may be
established by the said commissioner,
whereby emigrants shalt pledge the
wages Of their labor for term not ex-
ceeding IL months, to repay the ex-
penses Of their emigration, shall be
held valid In law, and may be enforced
In the courts of the United States or
| Of the several states and territories,
and such advances, II 30 stipulated In
the contract. and the contract be re.
corded In the recorders Office In the
settle, shall operate AZ lien upon any
grant. whether under the homestead
law, when the title Is consumated. or
on property other wise acquired, until
lquidated by the enigrant."
And TO add insult to injury. the au-
thors Of this law attached the follow
ing pr0viso. but nothing herein con.
tanned shall DO deemed to authorize
any contract contravening the Consti.
tuition Of the United States or creating
In any way the relation Of slavery or
involuntary seryitude."
Is not that proviso rich? Let it be
observed that the law gave the wife
and children no rights whatever In the
earnings Of the husband and father;
the whole family could be dispossessed
Of their homo and turned into the
woods or swamps, the blanket that COW
cred the infant In the cradle could b.
taken on the debts Of the husband and
father, but the wise sOlOns who en-
acted the law could not see that IL i'm
posed condition Of involuntary SER
vitude.
Cleveland was inaugurat0d, and he
warrant. It must be said to the credit
Of senator Wilson, Of Mass, who
arose from the lab0ring classes of his
state, that he made many vigorous eff
forts to bring about = repeal If the
law, but was always foiled by the
sweet scented lovers Of the American
laborer. Finally, In February 1886, af-
ter the people had passed judg-
ment upon II by the election Of Cleve-
land, It was repealed. While IN force
nearly seven millions of emigvants
came into the United States but how
many were imported to take the place
of striking American laborerS have
no means of ascertaining; certain 1t is,
that multiplied thousands were thus
imported and now that IL Is repealed.
the present laws are persistently
eyaded and European lab0rers import
ed TO take the place OF striking Ameri-
can laborers, still the senseless cry OF
protection to the American labOrer is
kept up in the face Of the fact admit.
ted by Blaine aud other prominent
protectiOnists that the American skill
ed workman Is paid less to day in pro-
portion to the value Of the products Of
his labor to his employer than Is paid
TO the labOrer in England.
Mr.. Blaine, while secretary Of state
in 1881, bears testimony as follows:
THE hours of labor In the Lanca.
shire mills are %, In Massachusetts
mills ~ per week. The hours Of labor
in the mills Of the other New England
states where the wages are generally
lees than in Massachusetts,, are usual.
y 66 to 50 hours per week.
Undoubtedly the inequalities In the
wages of English and American ope-
ratives are more than eludiised BY the
greater efficiency Of the latter, and their
longer hours Of labor.
Mr.. Evarts, while secretary Of state,
May 18th, 1879, said 1.-THE average
American workman, performs from
one and half TO twice as much work
in given time as the average Euro
pean workman"
Conclusive proof Is furnished by the
census returns for 1880, that tariff
duties have nothing to do in fixing
the rate Of wages 1T all. The value OF
production per hand In all the COM
bined metal and textile industrials in
1880, was In America 81 ,6S4 and In
England only $50. therefore the value
OF each American workman to his enl-
Ei0yer was ll6 per cent. greater than
the value of each English lAbOrer. vet
senator Chase, OF Rhode Island, . very
high prOtectionist. only claims thxt
the difference IN wages Is 69 per cent.
but it is well known that 1t does not
exceed 45 or so per cent, but for the
sake of the argument concede that the
American employer pays 81 per cent.
in wages higher than his English COM
petitor, he Is still about 30 per cent.
better of on the labor item than his
English competitor
Furthermore. in 1880, IL appears that
the average wages paid IN cotton man
ufacture IN Massachusetts was 4266. in
New York $2l8. IN Georgia $l82.
In North Carolina &l36, in England,
&24O. As shown by Carroll D. Wright,
the best Massachusetts authority.
Under protective logic these figures
show that Massachusetts, needs, LIST,
protection against the pauper labor OF
England. I'd, little more protection
against the pauper labor of New York,
Sd. more yet Of protection against the
pauper labor Of Georgia. 4th, still more
protection against the pauper labor Of
North Carolina.
In the wooden manufacture the aver
age rate Of wages paid In Massachu-
sets was 1876. in England $3.50, In
Ohio Sl93. It follows that Massachu-
sets needs far more protection against
the pauper labor of Ohio, than she
needs against pauper labor Of England.
Iowa farmers aud lab0rers have no
protection. and yet the laborer on the
farm Is paid 1t least on the average .
yer cent. more than the average farm
labOrer Of the south aud 80 per cent.