Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-08-08
TO THE wAGE-EARNERS OF THE
UNITED STATES.

TO THE wA1E-EARNERs OF THE
UNITED STATES.
What 10 Your Interest In the Coming
Presidential Election.
President Cleveland has precipitated
the conflict between the wage,earners Of
this country and the wage.earners of
Europe. In all fairness and candOr, /
ask you, Can there be but one result, If
the theory of free trade Is carried out.
aud that is the reduction Of wages1 Our
markets in the present age of steam are
only ten days distance from the Euro.
pean markets. Freights are so low that
in all manufactured goods this item can
hardly be taken into account IN the cost
of the merchandise. A difference of 8
per cent. in cost of manufacturing in this
country over the cost in Europe, sends
the orders by cable to any European mar
ket that is lower in price than our own;
consequently the only protection labor
has in this country oyer the labor in any
European country is the action of pro.
tectiue tariff. Then comes this questi on.
Does the average waee-earner IN this
country receive higher wages and better
net results than the wage. Garner does in
Europe, that is, can you live better, can
you lay by surplus in case Of sickness
or old age. easier in this country than
they can In the most crowded portions of
Europe!
There can be but one answer to this
Question, and that is yes. We see il
everywhere; we see it in tho healthier
condition Of our wsge'earners; we see it
in the way their wives and children are
dressed; we see it in their homes, lot
which they very often own the title deeds);
we see it in the deposits in the savings
banks (Which are wholly the net results to
wage-earners). In the United States
there is due to 4,418,019 deposltors ST.
2s5, "a, 1871, an average of 1851 9o'10o to
each depositor. We see it in the fact
that those who are able to get away from
labor oppressed Europe are emigrating
to this country. All these are hard facts
that the free trader cannot get away
from. Free trade is very pretty theory,
but it is mainly professional men who ad.
vocate it, and it is gratifying to some to
preach that "al the ,oorM ure brothers"
and that consequently we should not pro-
tect the labor of our own neighbors, our
own citizens, who build our towns into
villages, our villages into cities, who
consume our own raw products. Free
trade may be charity to foreign opera.
tives, but tor one believe that charity
begins at home first; that my own coun-
try is entitled to my first regard; that the
interest of the wage-earner of this coun-
try is my interest; that his success is my
success.
also believe that what European
manufacturers want US to do is not for
our interest to do. When everv European
paper hailed President Cleveland's mes.
sage with delight as tending toward free
trade, it convinced me that it was not the
best interest of this country that he
should be reelected. 49,
When the London Times thinks the
best use they can make of Irishmen is to
help them to emigrate to this country and
join the Democratic party, and thus help
break down our protective tariff, that
makes me think that our tariff is great
benefit to this country, and Of course, I
range myself on the side of a protective
tariff. The mills tariff bill" that IS in
dorsed by the St. Louis Democratic Con.
vention and President Cleveland, keeps
about 80 per cent. duty on sugar (about
$50, 1000 to collect aunually,) about
100 per cent. on rice, the very articles that
you pay large percentage of. and re
duces the duty on articles where your
wages enter largely into the cost of pro
duction. cannot think that the Mills
bill is for the best interest of our wage
earners, and consequently / oppose it,
and the President who favors it. although
I voted for him in 1884.
The United States is the largest con-
Stunning nation per capita of any on the
globe, and the reason of 1t is that our
wage.earners are better paid than any
other, and it Is clear to my mind that the
operation of a protective tariff is the
reason of it. If we should reduce the.
tariff on articles into which labor enters
largely in the cost; the forces of steam
and electricity which have so reduced the
time and cost of importing goods into
this country, would without any doubt
bring the cheap labor Of Europe in direct
and immediate competition with our own
labor. Europe has the carrying trade on
the ocean in her own hands; do not
want to have them convey our raw pro-
n