Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-10-26
A PENNSYLVANIA Miners Opinion.

L
The following letter, written by W.
B. Estell, of Freeland, Pa, to friend
in New York, is an interesting contri.
button:
In reply to your question as to how
l intend to vote, let me confess that
shall lessen by one the $4,000 majority
James G. Blaine received in 1884.
was always dyed in the wool protec,
tionists, suppose, because my father
before me was one, and because / new
er heard anything since my youth but
the glorious benefits to be derived by
the wOrkingman from protective tariff
Since 1 became one of these glorious
protected workingmen mysslf, my eyes
have been opened considerably, and l
by series of practical experiences,
have demonstrated to my entire salts.
faction, that something more than
tariffs are necessary to high wages. In
fact, have lost all faith fn the efficacy
of protective tariffs to, in the slightest
extent, regulate the wages of working
men. There has been q protection
on coal ever since l can remember, to
protect the COAL BARONs from the dis
astrOus results which competition
with coal mined by the pauper labor
of Europe would bring. This has
been a fine thing for the coal barons.
1t has enabled them to form the noto-
rious coal pool, and make every poor
devil in the United States pay seventy
five cents IL ton more for his coal than
there is any necessity for. 1t has made
every coal operator Il millionaire, but
has not helped the miner one iota but
on the other hard has injured him,
because while the tariff protected the
operator from the PAUPER MINED COAL,
it did not protect the Amemcan miner
from the PAUPER who mined it.
To be etfectual, the coal tariff should
be carried to its logical conclusion. If
the operator is protected against the
coal of foreign counteres, the miner
should De protected against the for
eign miner, who comes over here to
compete with him for work.
have worked in and about mines
for "a four years, and / know that work
for which received SIS per week and
steady work IA years ago, can. only
get 80 90 for now and only work about
two-thirds of the time, and in sOne
colleries only 81 40 per week. Yet
the tariff Oh coal has not been re-
duced, but the competition between
the employers for workmen has, and
there lies the whole secret.
1t may seem strange to you that l,
an old hard-shell Republican, should
write in this way, but can't help it.
l am only doing what candid exam
inatiOn of the whole question, and
desire to act according to my convic-
tions, compel me to do. / am con-
vinced no duty or tariff can ever ben
eft the American miner while Euro
pean miners are coming to our shores
by the thousands and our men are
compelled to compete with them for
work. Why, right down here in Ha-
zleton, the other week, an Italian ad-
vertised for work for 800 of his coun-
trymen, offering them at GO cents per
day. OF what avail can all the tariffs
in the world be, when men are thus
forced to work for bare subsistence.
l believe, to be effective, tariff
must be extended SO as to prohibit i'm
migration, and believe any law that
makes this grand country other than
an asylum for the oppressed of all ma
tions, violates the fundamental prin-
ciples Of our government. We have
room enough for all il We would only
compel these dogs in the manger, who
are holding natural opportunities idle,
to put them to protective use. lam
not the only one in the anthracite coal
fields of Pennsylvania who will leave
the Republican tariff platform to stand
with Gro yer Cleveland upon the Dem
ocratic one of revenue reform. There
are thousands OF them who have al
ready determined to do this, and there
are thousands Of others who are wav-
ering and can be brought over if the
Democrats will have courage enough
to attack protection in its stronghold.
Even the Republican politicians are
impregnated with free trade. The
Hon. ID. NJ. Evans, who was q member
of the last State Legislature, is free
trader, and much as the machine
WOulu uhC W. ~ uoiC IiOs OPPOcO AAo
denomination, because the majority OF
the voters are miners, and Evans him.
self being a miner. is the only man
who can be elected.
The time has past when any old fOs-
sill can be foisted on the miner and
elected by an appeal to their predilec-
tions for q protected tariff. I am not
giving you hearsay, but what 1 know
to be facts. l am special organizer for
the X. of L., and my conversation with
representative men in every place !
have been is my authority. l know
that on every street corner you can
hear men discussing revenue reform
and its bearing upon wages, and the
conviction is rapidly forcing itself upon
them that the protective tariff fallacy
has only been held up before their
eyes in order to obscure their vision
and keep them from seeing the true
cause of their industrial slavery.
Tam for Cleveland hecause he is