Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-07-14
THE ISSUES CORE.
ROBERT G. INGERSOll AND
THE WORklNGMEN.
The COlOners Force and Clearness."
The Anti-SOcial Classes-Free
Trade and a Protective
Tariff Versus National
Cooperation.

The New York Press of last Sun
day had a two-column interview with
Ingersoll, to which the same paper
returned, in its Monday issue, with
the puff that {" no man has gone to
the core of the pending issue be-
tween protection and free trade with
the force and clearness Of Ingersoll."
This is the "force" and clear
ness of the interview:
"If any man has the right to vote for
his own interests, certainly the man who
labors is that man, and every workman
having in his will part of the sover-
eighty of this nation, having within him
a part of the law-making power, should
have the intelligence and the courage to
vote for his own interests. He should
vote for good wages"
Well, We wish the workingmen
would vote for their own interests,
not, however, because of their
fright " to do SO, but because their
interests are identical with the
interests of society. The sig
niticant difference between the
working class and other classes is that
the former are neger anti-sOctal,
while the latter always are while
pursuing their private ends.
/" He should vote for good wages"
the assumption being, of course,
that a protective tariff insures good
wages. And that is what is called
going "to the core Of the pending
issue. ........ ...........
| contend that the issue is falsely
stated, and that by both parties.
1t is not, as far as the workingmen
are concerned, free trade rersus a
protective tariff; to state it in that
form is simply to becloud the ques-
ton. Neither the one nor the other
will give the workingman good
wages. We have had now for gen.
Grafton a protective tariff, and 1t has
resulted in an average wage for the
wage-earners of the pittance of six
dollars (S6) weekly, on an average;
that is to say, the result has been
that-whether we take representa-
tive Eastern State, like Massachu-
sets, or a similar Western State, like
Illinois-skilled, temperate, prudent
workingmen are unable to support
their families without the earnings
of their infant children, and so it
must be to all eternity, as long as ne
maintain the Wage system. In other
words protective tariff plus the
wage system does not protect the
worklngmen, but the capitalist en-
ployer. But mark this: free trade
will be no remedy at ALL; it will, |
am convinced, MAKE MATTERS EVEN
WORSE THAN THEY ARE OR HAVE
BEEN. Why? Because free trade
will foster wasteful commerce at
the expense of the industries of
the countries. 1t will noursh the
unnecessary, aye, the harmful COM
merce, which takes the raw ma
terlal of the country to Europe,
manufactures them there and car
ries back to lis the finished prod
ucts, which might just as well as
have been manufactured here. Free
trade, then, would make matters
worse, as it would even depr We our
workingmen of the pitifuI wages
they now receive, aud in return raise
up or strengthen another sort of plu-
tocrats, to.wit, importers and bank
ers.
The question properly stated is,
free trade and a protective tariff on
the one hand, rs. National C0-Opera-
ton. Cooperation, on a national
scale will be true protection; it will
expand our industries, employ all,
at really good salaries, and bring
commerce within its useful limits.
Aye, am sure, the nation that first
adopts national cooperation could
drive all other nations out of the
worlds markets, if that were an OBJ
ject worth the effort; if selling
cotton a farthlnp cheaner than otbar