The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-08-30

unions and the Knights ~ Lai,er haze done
more 10 secure reasonable rdges for the labor
ing men than al the tariff lars that erer mss
passed IN this morfd Loud applause. There
is another reason why American laborers
receive more wages, and that is the i'm
mensc area of uncultivated territory in the
United States, the effect of which Is to
free the laborers Of that dependence which
mry exist in other countries where land
is very dear, that dependence upon the
or capitalistc class for
WORK in this country A man can get land
to labor upon to support himself and his
family by simply asking it OF the general
Government and settling upon it and re-
naming upon it a given length Of time
The consequence Is that with these al
vantagcs no man need be dependent upon
the good will Of any monopolist in the
world, and that gives our laboring men an
which is not seen elsewhere
on the globe, and enables them therefore
to demand and receive somewhat higher
wages than laborers receive elsewhere.
Then there Is the fact OF our free institu-
tions and there is the fact Of the pride that
every man in this country, be he la5oring
man or not, feels in the consciousness that
he is an American citizen; that no helps to
govern this country, and makes people
govern it as far as possible for his benefit.
But there is another thing that is conclus-
i've on this point and shows that high
protective tariff does not increase the
wages of the laboring men. 1t is conclIs-
lively shown by the fact that laborers in
unprotected industries are as well paid as
those in the so-called protected industries.
How many laborers are there in what arc
called protected industries, that is engaged
in manufacturing articles, winch when they
are brought from abroad are charged with
a tariff tax. and how many laborcrs are
there in the United States whose interests
are in no wise protected by any such things,
and can not in the nature OF things be pro-
tected by any such meanss It has been
estimated that there are SaO,00G or 900 ON
laborers. including women and children, in
the protected industries, but we will put
the figure Mt l,O00,OO. There are eight
times as many other laborers whose inter
csts and occupations are in nowise pro-
tected by the tariff Therefore, ii tho pro.
lection is for the benefit Of the laboriny
men, the wages OF this million engaged in
the protected industries ought to be higher
than those of the men employed in non
protected industries. In round numbers
the laborers in the unprotected industries
receive as high wages as those i'll the pro-
tected industries. | don't know what tho
wages of farm hands are in Michigan In
my State they receive about one dollar
day, and you see in the State of Massa-
chusetts, according to the returns Of her
own board OF industry, the average wages
Is 81. .O4 day in manufacturing industries.
So there is no difference worth talking
about between the wages the one receives
and the wages the other receives. They
are both substantially the same. Looking
at the improved condition and comforts,
the constant elevation of the agricultural
hand in the State of Ohio, it will be seen
that he receives quite as good wages AS
the laborcr in any protected industry in
the country.
EFFECT rrON THE FARMER.
NV friends, nothing Is more common
for those men appeal to eyerybody-than
to hear protectionist orator say that pro-
lection has benefited the farmer How
can it be of benefit to farmers | have
never been able to find out. Let us test it
by little experience this country has had.
We had low tariff from 1916 up to the
breaking out of the war in isci. 1t was
called the Walker tariff. / remember it
very well. for was in the House of Heprc-
sentafives at that time and voted for il.
From 1850 to 1860, while that tariff was in
force, the farm lands Of the United States,
according to the census reports, increased
in value i03 per cent Then came the high
tariff of ls6l or 1861, whichever it was, AMI
from 1859 to 1870 another period of ten
wears the increase i'll the value OF the
farms III The United States was only 40 per
cent Under the low tariff the increase III
.a!ne ha.. beer lOa per cent. III ten years.
| lnaer the high tarif1 1t Wa anlN 40 per
cent But ii may be said that that Includes
the war period and does not make i fair
comparison / have here Il statement of
how il was in this goodly State of Michigan.
From 1850 to lstio, under the low-tariff pc.
riod the value OF the farms in Michigan
increased 2ll per cent. From 1850 to 1870,
| under high tariff, they increased las per
| cent; but that includes the tine OF war.
| From 1870 to $780, in time OF profound
peace and under the highest tariff this
country has ever known. the value OF the
| farms in Michigan increased only a5l1s
per cent. They increased under Walker !
tariff, which has been denounced so much
| since as free trade tariff, they increased
from 1850 to 1860 2ll per cent, and some OF
you will remember that under the Walker
tariff we had great war--the war with
Mexico Had values continued to increase
from 1860 to 1850 as they did under the low
tariff period-1s5O to lS6o-the farm values
| in Michigan would have been Il, 1,041, ,00O, ,OOC
| in 1850, instead Of being, as they We're by
4 the census Of 1850, only S49a OoJ,OOO. On
take farm implements From 1880 to le,a
the value of farm implements had in
creased at the rate OF l0ll per cent. II
| 1850 the increase was only Il per cent /
they had increased in the same ratio under
the high tariff as they did under the low
| they would have been S333, 500 600 instead o
SO, 5Oo0OO You will see by these figures tha
it is quite impossible that this high tarf
can be Of advantage to the agriculture
community.
ALL SHOULD THRIVE AND PROSPER.
These, my friends, We're my opinions
eighteen years ago, and every day ha:
served to verify their correctness The,
are my opinions to-day, and, | have II,
doubt, they will be so long as | have lift
in me- Loud applause. II know my
self, there is no man on top Of this earti
who has more sympathy with laborin.
men, or men in humble condition, than
have, aud what .ver can do to better thei
condition would o-Icheers and it i
because don't believe for one momen
that this high-protcctivc tariff, which i
50 much laudcd. and which is insiste'
upon by our polltlcal opponents, Is iof Tn
benefit of laboring men, That is one o
the reasons why / am opposed To sue
onerous duties. l have shown you tha,
under this high protective tariff. the agr
cultural interests Of the country hav
fallen off enormously. The value q
farms has fallen off from All increase o
ono hundred per cent. to AL increase q
only nine per cent If you look at tn
commerce Of the country, you will Tin
something even more striking than tina,
The time was, and not a great while age
when there were two countries that sui
stantially did the carrying trade OF tn
world. Great. Britain and the Unite
States. and we were gaining SO fast o
Great Britain. that We had eighty-thre
per cent. of tho carr3 ,ag trade of tn
world, whereas now, if my memory is nc
at fault, VIC only have about fourteen pc
cent Now, why is that. Why, gentlemen
had occasion, a few years ago, I
visit Europe and ! felt Inundated,
confess, when, in crossing and recros:
ing the Atlantic and while i'll differcl
ports in Europe, never but once saw tn
American flag on the mast of Il ship, an
that was ship engaged in carrying pas
sengers, aud she had British tlas on on