The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-08-04
mofa Democratic BUSINESS Men Leav-
ing Their Party.

Rnd dby, American labor and capital.
1ts nature will produce its character.
Isles. Facts will be more telling
'han oratorv. The newspapers and
CLUBS and Tariff tracts Will do the
naain work.
Incidentally. and most fortunately
iorall interests. the campaign will
bring capital and labor into closer re-
lallons than have existed for great
many years. The American EN-.
pioyer and his employees have q
common fight to make. Their in.
terets are equally at stake. They
must stand or fall together.
We have already shown how our
Democratic manufacturers are COM
inssQ the front and joining the
c,se ear party. II Is Interesting to
bbssrve how these men talk about
thenew political situation that has
Neen created through the ambition
Of Mr., Cleveland to- be reelected on
an issue of his own making, after he
had secured a denomination by the
shameless violation Of his Reform
pledges md by putting the entire
Federal power and patronage into
the conttst.
To- -dar we publish interviews with
representative business men of this
city, wto have been forced to leave
the Democratic ranks and to stand
up for he American system of Pro-
tectior. One of these disgusted Dem
ocratsis Mr.. Alexander Agar, who
is at .he head of large stationery
and PAPER business at No. ITO Will.
liam street. He says he has been
voting the Democratic ticket for
negly thirty years, but is "going to
sto." The reason why is clear and
cosent. "I worked in 1S47," says
he "for So per week. Under the pro.
tedive system that followed I was
abe to increase my wages and to be-
cone an employer myself in my line
Ofbusiness. | am not in favor oi
ary proposition that will reduce us
tothe 50 system again, which by the
WY prevailed under free trade, and
which ceased to prevail when pro.
tetiye tariff went into effect"
Mr.. Agar, like tens of thousands o.
other Democratic business men, sees
through the shams and false preten'
9As4af the Mills bill. 1t is primarily
In the Interest of Free Trade and moi
of reducing the surplus. "Under 6
high Tariff in 1885," says Mr.. Agar
"the receipts from imported paper
were $40, ,406.S7. In 1887, after the
Tariff had been reduced 10 per cent.
the receipts were swelled to $242, PIG
That meant that under the free trade
system S222,000 worth of paper haC
come into this country from Norway
and elsewhere in excess of what haC
come in under the high Tariff. Ii
Norway they pay women in tht
paper mills fifteen cents a day an(
men twenty-five. Here we pay thu
women 81 day and the men $1.50
Under free trade we would have Il
compete with Norway labor.
don't propose to do it,"
The testimony of another witness
Mr.. Frederick ]. Smith, a youns
man whose abilities have made hin
foreman of the large lithographins
establishment of Richardson & Foos
at Fourth avenue and Twelfth street
is out with the Democratic party be
cause it is out for Free Trade. H,
says-and he ought to know-tha
"it is foolish to say that workingmei
have not watched the Tariff debates
They have. They are the interested
parties. / have watched them care
fully and am against the Mills bill
and what Gov. Hill calls its polio,
of 'freer trade' That's all there i
about it. / am against Free Trad
on general and particular principle
and the Democratic party will find {
good many thousands of US in tn
same position a few months from
now.n
Comments would be superfluou
and needless. The uprising of intel
llgent American workingmen in be
half of protected labor has begun il
thousands of localities and it will
astonish the English observers of tn
great struggle as thoroughly as th'
uprising of the loyal men of tn,
North astonished and appalled, then
in 1861, IN. Y. Mail and Express.
The Euglish newspapers are heap
ing so much praise upon the Demo
cratic party that they may defea
their own DurnOSps. There are DeODl