The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-05-04
THE WAY 1T WORKS.

To the Editor:
What protection has done for America
has been the subject of former com
The effect of protection
upon the farm interest of the country
under the great system So wisely adopt
ed by the fathers, has been briefly al
luded to, and the showing is one that
every patriotic American is justly proud
of. The fact that while our farms since
1860 have doubled in number in 1880,
and increased in value from $4,000, 000,-
600 to so, 0O0, 900. 900, is to the intelligent
farmer an irresistible argument against
u return TO the disastrous experiment of
the Buchanan era, which eliminated in
the great financial cyclone of 1857, and
rebellion of 1860. And when he takes a
peep into what free trade has done for
England, and finds that while he was
ilourishing the free trade English farm
er was growing poorer and decreased
during the time mentioned above over
- per cent. and in 1880 the British Sta.
tistician Mullhall gives the entire value
of the farms and products of the same
for the British kingdom at 81, 200, 000, 600,
only 500, 0O0, 600 more than the value OF
our farms alone in 1860, our farmers are
in no haste to change that showing. But
what has free trade done for England,
Scotland and Ireland? In England moi
only deprecated the value of her farm
lands and crippled her farmers, but OPP.
pressed her laborers to that condition
that the average wages of farm laborers
are only about half what they are in
America. In the cotton mills in Man
chester, $4,000 women are working a.
wages of 30 to 33 cents per day. Two
shillings to two shillings and six pence
per day is the best wages paid the com.
mon laborer. Mr.. Bradlaugh declared
in parliament that agriculture in Eng.
land is ruined, and half the laborers ear
get no work; that those who did could
only get l shilling to shilling and [
land is bad enough, but it is no better in
Scotland.
In Glasgow Mr.. Bright said that IL ,0O(
out of 100000 families lived each in one
room, and the army of unemployed mer
was simply immense. The Iangloan
iron works are here, covering IS acres o
ground. They run furnaces, melt 30t
tons of iron daily, consuming 500 tons o
coal in its production. Coal is only
hauled two miles, and the ore is quarried
in the immediate vicinity. Skilled work
men are paid from 3 to Z shillings pei
day. Il large majority not over shillings
coal miners from $3.50 TO $5.SS per week
iron miners from S5.34 to $3.50 pei
week; common laborers 81 to 62 cents
The Palsy thread works are there, anG
the employees are nearly all women
they earn on an average $2.S0 per week
The Palsy Mill, at Pawtucket, manufac
turing precisely the same goods, the
same class of laborers average S. pei
week. Ship building on the CLYDE was
slack, but hunger and poverty among
the idle classes is ever active, and tie
employed live on what the American
employed would not tolerate as food
But bad as it has been for Scotland
England and Wales, it has been fal
worse for the Emerald Isle, the faires
gem on the sea-" the fair island which
once contained happy, prosperous anG
thriving population of S,0OO,0 900 souls
She had her manufacturers Of linen
silk, cotton and woolens, and all protect
ed by tariff and subsidies, were flourish
ing, the people happy, and nomore con
tented people were to be found il
Europe than the Irish. But England
was her nearest neIghbor, and when die
Britain ever permit neighboring ma
ton to enjoy national prosperity anC
happiness that she could cajole, bully OF
whip unless she could have the lion!
share? And where is Ireland to-day
Her population reduced to about 5000,
600, her manufactures gone, her place
among the nations ofthe world unknown
her people the poorest, most distressed
distracted, oppressed and harassed o
any people in Europe, if not in any por
ton of Gods green earth. But les
somebody should say / overstate thu
condition of Ireland ] will quote the
language of the most eloquent orator anC
noblest patriot Ireland has produced
since Emmett's young life was sacrificed
to British vengeance. In speech a
Dublin in 1917 he said:
"The cotton manufactures of Dublin
which employed $4,000 operatives, the
5000 silk looms of the Liberty, have
been destroyed; the stuff and serge
manufactures, which employed ], S9l
operatives, have been destroyed; the cal
leo looms of Balbriggan have been de
stroyed; the flannel manufactures o
Rotterdrum have been destroyed
the blanket manufactures of Kilkenny
have been destroyed; the worste(
and stuff manufactures of Waterford
have been destroyed; the rattan anG
frieZe manufactures of Carrick-on-iviel
has been destroyed. One business alone
survives, thrives and flourishes, an(
fears no bankruptcy. That favored
privileged and patronized business il
the Irish coffin makers"
Thousands of IrIshmen IN this country
to day can bear witness to the fact. Ire
lands condition has not improved, bu
grown more wretched and degraded
and that they are more oppressed nov
than when Meagher pictured thei
wretohed condition in 1917. Still Eng
land, Grover Cleveland, and the Demo
cratic papers expect every Irishman t.
do his duty and vote for Grover Cleve
land as the surest and speediest way tC
bring the country of their adoption into
the same relation to Great Britain tina
Ireland is now. Those who have NJ
kindly sympathy for the friends in the
old country, no tender memories OF it!
former prosperity'a happiness of hi
ancestry. and no patriotic aspirations fol
it's restoration to its former position
among the prosperous and happy ma
tons of the world, may do SO. But af
ter he has voted for Grover Cleveland
the hope of the British aristocracy anG
free traders who have ruined his father
land, and whose only hope of accom-
plishing the same purpose in this coun
try is through Cleveland and the Demo
cratic party, let him not insult the mem
DRY of Ireland's martyr patriots by any
hypocritIcal expression of sympathy fOl
the oppressed people of his fatherland
REPUBLICAN,.
CHEAPER TEIEGRAPHING.