Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-09-06

the manufacturer or r,ccopolist who upon
the raise Of the tariff increased tho wages
OF his labor. II there was such . case II
has escaped the attention of every body,
even OF these dilige1t newspaper gentle
men who gather up the news, and some
times get = deal Of what is not news at
all Laughter. But they have never
who increased the wages OF the laborers
because the tariff was increased.
THE LAEoRER oAND THE TARIFF
For nearly twenty-seven years we have
had the highest tariff that this country
ever knew bcfore-an average fully twice
as high as it was before the war Wehave
had that high tariff all this time, and if it
= so much for the benefit of the WORKING
man why have not the laboring men groHn
rich in these sventy-seven years. 1 would
like to know. Have theys [Cries of Nor"
"No"1 If they have they are very IN
reasonable Insn, for not year passes
over our heads that we do. not, hear
OF strikes of laborers because Of de-
mands for more wages on thee ground
that they can not live on what they re-
ceive- Again and again we hear of what
arc called lock-outs-that is, when the EN-
ployers suspend operations and lock up
their raills, because, they say, they can't
afford to pay any moro wages than they
have been paying. Now, why ara these
strikess Why are those lock-outs! Why
are there such institutions as labor unions
to secure better wages! Why is there such
an institution as Knights of Labor to pre-
ventthc laboring men from being imposed
upon and to increase their compensation!
What IS the necessity for all these things,
and all these costly and expensive and
troublesome organizations if high tariff
givesehigh wages to the laborerl No man
can answer that question satisfactorily
even to 0hinself. 1t what those men
say is true about high tariffs and
their effect upon wages, why, all
these labor unions; all these Kni ghts of
Labor, and every body else engaged in
that kind of business are simply wasting
their time for tariff does the whole bust
ness for them. Applause. 1t does the
business for them, but not in the way they
like. not precisely in the way that they
feel isSfor their benefit, and therefore they
have to resort to other means to get wages
which their employers will not willingly
pay. While Lam on this subject Of the Ia
borinG nan let me call your attention to
something else. They say that the tariff
does not raise prices. Well, if it does not
raise prices. would like to know why the
manufacturers, or so many of them, are in
favor of it, Do they want high tariff to
lower prices! Laughter and applause. /
There are instances in which high tariff
reasons, but as "a general rule, as 1 have
already shown you by what read from
Mr.. Adams report and from other authori-
ties. thc tariff increases the price If it
did not increase the price YOU may be sure
that manufacturers and mOnopolists would
not want it, and if it does not increase the
prices pray what is the protection2 Where
does that come inl They are so much
afraid of our getting things cheaper in this
country than they can be manufactured
here by reason of the pauper labor, as they
call it, of Europe. Well, if the tariff does
not increase the price of the articles
(which we buy and which are manufactured
here, where is the0protection to the Ameri-
can manufacturer, AMI how, if the price is
not raised, can they pay better wages ito
tho laborer!0 But there is one class of Ia
borers that 1 want to call your atten-
ton to especially. There is one class of
labOrers who have been, according ito the
claims Of the Abolitionists and Republic
ans, their especial wards, who have been
especially under their guardianship and
for whose interests they feel the most pc
cu1iar and earnest solicitude. These are
the negroes. The result of the war was ito
FREQ about four million of negroes, and am
very glad they were freed. They have in
creased now to be about six Or seven mil
lion. Nov, how do those negroes make
their livingl A great many of them go to
Iotown and pursue any kind of handicraft
they can, They go into domestic service,
black shoes, shave faces. Cor do other
things of that kind. But the country ne
gro nakesowhat heogetssby ,cultivat ting the
earth throughout the whole South How
does he cultivate it |. He either has bought
some land-and some of them have bought
a good dealSoro he rents land.e Whether
hc0cultivate his own land or whether he
'rehtsoits the crop he gets from'it is'the re-
enumeration: for his'toil. ., That crop in the
main consists Of cOttOn.e SOmeO corn. oSorne
little wheat9obut mainly of cotton. Now,
how can the high protective tariff benefit
that negro. He raises cotton and ehaS for
his share Of the crop four or five balls each
year. There is no'tarif f. on cotton, gentle
I meno 1t conesoin as free as air:o TIE price
eof cotton, therefore, s'not raised, as they
lesay, or lesscnedeby this tariffatax, and yet
|0tks is all the negro has for his labor He
ocah notget cent more for his cotton by
reason of any singh protective tariff, and
he doesn't geta cent less. He has, to sen
| it at the price fixed in the for ;ign6mar1et,
| the price made in Liverpool or London,
| which places the price upon cotton export
Iaea from the United States, 1t is there
+ that the price of his cottonsis fixed and for
that price0he has to sell 1t, tariff tar
! if How is it on the other handa Although
| he:is living IN pretty warm climate, the ne
| growantS to be decent and comfortable, and
| he,Wants his wife and children to be COM
| Portable. They need clothing as well as
other people, but upon every thing the
negro buys to clothe himself, to clothe his
| wife and his little pickaninnies he is taxed
by. tho high protective tariff and is COM
| peeled to pay higher price than he other
| wise would have to pay, SO that so far as
he is concerned there can be no pretense
whatever that the tariff is any thing but
an unmitigated injury to him He has
| nothing to sell which is benefited by 1t.
He performs no labor that by any kind of
| argument can be shown to- be benefited by
it. BE sells his cotton at price fixed in a
foreigp country. because he can not sell it
for any other price, and upon, every thing
he consumes, every thing he purchases for
his consumption, he has to pay an increased
price, and is thereby injured Now, do
think our abolition friends csI,acially ought