Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-09-20
CONVINCING ARGUMENTS.
Telling and Effective Speeches by General
Harrison in Favor of Protection
for American Labor.

DOQuetS, winch, during the utuOHslEd-
ton, were gathered and placed in front
and around the general. He says in
part as follows:
Under a popular government like ours
it is of the first Importance that every
man who votes should have some reason
for his vote; that every man who attaches
himself to this or that political party
should intelligently understand both the
creed and the purpose of the party to
which he belongs [ think it is univers-
ally conceded-conceded by Democrats
as well as by Republicans that the
questions involved in this campaign do
have a very direct bearing upon the Ma
tional prosperity, and the prosperity
and welfare of the individual citizen, |
think it is conceded that the result of
this election will effect benefcIally or
iniuriOusly our great manufacturing in
terests, and will affect for veal or for
woe the workingmen and workingwomen
who fill these busy hives of industry.
Applause. This much is conceded. I
do not intend to-day to argue the ques-
ton in any detail. [ want to call your
attention to a few general facts and
principles, and the first one-the one l
never tire of mentioning, the one | deem
SO important that | do not shun the
the charge that am repeating myself
is this: that the condition of the wage
workers of America is better than that
of any other coantry in the world. Ap
plause. Now, if that be true it is i'm
portant that you should each find out
why it is so; that each one of you should
determine for himself what effect
A PROTECTION TARIFF
has had and is likely to have upon his
wages and his prosperity. Does it need
to be demonstrated that if we reduce the
tariff to revenue level, if we abolish
from it every consideration of protec-
lection, more goods will come in from
abroad than come in now? And what is
the necessary effect? 1t is the transfer
to foreign ~aops Of work that you need
here; it is g diminish American produc-
ton and increase English production.
That is to be the effect of it. 1t is not
worth while to stand upon nice defni-
tons as to free trade. Some think it
enough to say that they are not free
traders because they are not in favor of
| abolishing all customs duties. Let me
remind such that the free trade countries
of Europe, reorganiZed to be such, have
! not abolished all customs duties. A bet
ter distinction is this: The free trader
| believes in levying customs duties with
out any regard to the effect of those
duties upon the wages of our working
| people, or upon the productions of our
own shops. This, then, is the issue.
Take it to your homes. There are many
confusing and contradictory statements
made in the public press and by public
speakers. Ask any of those who assail
our protective system, whether they do
not believe that if their policy is adopted
large amount of foreign-made goods
| will come to this country. 1t is their
! purpose to increase importation in order
! to cheaper prices | think | may safely
ask you to consider the question whether
this cheapening of prices, which they
seem to regard as the highest attainment
| of craftsmanship, is consistent with the
rate of wages that our working people
| enjoy now; whether it will not involve,
| if we are to have foreign competition
without favoring duties, q reduction of
American wages to the standard of the
wages paid abroad. [Applause.] Do
you believe for one moment that the two
| factories making the same product can
| be maintained in competition where one
| pays SO per cent. more to it's working
men than the other? Is it not certain
! that
WAGES MUST BE EQALIZED
in those competing establishments, or
! the one paying the highest wages must
| shut down? Applause, and cries of
THAT'S the thing Here in this city
| of Fort Wayne. SO important and so
prosperous, we have q fine illustration
of the accrung advantages OF large
factory and shop population. 1t has
made your city prosperous as well as
| populous, and it has made these outlay
! ing Allen County farms vastly more
valuable than they otherwise would have
| been. These interests harmonic. But
| only want to ask you to think upon
these questions; settle them in your own
minds, for it is agreed by all that as
they shall be settled one way or the
other, your interests and those Of your
families and of this community and of
every other community in this country,
are to be affected favorably. May |
| not appeal to you to review these ques-
tons, to throw off the ShackleS of pre-
conceived notions and of party pre-
| JUDGES, and consider them anew in the
light of all the information that is ac-
cessible to you. If you shall do that
! do not doubt that the working people of
this country will, this November, forever
settle the question that American GUS
tom duties shall by intention, by tore
thought, have regard to the wages of
the working people. Applause.
At Peru, Ind, he said:
| have not time to-day to discuss the
issues of this campaign. They are ex-
| tremely important, and they will have 8
! direct bearing upon the prosperity of
| our country. | can only ask you to
| think of them, and not mistake the issue.
| 1t is the question of whether our tariff
| laws shall be protection to American
workingmen and protection to American
manufacturing establishments. Those
| who advocate a revenue for tariff only
| do not take any thought of our wage
workers but let their interests take care
| of themselves On the other hand the
Republican party believes that high re-
! gard shall be paid to the question what
| the effect will be upon wages and upon
| the protection OF our Americanship
| Those who believe this doctrine agree
with us, and those who assail it, and
say it Is constitutional, as has recently
been said by distinguished citizen,
/ would destroy our protective system if
! they could. We must believe so, be-
cause we must impute to them sincerity
in what they say. | believe this cam
| paign will settle for many years to come
| the question of whether legislation shall
be intelligently directed in favor of the
| doctrine that we will. so far as may be,
| see that our farmers may find home
| consumers for their home product, and
that these populous manufacturing cen
tiers may give larger value to the farms
| that lie about them. You have these