Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-09-29
THE BEAUTIFUL FLOUR BARREL.

When l was a boy had seen fish
barrels, molasses barrels, sugar hogs
heads and oil barrels on the docks at
liverpool and at Philadelphia. all of
them black. dirty and unpleasant to
look at, but in May, 1882, we got to
phenixville, Pa, and after father
worked one week at the Whitaker
Iron Works he brought home the
most beautiful barrel that l ever saw.
II was white and clean, and thought
the incest barrel In the world, and
when father opened it and / saw the
snow-white flour full to the very TOP
of the barrel, liked it still better.
we had always got our -four, in
the country, in tin pail, for there
we're no paper bags at that time.
Father said he had to pay big price
for that barrel of flour, / think it was
about IS.
AT that time the Free Traders were
in power, but General jackson, who
was President like the boy who
cut off the dogs tail half an inch at a
time, because the dog could not stand
Il to have it all cut off at once), said:
nIet the Tariff be reduced by de.
prees." And so it was done !. and so
the Tariff went down, so did the price
of -four, and we got the beautiful
snow-white -four at 81, then at $3.50,
then at Sc, $3.50, SIS, 81, $3.50, 81, 1910.
and at last $500. The storekeeper
offered US barrel, afterwards, just as
clean and nice and as tull we ever got,
for $40, bat father said he hadn't the
$40 to buy it, and we had to carry 5
and 10 pounds at a time in the same
old tin pail that we used to carry flour
in England. The Tariff had got SO
low and the English iron came into
the country SO cheap that the mill we
worked in was stopped and we could
not get work enough to support the
family. We then went West, and
stopping in Huntington and Belfont,
we finally got to Pittsburgh during
the period of 1887, aud carried our
first baking of -four in the same old
tin pail that we used for that purpose
in England. Father said that al
though we had travelled 5000 miles to
the land of the beautiful -four barrel,
the Free-Traders had by their Free
Trade put the beautiful barrel out
of our reach, and made us carry our
-four in the same old tin pail we car
ried it in from the shops of England.
At our home we called the Demo-
Gratis the Locofoco party, while the
other was the beautiful white flour
barrel party.
At the next election the Wings pre-
vailed, and passed the Tariff of 1912,
and the beautiful flour barrel came
back. l remember asking Judge
Burnside why General Jackson was so
foolish as to allow the Locof,ocos to
take the Tariff off, lower our wages,
stop the mills, and drive the beautiful
flour barrel from our home? He re-
piled that General Jackson was born
after his father had died. Had the
old man lived he would have walloped
those ideas out of him. 49,
Putting hoop iron from No. Is to
No. Don the free list in the Mills bill
will drive the flour barrel from many
4 home in this country and cause the
people to suffer if put into practice.
If the Mills bill becomes law, then
we will import rs, 500 tons Of hoop iron
annually from England, instead of
making it in this country. Now, in
making this hoop iron, mining, smelt-
ing, pudding, rolling, heating, the
workmen will consume $4,000 barrels
of -four. We can send the flour to
England and feed the workmen there.
but in that case, the workmen who
have heretofore made the hoop iron
in this country will be idle and hun
cry. Is it not better for the farmers
to sell the $4,000 barrels of -four to
our workmen, and have them make
the $4,000 tons of hoop iron in this
country? Be kind to the workmen.
give them plenty of work at fair
wages and they will rejoice with the
presence of the beautiful flour barrel.
Reese IN The IRON Trade Re
gielC.