Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-23
A WORKING MANS VIEWS.

The Effects Of the Tariff In Increasing the
Cost Of the Nscessaries OF Lie.
T5fs Eti0r o. ne Rcgs,r.
SIg:-I hope it will not be asking too
much of You to publish the poor working
mans side Of the wool question. Every
one knows We have been paying enormous
prices for wooden goods tor the last twenty
five years. Men who have been producing
wool have become rich, while the manu-
~factursrs of wool have become poor or had
to shut down and let their employees hunt
other work. When there IL q tariff on
raw material the Specu.ators buy il and
hold il in store sad form associations like
the hide association which was formed
when there was q duty on foreign hides
coming into this country. How is il that
the Republican party took the tariff OF
foreign hides? Because the poor Of the
county could not aifOed to pay the price
for shoes and the farmer could not pay the
price for tine harness for his horses. The
harness often cost rs much % the horse.
Since the duty has been taken of the
hides, the tanners OF this country have
done better, giving more employment To
men and giving leather at q fair price to
the satisfaction OF all. We nov export
leather and shoes, bringing back the gold
that Was sent over to pay high interest on
our bonds.
There is no man in this country who
has any American fairness about him who
would ask protection on wool, as sheep
raising is one of the most profitable indus
tries.
Again, look OF the price farmers get for
mutton. If sbeep are so valuable for wool
1t certainly makes the owner hold them
and does not want 10 sell them to the
butcher. thus making mutton dear to the
poor. So il is with wool; the poor man
aud his family are strangers to wool or
wooden goods, a5 they cannot afford 10
buy 1t. The poor are compelled TO buy
cotton goods. See the poor mans child
gOiCg TO school in the cold, frosty winter,
with a little calico dress, cotton stockings
and 3 cotton shawl or wrap, because be
afford to pay taSin on wool. Go
into the poor mans bed room; do yOu fad
good warn blankets on his bed? No, cot
caytrs, and few OF those. The poor
men OF this country country cannot get
WOODEN ruGsrClOthes Tor the winter. A few
weeks agD Mr.. S;iGel had a three days
sale CT wooden underwear at eost. The
poor did try to gst some of those, and
strange 20 sag, Espubliraastook advantage
of the tariff OF ~ we'll as the Democrats.
Gen. GU;f saws to take tariff off Of wool
will close the wooden mills. Ii Is very
strange il does rot shut mp other establish
ments that have ,eyiif of the raw material,
for instance, the tanning industry, which
has the duty of hides or ;he last fifteen
or sixteen years. Where is there any men
who work mere steady than the tanners?
Look az the new yard at Davis, n. Y,
capital employing LOO men. Another at
Paw-PaH. Deiord x Co, Of Baltimore has
another on South Branch. James Rses, at
Eeyscr, another il al Cumberland, owned
by the Davis Company, ard our tannerieSof
Wheeling are running steady. You can
ask any tanner i lie done ~ well
when the tariff was on hides, as he does
now. He will tell yOu DO. ii the tanners
are successful TO not see why the pOtters
and glass manufactures would not be jus:
As successful, With tariff of their law ma
terial. Every o0e can sc they can ges
more rIw material Tor the same money
tney nave Invested in thsir business, thus
giving more men employment. On the
other hand, ii 4 trm were in the habit Of
employing fifty men the year round and
the tlnIi were taken of, they could afford
20 furnish S~eyenty-hye men with raw ma
terial. This re:utes Gen. G1f's argument,
bat | suppose he would like to see Lne old
I.-L N.aah 49,. .-ksAL -. ~, WV.aRtn
ricn by lending money to business msn at
q high rate OF interest. and have the a
ufAc.ureTs and the their men working TO
pay interest TO the banks and money
lenders C this country, and eventually
close them up, as they did Stealy's tanneTy
in ClarksAuTg.
High tariG compels the business man or
manufacturer either 10 borrow more
money, or discharge some Of their men. |
mean when the tariff is on raw material.
So Gen. Coz does not advocate the good OF
the working class. A farmer has his land
to depend upon, besides he can afford to
sell his wool cheaper than what they have
been charging for It The poor man has
on,V has days work, and wants a. much
as ne can get for his bard earned dollar.
Hish taUd originated strikes, and caused
more trouble than any other law we ever
had. Property was assessed high and
in proportion, which caused high
house rent and the poor had to pay IL all.
spectators, wheat spectators, and
specuiatcrs in all the necessaries Of life
have lived and become rich at the expense
of the poor working classes.
The high tariff tOstersd speculation and
financial ruin. Unfortunately, / am q
of - myself. Il was hard for
business men to borrow money in thc1e
days. as the rich msu had his money
locked up in bonds ct high interest, which
kept the money out Of the lawful channel.
want the interest taken of the bonds,
so as TO compel the b~ondhOlder TO invest IN
business to give the poor man work.
About the year lS6S l remember reading
in the Baltimore Sun OF q ship leaving
New York, bound TO Liverpool, with SI5,-
600, 600 in gold, to pay interest on ear
bonds, while the poor man got greenbaeks,
which was not worth more than 50 cents
on the dollar.
Tin COmss largely in competition VIII
pottery and glassware, why didn't the Re