The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-05-25
A MAsTERLY ARGUMENT
Extracts From Mr.. Funston's Great
Tariff Speech In the House Of
Representatives.

iOI MIuneoOte ana 1foo lfu1S 1of CeilOrnle u
not Protective system. Such scheme p IT.
ue-souled, narrow.minded. partisan and SEQ.
tionsl. and unworthy OF place in the plans Of
statesmen. Such 10, indeed. the character Of
time. II bears the ear-lnarks Of the politician
In its Partially to those etates the democratic
party hopes to carry Of the next Presidential
Of thes emocracy for the interests Of the agri-
cultuftlist and the mechanic BY placing many
Of the productions Of their toll ON the ffee-list
g IN: uy On aadss
and Keep up the revenue, IL blunders a. to Its
method OF reducing the surplus.
Whatever may have been the design Of its
Trainers, the sure result can only be the des.
truction OF many Of our industries In which
| thousands Of laborers ind honest employment
and great amounts:of c.pItale legitimate Invest
Russell. whom do not see In his seat, we'll
says in his speech Of the 18th Of April.
1--WE are going in the same track that our
predecessor followed In 1857 and lS7l.n
The able gentleman from Massachusetts,
speaks for his party when he says "we," and
he utters the fact. whether he knows It or not.
ee no % OF the lon Of the
1851. The same sad prospects, the same out
look Of social misfortune and industrial desola-
tion await the unfuriing again Of their free
past-.the silent wheels, the smokeless stacks.
the deserted workshops, the widespread want
Of 1857. Applause These calamities seem to
only by the charm Of wildcat banks, half-paid
labor, and cheap foreign goods AZ to the
question of labor In those halcyon days Of dem
1 say that the strongest and best laborers were
hired on the farm In those days ct Sl25 to $40
per year, and boarded themselves, and the
same class OF hands are to-day receiving from
What 10 true of farm lab0rers, as relates to
increase Of wages, is true also In all other
branches OF industry. No man who has the
labOrer of to-day IL paid an increase of from 10
to Is per cent, according to occupation. over
what he was paid In 1857 to 1850. 1 desire here
to submit table, which 10 the result of careful
study and Investigation by the SnringfIeid
MASS J Republican. showing the per cent Of
advance OF wages OF employees since the period
before the civil war to the present time. Rail-
reads, IS per cent; cotton. SO per cent. wool.
en- GJ per cent naOer al ner cent hnttnns
IS per cent whips, A per cent dolnestics. 81
day labor, 40 per cent average of the whole
81 Der cant. But the eloouent and able gentle.
man from Indiana Mr. Bynuml would tell ma.
as as. he did in his address to this House on the
''That labor is rs much q commodity selling
in the market as the materials 70 be worked mn.
Ii the demand is great, wages will 20 mn; II tie
dem md is small wages will 20 down, -
Does the gentleman stop to reflect that It in
protection which Greats the demand of LAHORE
No one, even OF the most radical free trade
lection does not build up and sustain msnufac.
lures aud other industries which demand the
labor of many thousands Of men. It is the Gre
ator of demand for labor, and therefore the Gre
ator of wages, high OF low. az the tariTr itseIf
IL high or low. No one who admits that de-
mand regulates wages and that tariff creates
the demand can arrive at any other conclusion
the lab0ring man, and that 10 the side that
gives him the wages. That free trade or duty
for revenue only will create . demand for la
Dor has had the
vOided by all who have maintained the free
trade side Of this question. 1t is the missing
link in their chain u argument. What il to
become Of the laboring man when the demand
for his services 10 superseded by foreign labor
expended upon imported goods 10 . question of
graver importance than that Of q few cents on .
question has become most important factor In
our system Of government and no innovation
should be made which in any way affects this
tSst Se
cord with the labor tnterests OF the country.
let 1t 10 proposed by this bill now under con- |
siaeration To remove the protective duties in
which thousands Of our countrymen are en- |
pl0yed, AMI to materially reduce protection on |
others, the INEVITABLE result Of which will be |
out OF empl0ymen thousands OF men who are
now earning comfortable living. As reim- |
barsement for all this loss and industrial dis |
articles Which they mag % DESIRE
to buy can be purchased few cents cheaper in |
consequence Of the adoption OF free trade prin- /
ciples.
do gentlemen ever reflect that the question of
cheapness Is not the all-impOrtaut question /
with the labOring man? The question Of ON
ployment at good wages Is OF far greater i'm.
higgle over prices than he. None are more
willing to live and let live than he. Something |
to buy with Is what concerns him most. Goods
may be cheap, they may be offered at half price
m N tn fho vvh tel
out Of employment and out Of money? The fact |
that goods are cheap only Odds to his aggrava-
ton. No gentleman on the free trade side Of
this question. who has referred to the protec-
ton on, farm products, has failed to assert that
the duty on them does not add to their market
value. except in the single case Of wool. II
no reduction iu the price OF articles that 90
upon his table. II this he true, beef and pork
and bread and butter and all other articles Of
like kind. which make up the most expensive
part of his purchases, will remain the same "a
Tree trade be true, he may expect to obtain his
wearing material few dollars cheaper per
year than under protection.
But this cannot apply to cotton goods, for
hey are already cheaper In this country than
n any other part Of the world. In any event,
VOOlen goods. Now, IL It be true that free wool
8 the panacea which shall cure all his Ills, the
ief, let us see how great that relief Will he
The present duty ON wool lie about 10 cents. In
suit OF wooden goods there are from 8 toll
'Ounds Of wool. If all be true that the free
raiders say, the suit costs 80 cents more than Il
hould under free trade. Allowing two full
uits each year, 81 would he saved TO the labor.
ny man by free wool. And to save this 81 he
8 asked to join in q crusade against the manu- |
aeturing interests Of the country, by which
lie wages will he reduced at least one hundred
lines that amount, and most likely he will he
brown out of employment altogether
1t has been uniformly urged on the other side
( this House that the manufacturer absorbs nil
be benefits of protection and that he does NOT
ermit them to extend to the labOrcr. MiohtI