Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-08-29
LABOR'S DUTY DEFINED.
A MFLTVA UKEE MANUFACTURER
ON THE SITUATION.
Good Advice by e p. Al1is-The Issue
One of Vital Importance to Wage
Workers Henry Smiths
Betrayal of His
Followers.
From the Milwaukee Wisconsin.

pa1gn IS affOrGed by the following aO-
dress from E. P. Allis, the proprietor of
the Reliance Works, to the l 800 men in
his employ. The address was written
by Mr.. Allis solely for his own men,
and neatly-printed copy enclosed in an
envelope was handed to each of them.
But the universal int rest in the
subject at this time, and the clear
and forcible manner in which Mr.
Allis has handled it, give the document
public value, and it will doubtless be
of great use in the pending campaign,
to counteract the tree-trade heresies Of
the Democrats. The fact that Mr.. Allis
is an uncompromising Independent in
politics gives additional weight to what
he says. His address is strong, wholly
nOn-partlsan argument for the Repub-
lican cause.
To MY EMPLOYEES have been asked by many
OF you for my opinion upon the present political
situation, and in view OF the great importan ce
of the question itself, whether my opinion is of
value or otherwise it seems best to reply in an
open letter to you ALL
AS you know I am q firm believer in the fnan-
cial and industrial views of that emiHent Amer
lean thinker and writer upon industrial SUBJ
jects, Henry c. Cary, and have been q sincere
worker IN the 'Greenback' and "Greenback
Labor" parties, which more nearly than any
other embodied his principles and if my vote
and influence could establish those principles
The underlying sentiment of those principles
is, that American labor is the foundation stone
OF our national life and future greatness, and
that to encourage and aid the working and pro-
duc1ng classes, whether on the farm, in the work
shop or in the office, should be the first duty of
government, and that our legislation should be
for our own people and country, and not for or
governed by other nations
Two leading features of this belief are, first
that the alone should f1Tnisn the
per, and that 1t should also establish and regu-
late its volume in the interests of the whole peo-
pie beyond the reach of responsible or irrespons-
BILE causes, arising from individual or corporate
control, or from the ex portatiOn or variation In
the supply of the precious metals, and Sec
ono, that the good raw material OF our
own people. without damaging competition from
the people of different governments and diverse
social and economic conditions OF those two
great principles, the Labor party alone at the
present time advocates the first, but the success
OF that party in the approaching election IS an
impossibility, and its success even, with the
loss OF the second of these principles, which it
does not endorse, would, fear be fru1tless VIC
tory.
The two dominant political parties one of
which must succeed in this election while alike
ignoring the first of these questions, take dis
tinct issue upon the second and it Is made the
pivotal question of the day, and in triumph Of
one or the other OF these two parties rests the
settlement Of this question tor many years to
come, and the consequent good or i'll for long
time to our beloved republic
culties to contend with, but under present con-
ditions they are gradually acquiring the power
to more successfully c5pe with them, and
though the process may De thought slow, it Is
nevertheless certain that they are constantly bet
tering their condition, while their brethren
the sea are vast multitude so stepped in power
better future. This fact is beyond successful dis
pute, that whatever Ills the American
workman has to contend against his rste of
wages is twice to three times that of his European
his vital and lasting interest to maintain. 1t is
also of vital interest to the country itself, that
1t should be maintained, tor If American work
men must be reduced to the low rate of wages
paid abroad and to the want and misery that
naturally follows that low ebb of payment as
evidenced not only by. foreign reports, but by
the destitute hordes of emigrants now landing
upon our shores, then our government of and
for the people Is a failure and fraud.
The only possible way that this difference of
wages between our own and TO ceign lands is and
can be maintained is by the continuation of the
policy that made the difference exist viz: the
exclusion to greater or less extent Of the prod
ucts of that foreign, cheap labor from our
shores. The policy which does this is the
policy of protection to home industries and 1t is
this policy which Is now being threatened by the
present national administration and which is to
be passed upon i'll the approaching election For
the time being, this question dwarfs all
OF hers and every other issue sinks into insignl-
canoe beside it. The removal of this protection
which he now enjoys, would place the American
w Orkman upon the same plane as his less fOrtu-
tn e great weapon of better wages which he now
holds and is using successfully to contend with
the giant and grasping spirit of the age. 1t is
quite probable that the rate of wages paid, even
in America, is not as high as II should be and I
fully believe that the distribution of the prod
ucts of labor is faulty and that the producer
does not get his proper share, but am equally
sure that the road to a better distribution does
not lie In reducing the share he now gets. That
the effect of foreign competition would be to re-
duce his wages. it is only necessary to apply it
to Our own case rig hit here at home
Our city is divided by rivers into three i'm
portant sections VIZ; the East, West and the
South Sides, in the latter of which our works are
located. Here we are $500 strong. fully occu-
pied at as high a rate of wages prevails in the
United States in similar establishments, and,
whe ther as high as 1t ought to be or not, 1t Is
twice or three times as high as is paid abroad.
Now, suppose similar establishment should be
started upon the East or West Side. and, for some
reason that establishment could obtain its work
men at materially less wages than we pay on
the South Side. Since labor represents far the
larger per cent. of the cost of our products, you
can readily see that it would only be q matter Of
short time when our establishment would be
COMPELLED to do one of three things: either
close its doors, move over to the other
paid on tbs other side. This result would be in
evitable, and there Is no escape from 1t. If our
river was broadened to lake. and the lake ex-
tended to an ocean, it would make no difference
in the inevitable necessity of change In location,
lower wages failure, and. as change of location
would be impossible. and closing or failure
v,
would be lower wages. 1t is true that the mat
ter of transportation between two distant points
enters into the calculation, but communication
by water and steam Is so close, that the cost OF
transportation is OF no importance The great
fact remains, that the nations OF the word are
our competitors, and we must adopt their scale
of wages or go out of business In our own cOun-
Try, il we permit their wares to come free among
us. they may claim we are exclusive in this,
but philanthropy begins at home, and Amer
lea is large enough and good enough for
nd go
americans and not for Europe and Euro
peans. One great claim that is urged for the re-
moval OF duties upon imports, in the interest of
workmen, u.s. that under protective policy, he
has to pay higher price for what he consumes,
but admitting this to be true, we must also con-
slider the other truth, that If he pays more, he
has tar more to pay 1t with. The true measure
of the cost of living to the workingman
is not in dollars and cents, but in
days and hours of labor, and there is no
country on earth where the labor of the work
ingman will buy more than one-third to one-half
of the necessares, comforts and lux uries of life
that it does in our own favored land, under the
present system Of protection
Another claim is, that more is paid into the
treasury than we need, but is it SO? Have we
more income than we can prohtably use? Which
of you having debt of 81, 600 upon his home
stead, and saving of 500 over and above his
living expenses, would consider that amount
laid away to pay on the debt, bad condition OF
things? And yet this is precisely parallel case.