Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-12-05
z9el,,tnttt Chronicle.
PROTECTION THAT PROTECTS.

We find in the Omaha WOrtd-Herdtd
of recent date most interesting in
terview with Mr. John F. Plummer, of
this city, who was at the time in Omaha
attending to his duties as one of the gov
ernment directors of the Union Pacific
Railway When asked by reporter as
to his views on the recent failure of one
large wooden manufacturing establish
ment, Mr.. Plummer replied that it was
undoubtedly due to the action of the
Treasury Department during Mr.. Cleve-
lands administration, which changed
the classification of woods, and admitted
at a lower rate than had therefore, been
enacted, many fabrics which were at the
time in fashion, and so enabled the
British manufacturers to compete on
terms of advantage with the American
producers of similar goods. He added:
The plant of the wooden mill means
very large investment of money and it
must be kept continually occupied in
order to have good results both for its
machinery and large and varied force. /
take pleasure in making the statement,
from an experience of thirty years in
connection with this particular branch
of American industry, that this country
produces, and is prepared to produce on
being given chance with the American
people, as good goods, if not better, than
are made in any country on the face of
the globe, and especially England, which
has been and is our greatest competitor.
We have the best machinery, largely
American inventions, which is indorsed
by being used to great extent abroad,
and in making this statement refer par
tieularly to American looms. Our help
is the very best in point of talent, taste
and skill. What we want in this coun-
try is a change and in order to have that
at the American basis of wages we must
have protection that protects, and be-
yond this we do not need nor want one
penny. The American workingman can
get a better suit of clothes better made
in this country for as small if not a
smaller amount of money than he can
buy them in England, and this same pro-
ficiency reaches up into the highest
grades of goods made. We must either
have protection or the wages of our
workmen must be reduced.
This is the situation in a nutshell
With the Republican party in power, no
further disturbance of the kind referred
TO is to be feared. That party stands, as
Mr.. Plummer well says, "for tariff re-
form in its fullest and fairest meaning,
but it means the tariff reform in the in
terest of America and her industries, and |
not in favor of England and her indus |
tries. | have every confidence to believe |
that the next Congress will take the mat |
ter up on its merits and act in bust
nesslike and intelligent way. This done |
any degree, the American manufacturer |
of woolens will have the American mar
ket, and then the industry can be in
creased to far greater extent than at |
present exists and give reasonable profit
for the labor and investment of capital |
The woolen manufacturers ask no more
and they should be accorded no less"
This summing up of the present sit
uation and future prospects of an impor-
tant industry is highly reassuring, and is
of particular interest as having been
published in an Independent newspaper,
whose constituency is in the great and
growing West.
JOSEPH JEFFERSON ON SNORING.
In the December Century Joseph JEFF
ferson describes the snoring part of the
old-fashioned stage journey across the
Alleghanys: "a short way from town
there was along hill upwhich the horses
toiled, so this gave the inmates of the
coach time to settle themselves down
FOR quiet nap. One snore after anoth-
er announced the accomplishment of
this feat, and in few minutes at least
six out of the nine passengers were OBJ
liyious of their miserable condition. l
never before had so fine an opportunity
to study the philosophy of snoring. A
large, fat man opposite me had short,
angry snore; at one time he snored so
loudly that he woke himself up, and he
had the impudence to glare about at the
company as though he hoped that they
would not make that noise again. The
old lady who was crushing me up in the
corner snored deeply and contentedly.
Some one off in dark corner, whom l
could not see, had genial way of join
ing in, as though he snored merely to
oblige the passengers; but the grand,
original musician of the party sat oppo-
site me. l never heard anything ap-
preaching him, either for quality or for
compass. 1t was back-action snore
that began in bold GgitGto movement,
suddenly brought up with jerk, and
terminated in low whistle. AS the
coach steadily moved up the hill the
band was in full play. The summit
gained, there was sharp crack of the
whip, the horses started, and everybody
was jerked violently backward, the snor-
ing gave place to oaths and pshaws and
iolting about. As soon, however, as we
got used to this sensation, the chorus be-
gan again; and was quite overcome
and tired, L joined in until the coach
came to full stop at the stable where
the horses were to be changed The sun
now rose, and came in at all sorts of
places, waking and binding everybody.
What diseontented and unhappy lot
we werel and how we all hated one an
other.
breakfast at last! All, hot coffee, ham
and eggs, and buckwheat cakes! The
meal was not half over before we were
band of brothers. We could not do
enough for one another, and all was
harmony and peace. Of course under
these conditions we became more famil-
lar, and one We'd with another in max
ing the time pass agreeably."
A FAMILY of rats in Hartford, Conn.,,
have amazingly disturbed the family in