The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1890-09-11
Col. Hodge and Economics.

Some two weeks ago an old friend
OF .. Fl. Perry, Esq, the Hon. H. c.
Hodge of Michigan, dropped into
Wahpeton and upon invitation. one
evening delivered at the court house
a very learned address on the sub.
ject of land. currency and labor.
The Colonel, (he having served
through the war and came out a
colonel), is a great student and not
only a practical and logical thinker
but a most practical talker, and
pleased his audience immensely,
for the most part. And the good
citizens seeing the mans worth and
ability, invited him to deliver an
address on the tariff from a purely
non-partizan standpoint, which he
did on a subsequent evening, enter
tanning and instructing those for
tunate enough to have heard him.
There was a feature, however,
which marred the address the last
evening, in the shape of q uestions,
strangers in Wahpeton, but labor
ing men, evidently, one calling
himself a Democratic protectionist
and the other two protectionist Re.
publicans. The Colonel is an out
and out free-trader and naturally
stepped upon an occasional "corn"
of the Democratic party, while
he unavoidably trod upon and hurt
the bunion covered hoof Of our
friends the Republicans in fact it
was right uncomfortable for them.
And these poor deluded laboring
men, working away at their occu-
pations, respectively, persisently
bobbed up in the meeting and asked
absurd questions touching the pro-
tective idea, and would not be con-
vinced or convinced against their
will was of the same opinion still.'
1t is one Of the most absurd and
foolish things in the world for a
laboring man to imagine that the
AZ per cent. "protection" aids him
to cent more pay then he would
get was this war tax reduced to a
moderate and sensible per cent-to
the great relief of the people.
"Protection" curtails the laborer
from every point of view, and in
no cause affords him another days
work or another cent more pay.
Under the operations of the shome
market" plan, when the charmed
circle is over full, mills are shut
down and men are thrown out of
employment pending such time as
the deck is cleared. And then it
must he remembered that the mex
orable law of demand and supply
regulates the price of labor, there
is no getting away from this fact.
The protected manufacturer hires
his help just as cheaply as this law
will permit every time, no getting
away from this fact. The truth of
the matter is, protected" labor is
the cheapest labor in this country.
And then the idea of fighting
free raw material because there is
some raw material in this country,
is absurd. The tax placed against
imported raw material, simply
tends to increase prices to the con.
sumer, (and the laborer is q con-
sumer, and does not afford him a
farthing more for his services--not
a farthing--nor single days more
work, for many products could be
shipped in in the rougher state that
would afford our workmen addl-
tional employment in its prepara-
tion. And if goods were cheaper,
more would be consumed and labor
would take care of itself. In fact
labor would have an advantage here,
for now the capitalist is protected,
while the labor market IS wide open
to the world. Labor is worth sim
ply what 1T will bring-that's all
that can be gotten out of it. The
war tax benefits no man on earth
outside of the capitalist. 1t is a
monstrous crime against the Amer.
ican people, and they submit to it
simply on account of our tremend-
Gus resources and landed interests,
all of which are being squandered--
largely squandered, in that the
vampire capitalist is sucking the
life blood out of every interest in
this country.
It does seem SO foolish to hear a
sane man talk ahout nrotaction in