Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-07-02
AND EVEN PHILADELPHIA.

Business Men and Workingmen Unite in
Cttering q Mighty Protest Against It
Protection Tottering to Its Fall In One of
It's Own Strongholds-Free Raw Materials
the Watchword.
Pennsylvania is the great stronghold
OF protection in the United States
Philadelphia is its chief city, and has
for years been the citadel of protection
in high tariff Pennsylvania. For years
Philadelphia has rolled protection as a
sweet morsel under its tongue.
But now times are changing, and
now Philadelphia's sweet morsel is
turning to gall in her mouth. Her
workingmen have been diligently
schooled in the doctrine that wages are
dependent on protection-that without
protection, in fact, there could be no
wages worth having But, all the same,
and Notwithstanding the present high
protection that Philadelphia has and
the prospects of still higher in the fu-
ture, her workingmen have seen their
wages falling lower and lower, and
many OF them are out of employment
through the closing down of the mills
in which they work. The Philadelphia
Times recently said that NEARLY seventy
failures of woolen mills and dealers
have occurred in this city and vicinity
since the election of 1888, when the
tariff question was proclaimed as set
tied, and each failure told the same
story. viz: that the cost of raw mate
rials drove our woolen Industries into
bankruptcy
Thus it is not Philadelphia's working
men alone who are tasting the tariff
gall-her manufacturers also are weary
OF the bitter draught. When both the
manufacturers and their men feel so
strongly the evil that protection is do
ing for them, it is no wonder that they
should make themselves heard in oppo-
sition to the Mckinley bill, which would
only aggravate their troubles.
And they have made themselves
heard.
Philadelphia has just held two meet
1ngs In the same day-one for the manu-
faeturers and merchants and one for the
workingmen, and these meetings re-
sembled in their attendance and en-
thusiasm the great gatherings just be-
fore Presidential election.
The meeting of the business men was
held in the afternoon in the Walnut
OOAOOO 4ACoGCAs WA1Cu was uI1eO 10
overflowing with the substantial mer-
chants and manufacturers of the city,
representing many million dollars of
capital. OF the fifty presidents of
the meeting about half were Repub-
licans, which shows that the opposition
to the Mckinley bill in Philadelphia is
by no means confined to one party, and
that this opposition is based on the
simple and solid fact of business in
terest
The speakers at this meeting were
congressman Springer, Bynum, McAdoo
and w. 2. c. Breckinridge. Mr.. Springer
discussed the wool question with special
reference to Philadelphia. He showed
that Philadelphia was the greatest
manufacturing center for wooden goods
in the United States, there being 45s
esta blishments in the city interested in
free wool. These establishments have
capital of $35, 600, 600 and turn out $685.
600. 600 worth of goods every year.
Mr. Springer said that it was the
States east of the Mississippi which had
clamored for the wool tariff of 1857, and
it was at their demand that it was
passed. That was twenty years ago,
and these twenty years of protection
had utterly failed In the very States
which demanded it. In PENNSYLVANIA
there are now only 80 sheep where there
were 100 in 1868; in New Jersey the loss
is about the same. and in Ohio there are
but go where there were 100 then. In
the States east of the Mississippi there
were in 1857 over 81, 200, 900 sheep; in
1888 the number had fallen to 1s, 600, 00O
The tariff had failed to encourage WOOL
growing; and yet the remedy which has
failed once is now to be applied again in
stronger doses.
Besides this failure to encourage the
production of wool, what has been the
state of things in the wool manufactur-
ing industry? The manufacturers them
selves have made the admission in their
Bulletin-the oficial organ of their as
sociation-that ''since 1883 nearly one
third of the woolen machinery of this
country has been idle, and the other
two-thirds has been run with lit
tie or no profit" And yet the CRY
is for more protection. The aver
age duty paid last year on all the
first and second class wool imported
was 4S.1S per cent According to the
Mckinley bill this average will be 81. "a
per cent. On third class wools-carpet
woods, which are not grown in this coun-
try-the increase is still greater.
amounting to 40 per cent. on the i'm
ports of 1889.
On woolen manufactures there is a
still more striking increase For ex-
ample:
Present Average
average Mex niey
DUTY. under
Woolen and worsted cloths,
knit goods, etc. ........ 67n 1nS3l
Blankets, wool hats, fan
nels, etc. tc................... 6q70 1I0sI
Women's and chldren's
dress goods. 81 ssa7
Mr. Springer predicted that if the Nc
K1nley bill were passed half of the
WOODEN mills of Philadelphia would be
driven TO the wall in ten years.
Mr.. McAdoo. of New Jersey, pointed
out some of the inconsistencies of the
bill. He pointed out the effect of put
ting tax of 80 and So IS on Sumatra
leaf tobacco. which is used as wrappers
In making cigars out of native Ameri-
can tobacco. Coverings of the grade re-
qu1red can not be grown here, and for
this reason the wrappers are all brought
from the island of Sumatra. The result
will be to raise the price of the poor
mans cigars and to make him smoke
fewer of them. The absurdity Of the
bill In putting straw on the tariff list
was pointed out, whereas the farmers in
Indiana burn their straw to get rid of it.
And so with corn. In Kansas it is
burned for fuel; but it goes upon Nc
Kinley's tariff list for higher duty all
the same. - -
Mr.. Bynum pointed out the necessity
OF promoting manufactures by putting
free raw materials within their reach.
ME breckenridge xnads gefy tofcihle
epeech showing that the present Tariff