The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-06-21
Who Are the People?

contemporaries SpcahS vi TIE Nioib vi
some 200 importers. importing mer-
chants and brokers to Washington
for the purpose of protesting against
the Mckinley bill. as an uprising of
"the people," They were said to repre-
sent $500, 100000 in trade, which. if
true. should give them more wealth.
and the influence which accompanies
wealth, than as many brewers. Their
protest was against those who sin
power have the barefaced audacity to
propose measures which. if made
into laws, will seriously interfere
with our foreign trade" as stated by
one of their sub. committees which
shave no particular axe to grind"
This protesting delegation un-
doubleday represented some $50 firms
signing the protest. But are they
entitled to rank as the people?
1t is an unpleasant admission, but
It is undoubtedly true. that 10 some
instances they are the people they
are all of the people. AS for instance.
Mr.. B. Blumenthal, "a button i'm
porter" who objects very strongly to
the Mckinley bill in general. and
doubtless to that section of it which
ould not be introduced into the
fills bill, prohibiting the importa.
ton of prison made wares. testified
oout pearl buttons, "None of them
we're made here, and he did not be-
leve they ever would be. He had
abandoned manufacturing pearl but
tins six years ago." Up to that
tine there were factories for making
parl buttons near New York and in
Nsw England, giving employment
tpmany people. but between the re-
drtion of duty in 1888, and the low
cot of buttons made in Austrian
PRISONS, all those factories were clos
ed and the employees in them not
only lost their employment, but also
lost their position as "the people"
Nov Mr.. Blumenthal and the other
importers in that trade apparently
expect to continue to he the only
people whose voice is to be heard
when a question regarding buttons
is brought up. Up to 1883 many of
the larger merchants were running
mills, now the mills are closed. -Four
on Che small creek in New Jersey are
standing idle, and the wage earners
are scattered, adding to the unem-
pIoyed. or crowding into other trades
for which they are not so we'll train
ed. The owners of those mills find
ing in the last half dozen years that
they can import those goods with
greater profit than they can manufac-
ture them, have formed connections
with foreign manufacturers and now
give force and numbers to 1.-THE peo-
ple," who denounce as "baretaced
audacity" the proposal to seriously
interfere with our foreign trade" by
setting those mills and factories in
operation and re.employing their old
work people.
If the Mills hill had passed, the
elimination of wage earners from
"the people" would have proceeded
with disastrous rapidity, and tine
Blumenthals of New York would
have increased in wealth. influence
and numbers. On the passage of the
Mckinley bill and exclusion of pri.
son made buttons, whatever Mr.. Blu
menthal may do. ships will again
bring pearl shells to our ports. and
the empty mills will again be filled
with wage earners.
1t is apparently because the major,
ity of our Representatives and SEN
ators prefer to legislate for the ad-
vantage of sixty-five or seventy mil
lion people, most of whom are citi-
Zens of the United States. and to add
to the wealth and resources of this
country, rather than for the four hun
dred and fifty wealthy and we'll or
ganiZed members of the Importers
Organization, without regard either
to their heavy contributions to cam
paign expenses, the arguments and
.denunciations of the mud-sIinging
papers they control, or to interfer-
ence with our foreign trade" that
the New York Commercial Bulletin
says, "with the present majority in
Congress there is a political motive
which in their estimation, subordi-
mates every consideration of public
interest or public equity."-Amer-
lean Economist.
MANN Mina,no Qmnt nroh