The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1890-04-26
Observers Letter on Protection.

Eastern and Northern states, the
people are constantly employed in the
manufacture of shirts, collars, cuffs,
and cotton and linen underwear.
Scarcely day during the year in any
home, in any rural part of the county
but what all the inmates of that
home are not busily engaged in
manufacturing some article In the
line mentioned, after the house
work is done up for the time of that
day. An equal number of men and
boys as well as women and girls are
kept busy manufacturing. Every lit
tie village in the county has one to a
half dozen small factories, that EN-
ploy from twenty, to a hundred or
more operatives of men, women, girls
and boys, ten hours day. Almost the
entire fabrics are turned out as piece
work, and the wages earned average
from Sc to So per week among the
female operatives and the male opera
tives upon the same class of the work
and in the heavier manual part of ne
labor, the men earn from two to four
dollars per day at piece work. In the
cities it is the same among all classes
who toll for a living In that county.
In the rural parts of the county
among the farmers, every wife, sister
or daughter, makes the articles, or
some portion of tn EN-, when not COM
PEELED to do house work. Now what
is the result of thisl Simply this, that
there are so many engaged in manu-
featuring in that county, that farmers
are obliged to pay good fair wages
for agricultural help-"too bad, amt
it," Still the farmers in that county
think it is not too bad when they can
sell every article they can produce,
right near their own doors at good
round prices, to those very operatives
who do not produce from the soil for
want of time that is used in manufact-
uring goods etc. And the manufact-
urlng operative can well afford to pay
the price asked for the products of
the soil. He can well afford to pay a
tailor to make his coat. Can well afford
to pay the shoemaker and the halter.
Mr. Editor it is too bad that
Naughty Tariff is such an oppression
upon that county. They have beauti,
full homes in that county. Fruit of
all kinds; men generally own their
farms and operatives have good homes
and no finer stock anywhere is found
than theirs; and everybody would be
happy, but for one great evil the
aactul tariff Just take that off and
all will be lovely, just admit shirts,
collars, cuffs and underwear free of
duty from Hold Hengland and Cana
da, and the factories of that county
could have long rest. The farmers
would not be obliged to pay wages
| for help, and would not have to 90
to market with their produce. The
operatives instead of having to
work could 60 on picnic six days
in week. Some years ago there was a
great cry "off with the tariff on tea"
'Ftake off the tariff Mr.. Congress-
as we cannot raise tea, in our country
it is wrong to tariff our tea. Mr..
unwise congress yielded to Mrs. free
clamor,. and lifted the burden off from
tea. The same day the tea countries
raised the price of their tea, just what
been taken off in our tariff and the
price did not change to the consumer.
But it did make quite a difference
after all to our country, for the foreign
country gets the money instead OF
this country. That's the difference
Mr.. Editor, and you and I pay the
same for tea, and have to help foot
the shortage of revenue on tea by that
act. The 1naerican AgrjcWiturist,
has a perfect right to admit what it
pleases to its columns, but it has no
right to use it's columns to advance
the evil of free trade and exclude the
evil of high tariff from its columns,
and make claim to be farmers friend.
If it is to be a political publication,
let it hoist its colors on which side it
pleases, but not to stab in the dark
and claim to be neutral One may
take the Agrjcolturist who is an advo-
cate of free trade, and one who is an
advocate of tariff to protect our
interests, that is all right; but when
publication like the AgricwltuwiSt
undertakes to tell the farmers that
all the depression of the times is due