Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1891-11-18
New England's Profits.


Seventh Congress by Senator Zeb.
Vance of North Carolina
am obliged to the Senator from
Massachusetts, for his lecture and for
his advice. The glittering generaliti-
ties with which he has adorned his
discourse it strikes me have heard
before, but l am not sure. He Gays
my policy is to have everything come
from abroad. ] deny it. My policy
is the simplest one in the world ; 1t is
the policy which the boy who has 10
cents to spend in candy or something
else will naturally and instinctively
adopt, and that is to buy where l can
get the most for my money; and that
is the policy of the people of North
Carolina. The policy of the Senator
from Massachusetts, is to force me to
buy where l can get the least for my
money, provided he and his people
are the recipients of the price.
No wonder the Senator says he is
willing that the Holyokes and Law
rences of his country should be allud-
ed to as examples of the accumulation
of wealth. l hold in my hand a
paper published in New England, the
Hartford Courant of January IL, in
which an account Of the doings and
the prosperity of some of these COM
panies that he speaks of is recorded,
and l notice that the "Southington
Cutlery Company" which has a pro-
tective tariff of so per cent. in its be-
half to protect it against foreign pau.
pers-
Have just declared dividend of "a
per cent, making the cash dividends
of this company for the past year 203
per cent, which, with $4,000 in add
ition added to the surplus, makes
total dividends Of this company for
the past year on their capital stock
about 80 per cent.
All levied under this high protect
i've tariff of so per cent. on cutlery to
protect American laborers Thirty
per cent. in the pockets of the manu-
facturer is what they call protecting
American labor! The laborer is
making, according to the census, far
less than a dollar day, and this
manufacturing company is making 30
per cent. on its capital.
Now perhaps the Senator or some
other Senator can give me an expla-
nation of the following manufacturing
stock which see quoted in the same
paper:
Hartford Carpet Company, Did,
asked, 257.
That viii do pretty well by way of
protecting American labor, will it
not? They put it in as matter of
form to show the profits of the compa-
ny, but, of course, they divide it all
to the laborer, so they have little or
nothing left! They use it to endow
colleges, build churches, etc
Willimantic Linen Company (par
25), bid asked rs.
Just little over 300 per cent. This
is doing tolerably well A good
thing for workingmen!
And so they run, and the people of
this country, the poor men who are
putting up brick somewhere in this
and throughout the country in the
snow, if the ice would permit them to
do it, and the hod carriers and the
dray-drivers and the street-car men,
who are running the cars in this city
sixteen hours day for less than 81
day, and all those others who are get
ting the minimum of wages reduced by
the free competition Of the whole
world in this country are being taxed
80 per cent. on their cutlery, nearly
100 per cent. on old bottles they get
to carry little molasses home or a
little medicine in, go per cent. on
their crockery, 80 to 80 per cent. on
their wooden socks to keep their feet
warm, 80 per cent. on the flannel
that keeps the baby warm, 81 per
cent. on the salt that Is sprinkled on
their meat, and all to make these
stocks worth 111i per cent. and 2n0
per cent and 300 per cent, and so on
ooI ao -.