Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-10-29
Y REPUBLICAN
TICKET.
TALKING TO woRKINeMENI
Esjor McKinIey's Visit to Ashtabula'r
Famous Ore Docks
Thus:


at Ashtabula this morning. He was up
at o'clock TO visit the ore harbor two
miles from that city, on the invitation of
the Lake Shore railroad officials, who
have developed this harbor. and in the
last year have expended more than
81 900, 600 in its improvement. dredging.
and building new docks. to facilitate the
handling of the enormous product Of
iron ores brought from the Lake Supe-
rior region. and from Michigan, and
handled at Youngstown and Pittsburg.
The Major and his party were taken 10
the harbor. and on tug they went
through all the slips and visited all the
docks where hundreds of men handle
one-third of all the iron ore in this
country, transferring it from the ships
to the cars, by the latest improved ma
chinery. For an hour and half Nc
Kinley was shown through the harbor
and docks. and as he was about to leave
about 500 workingmen gathered about
the train and asked him to speak TO them.
Standing on the platform of the car Nc
Kinley spoke while the train waited. He
said:
at gives me great pleasure to witness
the improvements that have taken place
at this harbor in the last ten years. In
deed. it is a revelation to any one who
has not been here in that time.
II have seen in the last few weeks a
number of Representative in Congress
who paid you a visit some months ago.
7 ha crla n
that every one of them
Expressed the Greatest Wonder
at the vast advancement you have made
in the last few years To the Southern
gentlemen it was a complete revelation.
They had no idea that you had such a
harbor as this: they had no anticipation
of the vast tonnage you handle here
every day, and the great employment
you give to labor in every department.
I believe the impression made uron
them will eventually give the hal b II
what it ought to have-an increased ap-
preparation.
What we want in this country. to
whatever party we may have belonged
in the past. are good markets. good
money. good wages and steady employ
ment. and when we have these we have
the perfection Of prosperity, indeed. the
perfection of the highest civilization.
We have in this country today pros
perity without parallel in the worlds
history. There is not a man anywhere
who can not get employment. There Is
not any one who has crops or merchan-
disc to sell who can not find bIyers III
this country.
Il believe that the policy which is
maintained by the Republican party. b.
the protection party OF the country, Is
best calculated TO secure the advantages
l have named l believe that under that
system we are able to pay better wages
and give steadier employment, to give
better markets for our crops and labor
than under any other system.
''It is said that protection contracts
wealth in the hands of a few. let, II
we will reflect, in free-trad England
wealth is much more concentrated
In the Hands of a Few
than it is in protected United States.
There is no country in the world where
wealth is so generally diffused as il the
United States There is no country in
the world where so many people own
their own homes as in the United States.
There is no country i'll the world where
so many workinglnen have savings III
savings institutions as in the United
States.
Cardinal Manning said in the Decem-
ber number Of the Nineteenth Century,
of London, in speaking of free trade, that
free trade did two thiugs-it created ir-
responsible wealth, which stagnates, and
the starvation wages of the labor mar
ket.
Then he used these very remarkable
words: Here in England we have al
ways before us the world of wealth and
the world of want. The world OF wealth
saying in its heart: i sit as queen over
all tollers and traders. And the world
of want not Knowing what may be on
the morrow Next he said: There are
strikes running through every industry,
and lands have gone out of cultivation.
Then exclaimed this great Christian
teacher: Is there not blight upon our
wealth.
This picture is not drawn by a partl-
san, not by Republican. nor by one
seeking Office or place at the hands of the
people, but it is the dispassionate utter
ance of great Christian teacher and
philanthropist, who has witnessed the
results of free trade in England. We
want no such picture in the United
States, do not care TO what party we
belong. We ought not to have it, and
With Ballots in Our Hands,
approaching the power of the ballot, we
ought to cast them in a way to prevent
even slip in the direction of free trade.
"You can not have free trade in this
country unless you level the conditions
of American workingmen down TO the
conditions Of European workingmen.
s'They say that the hemanufacturers and
capitalists get the benefits of protection.
You hear that every day from those whO
seem to want free trade If the work
ingman gets so cents day on the other
side of the water and comes over here
and gets s. a day, who gets the dollar
and half? Is that not true? If the
pay over there is 70 cents day and the
pay here is $2.25 a day; if the manu-
facturer is able to give you s.. p because
of the protective tariff, who gets that
$3.50? Not the manufacturer or the
capitalist, but the man who works.
LAS l have said good many times, if
we maintain our position as an indus
trial country we would have to bring ouI
condition down to the condition of labor
abroad, or go out of business. We can
not compete with Europe, with Europe
paying SO per cent. less than We pay and
the only way we do it is to put tariff
on things coming in that compete with
ours sufficiently to compensate for the
difference between
Wages Here and in Europe.
"That is all that there is in a protec,
tive tariff.
"If you want free trade you do moi
want to vote for me. | would not vote
for free trade for the best Office in the
gift of the American Republic. | am
for my country and for my own people
and fellow citizens as against all the rest
of mankind. And this protective tariff
law with which my name has been asso'
ciated is for my own people and my
own country. There is not line of II
that is not protective and intended tc
build up and maintain the home, family
and citizenship of this. the best country
on the face of Gods earth.
"All Europe hates the law and woulc
repeal it tomorrow if they could. 1t IS