Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1892-08-04
Tariff and the Idaho Miners.
New York Tribuue.1

New York Tribune.
In it's origin the controversy between
the miners and the mine owners OF the
Ceur d'Alenes had to do with the
wages, not OF the miners themselves,
but OF the unskilled laborers. Ofthese
many are employed in and about the
mines, and have heretofore received
for their work SO a day. The miners,
who are rated as skilled laborers, have
received SO 80 day. The unskilled
laborers demanded the same paw as
the miners, and obtained for their de-
mand the Endorsement OF the miners
themselves. The owners refused to
accede TO the demand, claiming that
$3.50 per day was all they could al
tord to pay for skilled labor, and that
there should be distinction between
work that required education and
practice and the kind OF work assigned
TO the ordinary laborers.
Ia dealing with the labor troubles in
Idaho, as with those at Homestead, q
dast ardly effort has been made to
create political capital from riot,
death and misfortune. 1t is not likely
that this ghoulish proceeding will have
any other effect upon so intelligent an
electorate as ours, except o excite dis
gust. But the Democratic allegation
! that the Republican tariff is at the
/ bottom al these unfortunate disturb
ance9 can not ht toN-rlook-d. In bring
ing tins charge to bear upon the Idaho
riots the Democrats have been blind
to the wretched history they made
when, by the rulings OF Secretary Far
child, the silver-lead ores Of Mexico
were admitted into this country free
OF duty, and when they recently voted
| to place lead ore on the free list. The
effect OF tins combined assault OH
mining interests was to close almost
every silver-lead mine in the Rocky
mountains, so that, wherever Justice
may lie in the present controversy oil
the miners and mine owners, there is,
at least, between the situation as pro-
duced by Democratic legislation and
that brought about by the Mckinley
bill all the difference between no work
at all and plenty OF work at from )"
to S3. 80 day.
The Cwur d'Alenes are a siiver-lead
country. Their mineral resources have
been under development for only six
or seven years. A good start had been
made when, under the Democratic 'ad-
ministration of Grover Cleveland, a
treasury ruling which had been previ-
ously promulgated with regard to iron
ores aud which, as so made, had
peculiar application, was extended
to the silver-lead ores of Mexico, and
it WAS held that when the silver ex-
81
he admitted free OF duty, although
lead ore was at that time subject to a
duty OF I, cents pound. The effect
OF tins ruling was to introduce an
nually an enormous quantity OF Mexl-
can lead, mined by peon labor, which
was costly at forty cents day, to
compete with the lead product OF
American miners who were receiving,
as they are now, 81. so day. In the
end, as IA matter OF course, the Ameri-
can mine-owTers were compelled to
shut down entirely. and the CCeur
ldAlencs which had been so prosper
Gus AMI promising, became a series of
deserted camps.
The McKinley bill put an end to this
injustice. The duty on lead ore was
retained at the old rate. and it was
provided that foreign ores should not
sneak into the country under the pre-
: tense that they were silver ores when
the occasion of their Introduction was
in fact the importation OF their lead
contents. Immediately the silver-lead
; mines of Colorado, Idaho, Utah and
Washington took on new life. and
thousands of miners who had been for
nearly four years out OF employment
were again at work. Whatever, there
fore, may be the propriety OF their
: demand that unskilled laborers shall
be paid as largely as skilled laborers,
/ no fair minded person canjustify him
self in the pretence that the Republi-
can tariff has anything to do with
: their complaints or their conduct.
! This question goes TO the heart of the
matter-if the silver-lead miners have
e anything to quarrel about when, un-
:, der the Republican policy OF protec-
l ton, they have all the work they can
e do at a rate OF wages from SO to 50 so
{ day, how infinitely worse was their
situation when, under the Democratic
: policy OF free trade, they had no work
at all and spent nearly four years IN
E idleness and poverty?