Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-08-25

|
the best interest Of the nation.
Protection for home industries should
be the motto Of every man, woman and
child throughout America, because when it
sinks, there sinks with it in one common
grave, the security of the government and
the liberties of the people.
| What wisdom can there be in measure
so unjust as to give foreign countries an
equal chance to compete with our people
in supplying the demands of the nation
with their cheap goods2 Is this the sort
of government we require to surrender
the nest and dearest interest of the people,
| (pro,ection) to foreign nations3 By what
process have We secured our liberties
How have we become the most prosperous
nation on the earth? To whom are We
indebted for the bright laurels that adorn
our national history? Protecting our home
industries has enabled Us to become a
nation of work shops, self sustaining
nation, without counting the fsvors OF
foreign courts. Why shall we open the
| doors OF this nation to the free access of
the productions of others. but more es-
| pecislly England, who but few years ago
was trying to cut our ,hroats? There then
are the people whose policy of free-trade
the Democratic party want to adopt and
| Introduce into this country. Oh, beautiful
| system of -and-easy, go-ss-you can
| fsttening others at the expense of your
| own, closing our own work shops for the
sake of keeping on good terms with
| others.
II this nation was growing poor by its
| present system of protection. It would be
| wisdom for Us TO adopt some other policy,
but We are the reverse 10 growing poor
| We are growing In wealth, strength and
| party. or At least the politicians, have
made capital out of the Homestead strike
As the result of protection and the tariff
laws. Now what way could protection or
tariff induce the steel workers at Home
stead into the unfortunate predicament2
| Does 1t stand TO reason that the lowering
OF their wages one-thrd as this Is certain
To be the result. were these duties repealed
from steel rails. would tend to make them
| more harmonious? Tne investigation held
TO determine the cause Of the Homestead
strike has not proved one case where the
steel workers who were engaged in the
strike are destitute or In any plight Of
Strengthened circumstances TO justify
their action. The leader, Hugh o. Donnell,
his home Is furnished with every luxury
becoming his position. The strike was
merely the result of who should run the
factories, the owners or the employees ;
but any matter is sufficient material for
the Democratic party to make capital out
Of
Now let US see to what extent the
American system Of protection may be
fairly held responsible for the Homestead
trouble. When the scale Of wages at
Homestead recently revised, and about
which The disturbance occurred was al
! ranged, the selling price onboard cars at
Pittsburg for billets OF steel such as
were made at the Homestead works, was
1923 per ton, and the duty was tlfty-hve per
| cent The foreign price is not positively
shown in custom receipts, as there are no
importstlons; but 1t Is estimated closely
al S2l per ton. dutiable value at the place
of purchase. This would fix the duty at
S9.45 perton. Under the Mckinley law the
duty on such billets is fye-tenths Of cent
per pound, equal to IS sc per ton. or a re-
duction OF fortynine cents per ton. My
| Intelligent readers will observe that the
much revlled tariff law now in force
| actually reduces the duty on this quality
Of steel about so cents ton, and it is
| charged that this is gigantic conspiracy
and 1t is done to make the country believe
OF cutting down wages On the other
hand Mr.. Frick held that the reduction Of
duty caused fall in the price TO con
siderable extent
tai and labor are on this point wrong in
| their deduction. The fact remains of the
| reduction that the disturbance caused over
| the scale Of wages was whether a sliding
| scale intended to give the workmen the
| benefit of an advance 10 the market, and
was without limit in that direction, should
| have the limit Of a decline made lower
from twenty five to thirty-three dollars
per ton OF product. There has not been
one case of hardship of the employees
! made out in all the Investigations that have
followed this unfortunate disturbance.
The apostles Of free-trade may manu-
facture as much capital as they choose to
lay before the public; but any man who
reads and will stop to consider for five
minutes and looks into the cause Of tn.
trouble at Homestead, will see at once tina
the protective tariff could not have had tn,
least thing to do towards bringing abou
the strike, and that no element whateve
caused this disturbance. The actual caus
was the reverse of protection.
An entirely new House of Representa-
tives will be elected on November sth, a
well as a President and State Legislature
which elect twenty-six U. S. Senator'S
The day will be a critical one in the his
tory Of the protective tariff.
The issue is one which should profound
!. ly interest the workingman Of this coun
try and especially the skilled mechanic
, Protective tariff means a continuous ba
on the immigration of pauper laborer
| from the old world; free-trade means tn
introduction Of Englands paupers in a
the departments of trade and industry
! and commercial competition that tn
, American laborer cannot hope to with
: stand. This is not clap-trap campaig
argument. 1t Is hard, cold facts, whic
the American citizen will realize all to
soon should the so-called reform part
+ gain a majority in November and inaugu
rate its policy. Readers Of the newspape
3 organs of the free-trade party are not III
, likely to be deceived by the misleadin
t statements and distorted facts arrayed i
support Of their hobby, but the man VIII
looks the situation squarely in the fac
and does little thinking on his own az
Z count, must readily see that the creates
: danger which menaces his interest Is th
v same reform which machine politician
are strenuously striving to force upon Ou