The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-10-27
A HOME PROPHET


refer TO Cassius M Miller of Canton,
who, on the 10Th of October 1888, gave
his reasons for leaving the Republican
party, In two-column interview in the
NEws-DEMooRAT We have just reau
this interview, and In the lights and
shadows of today 1t is interesting and
valuable reading.
In this interview Mr.. Miller, who is a
practical business man and manufac-
turer, predicted that high tariff, in
| stead of raising wages, would have a
| tendency to reduce wages. Four years
ago, when Mr.. Miller made this predic-
| tion, the Protectionists hereabouts
greet the prediction with sardonic
smiles of scorn and unbelief, but how
have these predictions been verified
They have been verified in over 500
/ protected establishments in the United
States, and never since the young Re-
public was set on its career was there
so many fierce conflicts between organ
lied labor, as since we have had the
highest tariff known to our laws. In
Mr.. Millers interview of four years ago
he said.
High tariff is simply commercial can
nibalism, and will surely, II continued,
/ result not In the survival of the flttest,
but of the strongest. Those at the pres
eut who are railing and are the loudest in
Il their denulciation OF what they call free
trade, are the ones who might be termed
first handed manufacturers, |. 9. those
i who make up the metal from the ores
the lumber from the forest; the pulp from
the log; the cotton from the plant; the
wool from the sheep, and the pottery from
the clay, and hundreds of other articlep,
these are the highest protected industries
and where the least labor is used accord
ing to value. Every other manufacturer
buying from these protected industries
has to pay the price the same as the for
/ eign article, duty added. This increases
the cost OF articles to the second manu-.
facturers. This extra cost by reason of
| high tariff is, as q rule, equally divided,
one third taken out of the labor of the Sec
ond manufacturers, one third out OF the
profits OF the manufacturers themselves,
sumers. That is, IL the article is
sold in this country. But when sent
abroad to compete in the worlds markets
with parties who get their raw material
practically free then the consumers will
not pay the excess. Leave 1t to the rea.
the workman who pays this excessive
tariff on articles consumed in this coun
try. The time has now come that the
least favored manufacturers and laborers
and others should enjoy parts of the fruits
of what they have been paying so long.
The Demagogue cry is raised that our
people would be reduced to level with
the paupers of Europe; that we will be
flooded with foreign goods. One eff ect
that the protection cry has had in Europe
Is to send the paupers over here. To the
larger corporations every person IL o con-
sumner whether pauper or otherwise, and
IL is for their interest to cause these res
ports for high wages to be fioated in Eu.
| rope. The result 10 our country Is being
flooded with this class. To the working
/ in, A AZ Ia 81 to
pete with such labor when they are on the
+ other side of the Atlantic, where they will
| have to send their goods here and buy
their bread OF us. IL we sell articles to
them that we can produce and they can :
not, and buy OF them goods that we cam
not under any circumstances produce,
then both are benefited"
Just what was predicted four years
ago in this article has come to pass.
The protected manufacturers have had
the tariff raised in the Mckinley bill,
so as to give them absolute control of
the American market Then they went
into trusts, so as to limit production to
the demands of the home market, and
put up prices. This limited production
has thrown large number of laborers
out of employment, who have become
competitors in the labor market against
other laborers, which has forced down
. prices. Added to this we have had an
D enormous increase of pauper emf
grants from Europe, who have beer
: thrown out of work there by the com
= mercial disturbances caused by the
Mckinley bill, and who have beer
looking for the promised Mckinley
wages in the United States, which have
never materialized. Hence protected
labor is like candle burning at both
lends. Wages have been reduced, while
all that labor Is compelled to buy il
enhanced in price by the trust combina
tions, in absolute control of the market
1t is well known to all our farmers
now, who are selling their wheat way
below the cost of production, that Nc.
Kinly's wheat tariff of 20 cents bushe
is fraud and swindle. They ought
to have known that before. But i
seems the gauZiest kind of humbuG
captures most of the Republican farm
ers. In fact they rather seem to enjoy
wearing clothes made of shoddy from
imported pauper rags and selling theij
wool for 23 cents and their wheat foI
70 cents. They like to see their mortga
ges grow, and like to see the healthy
= increase of tramps that steal their dog
dinner and burn their hay stacks. They
: feel that they are so much better of
. than the poor tenant farmers of free
= trade England.
Z Four years ago Cash Miller depicted
u the. situation just as it is now, In tht
y following, from his published inter
!, view:
- One of the most damaging things caused
;, by the tariff is that foreign countries ar
" retaliating in the way of prohibiting ou
9, l articles from entering their countries. Fo
.e instance, France and Germany have prac
tically excluded QUE pork, thereby losinI
a big market indirectly to the westeri
farmer for his corn. England is encour
% aging the growth of cotton, and the cere
ia als in Egypt and Iudia in order to be NOR
independent of us, thereby reducing tn
1' demand from us for these articles of raj
J, ment and food; q retaliation of the wors
II kind. The Canadians have almost a pro
IS hibitoTy tariff against us, thus shuttin
)f out many articles we formerly sold them
is The fishery dispute that has almost cause
n war of late, was Indirectly caused by tn
~ Iunreasonableness of our high tariff
u What we want is part of the world
10 markets, and then all can practically hav
T. steady employment. This can only
le done by placing every manufactures an
IN consumer on the same basis.
Workingmen are reading and thinkint
and a reaction has just as surely set in a
at tom orrow is coming. l know OF man
ed who will now express an opinion favora
ay BILE TO a revenue reform and a tArl
ali for the needs of the government only, ,wh
% were oace either pronounced protection
U' ists or had given the matter little or n