The Irish standard., 1892-09-03
sHERIDAN's SoPIIIsTRIEs.

s Gen. George A. Sheridan, who halls
from New York, Illinois, Louisiana and
various other places, according TO the
announcements in Republican papers,
opened the campaign for the "grand old
party" in this city last week. Beside
him on the platform sat Knute Nelson,
nominee for governor, who voted for the
Mills bill when in Congress. Senator
Washburn presided and briefly intro
duced the two orators Of the evening
who fred the first gun with blank cart
ridges. From the newspaper reputation
of Gen Sheridan it was expected that he
would discuss the tariff question in an
argumentative manner and appeal to the
judgment of both Republicans and Demo
Gratis who were DESTROYS Of being educated
upon such an abstruse subject. Instead
OF that he waved the 'bloody shirt to
draw applause from the pensioned old
soldiers, and INDUCED in the same old
talk about the benefits from protective
tariff. To give our readers an idea of
his style Of argument we will give few
selections of his clap-trap as printed in
the Tribune: "A brick mason in New
York gets 81 day for eight hours work.
A brick mason in England gets cents
an hour, works nine hours day and
makes in all $l.62. You will observe the
difference. A carpenter in New York
gets $3.50 to 81 per day for eight hours
work. A carpenter in London, taking
the highest price, gets 8 pence an hour.
He works nine hours and makes S1.62 a
day. Thus you have it. Here protec-
ton, there free trade. Working men
here receive from 80 to 1875 per cent more
wages than in England, and work less
hours" The higher wages paid in this
country was all owing to the beneicent
protective policy of the Republican
party! England has free trade; England
has low wages. Again: The United
States has protection; the United States
has high wages; therefore protection
produces high wages. The fallacy OF
such logic was shown in the great tariff
debate of 1883 in Congress by the late
Samuel s. Cox, of New York, in this way:
"England has House OF Lords; Eng
land has low wages; therefore the Lords
make wages low. The United States is
infested with tramps; the United States
has high wages; therefore tramps make
wages high. Ireland has no snakes;
ireland has low wages; therefore snakes
make wages low. Russia has high pro-
lection; Russia has low wages; therefore
protection makes wages low. Turkey
has low tariff; Turkey las the Koran;
therefore the Koran makes wages low.
The truth is, as has been frequently
stated on this floor and proven, that
wages are matter entirely irrelevant to
the discussion of tariff, depending upon
the law of supply and demand, and the
circumstances, situation, and resources
of the country" Knute Nelson, who sat
On the platform listening to the falla-
cious arguments Of Gen. Sheridan, WIS
in Congress during the great debate of
1888, and this is what he said as Re-
publican: 1T has been the fashion of
certain economists to ascrlbe the mar
velous growth of this country for the
past Is years wholly to our tariff laws.
This is all pure exaggeration. The chief
factors have been our abundant supply
of the most fertile lands in the world,
which we have freely given away under
our homestead laws, together with the
immense tide of immigration, with all
it's capital of money and muscle. The
home price of wheat is fixed by the ex-
port prices, and the farmers of Mime
sofa have to compete, without any gov
aid, direct or indirect, with
the farmers of India in the markets of
England. And it is in these great and
agricultural industries chat
our growth has been the greatest and
the most pronounced" Gen. Sheridan,
however, admitted that tariff is tax.
OuU lISlQudLSG GllttG G1t5 D0ulCCAdG6 NOu1O
tear down the custom houses and raise
no revenue from imports. He dwelt at
length on the necessity OF raising reve-
nue. to support the government, but did
not attempt to show why more revenue
should be raised than is necessary to run
the government economically. He did
not explain why it is shat wages in pro-
tected industries have fallen since the |
passage of the Mckinley bill, while the
wages in the unprotected industries have
gone up during the same period. The
peripatetic General had been out in |
Oregon and Washington landing Repub-
ican tariff. Why did he not explain to
IN intelligent audience of Minnesota citi-
zens why it is that carpenters and masons
ire paid higher wages in these north
western states than in New York? Why is
t that he did not explain why all protect
I'd countries in Europe pay lower wages
Ihan England, which has free trade?
4o rno1a M offort IN exnIaio anvth mo tha