The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1892-08-16
AMERICANS INJURED.


'o' &c. ION z',''' Down Everything Amer,-
can EzeePt r'ii'oneires-Why Wages
Are Higher Ia the Protected Indus
tries Than n tho Unprotected.
Tba ,~o,.s -. ,s,.,
th.t -. .-'o lug 'isn ianguage
.'o'''s ). ''.,..l7's =. use oItenes5 Is
Aineliean- tpey appeal to our selfish
and patriotic feelings by linking to-
gether as often as possible Protection
and american On banner dis
played at the Afinneanolis convention, l,,.
tho Boston Home Market cl,l, rvas ~
following: 49,
.------.----->-....-.....
American Wages Tor American workmen,:
American Markets for American PeopIe,
Profession for American Homesl
..-----------..
IS tnen, protection the conservator
or American wor'<men. markets and
homess Does It keep ont foreigners
VINO come here 70 compete with Alneri-
cans ana lower #a8es2 Does it make
nolno MARKERS where The American peo-
PIE can supply themselves with goods at
the lowest possible price? Does it pro-
fect American homes by reducing the
expenses OF running them. and thereby
encouraging their foundation and max
ing 1t possible to bring up and educate
the children, which are the necessary
sequence OF American homes? Let us
examine history little.
Our present protection" period began
with the high tariff act of July Il. 1861
and was perfected on June 30, 1861
that is. until the genius of Mckinley
TOOK mp the subject On the 4th of July,
1854, before real "protection" was a
week old, congress passed and the presi-
dent signed the contract labor law
entitled IAN act to encourage immigra-
ton. Its object, as explained by Sena-
tor Sherman at that time. was ..to en-
courage, facilitate and protect foreign
immigration to and within the United
States" The avowed object was to
keep wages down by importing foreign
ers to take the place of American work
men who We're then absent fighting for
their country. and who on their return
would thus find their jobs permanently
gone. unless they could underbid the
foreigners whom their bosses had i'm
ported That's the way our tariff was
planned to work; certainly not much
American wages for American work
men IN it.
Laws in regard to contract labor
nave been changed since 1864, but the
customs OF protectionists in importing
under contract the cheapest and most
degraded labor of Europe and Asia has
not changed There has probably not
been year since 1854 when protected
manufacturers did not have agents
securing the Old World Offering TO adj
vance passage money to those who We're
SO poor and miserable that they We're
wiiiinS 10 make any change. 1t is upon
this importation of miserable wretches
that manufacturers often rely to win
when American workmen strike for
American wages. Not that this class of
workmen are always or generally cheap
er, but that they are useful to lower the
wage scale. nfter which American work
men VIII be taken back into the mills to
work ut European or Asiatic wages
alongside OF foreign workmen. This is
one explanation OF why wages are lower
IN protected than IN unprotected in
dnstries.
typical illustration of the class of
men brought over by protectionists is
found at Homestead, Pa: "The total
population OF Miffiintownship, which for
all practical purposes Is nothing more
than Homestead, is lila, and the total
number OF foreign born and native white
OF foreign parentage is 7,7l2. of foreign
born males eighteen years of age and
over there arc ,7I3; of native born males
OF the same age limit there are 1,747. A
precise division of the native and foreign
born IN the total population shows that
IN the former classification there are
f,525 tsS OF them colored), in the latter