The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1892-09-03

Is, then, protection" the conservator
Of American workmen, markets and
homesf Does it keep out foreigners
who come here to compete with Ameri-
cans and lower wagesf Does it make
home markets where the American peo-
pie can supply themselves with goods at
the lowest possible price? Does it pro-
tect American homes by reducing the
expenses Of running them, and thereby
encouraging their foundation and maxi
ing it 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 IA, 1869,
and was perfected on June 80, 1864
that is, until the genius of Mckinley
took up the subject. On the 4th of July,
1894, before real protection" was a
week old, congress passed and the presi-
dent signed the contract labor law"
entitled can 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 were 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 mucb
"American wages for American work
men" in it.
Laws in regard TO contract labor,
have been changed since 1854. 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 a year since 1854 when protected
manufacturers did not have agents
securing the Old World offering to adj
vance passage money to those who were
SO poor and miserable that they were
willing to make any change. It is upon
this importation of miserable wretches
that manufacturers often. relv To win
when American workmen strike for
American wages. Not that this class of
workmen are always or generally cheap-
err, but that they are useful to lower. the
wage scale. after which American work
men will be taken back info the mills 70
work at European or Asiatic wages
alongside of foreign workbench. This ia
one explanation Of whv wages are lower
in protected than in unnrotected in.
dustries.
A typical illustration of the class of
men brought over bv nrotection;sts 10
found at Homestead pa ..Tba totaI
nonulation of Miff1in township which FOR
ali practical purposes is nothing mora
than Homestead is II IA and tha totol
number of foreign born and native white
Of foreign narentace is 771e az fore;gn
horn males eighteen wears of AGE and
over there are TIA. Of native horn males
~ the aane aoe limit there arc 7A7 A
rrociso div;s;on ~ the native and fora;gr
horr IN the total nonulation shows that
L tha former classification there arc
y 5o5 (ys of them coloredl in tbe latter
3e10s
Rnt MANY Of tho males over e;o,+oa,,
that are ciassed "a Americans arc tba
offspring of FOREIGN narents and in their
habits and customs are as much foreign
as their foreign horn brothers Tbns
nearly two-thirds Of the nAmer;canu
workman at work at " American vages
in this leading protected "Anlerican" In
dustry, located at Homestead. are yirtu-
ally foreigners.
Next, does protection" make markets
where American people can get the full
worth of their money!? On the contrary
q tariff, whenever effective, ALWAYS en-.
hances the cost of goods. increases tho
ss 8 rs sss ' Pas ss e sssss