The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-08-11
HON FRANK HUROs POWERFUL SPEECH

Hon. EIADk H. nun, VA 'OVhBACoo
man from Ohio, and one OF the plo-
neers in the movement for tue emancl.
nation of the American workmen and
4 American consumtrs from Protection
slavery. opened the Democratic cam
mai on in this state on Thursday even
ing by making mastery address at a
gr nd ratification meeting I'm Toledo.
He dealt with facts aud conditions, not
theories, ana made the greatest speech
of his lire He arraigned the Republi-
eau party for its treachery to working
men: for its favoritism to unnatural
izen adyenturers like Carnegie and
Phipps; for its protection and fostering
of grasping and oppressive trusts and
monopolies, and for Its utter disregard
of the rights of the masses. lie In
dulged in no personalities whatever,
but confined his argument to the para
| mount issue in the campaign-the
| Tariff Question-and handled it in a
| logical and convincing manner. In the
introductory part OF his address Mr..
| Hurd said:
Ten years ago was the Democratic
/ candidate for Congress in this district.
| In the opening speech made in that
canvass, made at Fremont, / drew a
| contrast between the employers and
| the employees in the state of Pennsylva-
MIA under the influences of protection
| / pointed to the palatial residences of
| the one, aud the humble abodes of the
other, as demonstrating theinequality of
| the division between them of the prof.
| its of protection l selected that state
then as being the one upon which the
protective system had most showered
| its favor, and where its effects might be
expected to be best illustrated
For the same reason 1 point to that
state now, and with the same object.
| But since then the situation there has
been greatly changed for the worse.
| The irregularlty between the conditions
of the two classes has been constantly
increasing. The differences between
the wealth of the one and the poverty
of the other have been widening, until
Carnegie owns castles in scotland as
we'll as in Pennsylvania, while the Ia
borers he employs at Homestead would
starve if it we're not for the charity of
their fellow-workmen throughout the
land.
Then the scene was peaceful one
The controversies as to wages were set.
tied by agreement or arbitration
Now agreement fails to make salts
arbitration are rejected, and the un-
willing workmen are confronted by
private armed officers, hired in defiance
of law, or by the national guard called
out by the governor of the state. Then
the worst fate that befell the laborer
was long days of enforced idleness or
unreuuited toll and scant food for their
families, but now death strikes down
their fathers and sons, shot by the
emissaries of their employers, whose
business it ought to have been to pro-
tect and care for, not to kill them.
Whatever criticisms may be made upon
the propriety Of the strike, or the con-
duct of the strikers, no words are
strong enough to conoemn the system
which has made that situation possible.
Referring to the primary cause
of the recent trouble and the
present deplorable situation at
Homestead he struck straight
from the shoulder and hit the nail
squarely on the head when he said:
Fully measuring my words l arraign
protection as the primary cause of the
crisis at Homestead. l charge upon it
the poverty, want and suffering of that
unfortunate community. / acuse 1t of
exciting hopes in the breasts of the
workmen IL was powerless to
fulfil, of giving money as the result of
its policy to the employers
which it has not fairly divided
with the employees, and by congrega-
ing large numbers of laborers there who
could only be kept continuously and
contentedly busy by the worlds market,
which 1t has deliberately destroyed. l
denounce it for double dealing, hypoc-
risy and crime; double dealing in
promising the profits of protection to
the men and giving them to Carnegie;
hypocrisy in causing the men to be-
lieve that its provisions were for their
benefit, when it knew they were de-
signed to make the hold of monopoly
stronger upon them, and crime in en-
abling wealth to form conspiracies
through private troops to take the lives
of American citizens.
After showing concluoively that pro-
lection benefits only the manufactures,
he proved that it not only didn't protect
the American workman out actuslly and
in fact initiated against him by bring
Ing foreign laborers here to compete
with him. In this connection he said:
/ charge that protection invites the
immigration of foreign labOrers, the
inevitable effect of which is to diminish
wages by increasing the competition
for them. Again, protection, except as
have already suggested, cannot affect
the great laws by which wages are
| determined. These are the law of sup
ply and demand, and the law of the
efficiency or the productive power of
labor.
Mr.. Hurd supplemented the above
statement by giving long list of
| mechanics who were not and could not
be protected by high tariff laws. He
stated that
There ara comparatively few work
| ingmen who in any view can have
their wages increased by protection. 1t
| must not be forgotten that the tariff is
levied upon the foreign product so as to
| protect the manufacturers of a similar
domestic product, The only la0orers,
| therefore, who could be helped by pro-
lection are those engaged in the making
of commodities with which foreign
| products come in competition. Work
| ingmen who are engaged in industries
not manufacturing protected articles
can derive no possible benefit from
protection. These include most arti-
sans, carpenters and joiners, brick
layers, stone cutters, blacksmiths,
painters, paper hangers, plasterers,
timers, GLACIERS, teamsters, draymen,
railway employees, all clerks and day
laborers. None of these are en-
gagged in producing anything protected.
Does the brick layer in building house
| work on an article which may be dis
turbed by foreign competition? Do
they import from any foreign country
any houses with the brick already laid