The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-09-03
EFFECT OF PROTECTION.
Statistics of commercial Failures Mort
cages and the Enormous Cost OF FRO
teciOn 10 the People.

Statistics of COnHnerlcat FaiauFeS- 'A"Ta
cages and the Enormous Cost of Pro-
teciOn 10 the People.
DETROIT, Mich, Aug 25.-More than ten
thousand persons assembled on the grounds
of the Detroit International Fair and EXPOSE
ton for the exercises of political day. Speak
ers of the different parties made actresses IN
favor of their respective political beliefs. Ex-
CONGRESSMAN Dannell. of Minnesota, repre-
sented the Republican party. Col Norton,
of Chicago. made speech III favor OF the
s.neople's party and he was followed by
Congressman VIM. NJ. Springer, of Illinois,
who was given hattering reception when he
arose to speak in behalf of the Democrats.
Mr.. Springer said One of the stock argn-
meuts of the protectionists is that under the
system of protection which has prevailed in
this country for more than quarter OF a cen
tury our country has been brought to the
front rank in agriculture, in mining and IN
manufactures. lfprotection has accomplish
ed so much for our country and people, 1t
must also be held responsible for the evils
which have sprung up under 1t, and winch II
seems rather to foster than to abate.
BUSINESS FAILURES.
Turning to the bureau of statistics of the
Treasury Department, ! find that during the
past twenty-five years, while protection has
prevailed in all its vigor, just as Its friends
would have it, a vast army Of individuals,
firms and corporations in the United States,
amounting in number TO nearly two hundred
thousand, have succumbed to the pressure
of hard times, and have gone into bankruptcy.
Their aggregate liabilities have exceeded
three and one half billions Of dollars. But
this is not all. 1t appears that the number
of commercial failures increased In 1871, as
compared with the year 1889, the year before
the passage of the Mckinley bill, II per cent.
and liabilities increased y per cent. The
Mckinley law did not improve the financial
situation.
REAL ESTATE MORTGAGES.
The census bureau was requested by the
act of Congress to collect and make report
upon the number and amount of mortgages
upon real estate in the United States in 1890.
Reports as to only six States have up to this
lime been published by the census office,
namely: Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Nebraska and Tennessee. In these six States
it was found that there was an average Of
S9l. O6 per capita of the whole population OF
those States, of private indebtedness, secured
bv mortgage upon real estate. 1t this aver
age is maintained throughout the Union, the
whole of such Indebtedness in the United
States will be found to exceed five and a half
appears that there were twenty millions more
OF mortgage Indebtedness recorded in 1890
than in 1SSO-an increase of two millions
year in that State. The percentage ofincrease
of mortgage Indebtedness in Iowa in ten years
WAS 70: in Illinois ii was 1873, in Kansas over
200. in Alabama Alb aud IN Tennessee 1t was
80. In the whole country the interest
charge on mortgage Indebtedness at an aver
age OF per cent. amounts to over S345, Ooo,-
900 year
COST OF PROTECTION.
The people who are struggling under this
mountain of debt are the victims of high pro-
tective tariffs. What does protection cost
the people Of this country? ! have given
much thought and study to the subject and 1t
is my candid opinion, based upon carefully
prepared data and official statistics, that with
in the past thirty years, during which time
the protective system has prevailed, the peo-
pie of the United States have paid in the in-
creased cost of domestic commodities by rea-
son of the tariff on foreign products of like
character a sum exceeding sixteen billions OF
dollars. This is in addition to the five billions
of dollars actually received by the govern
ment on foreign products. Every dollar OF
this vast sum was wrung from the hands OF
toll and bestowed upon the benehclares OF
the tariff or wasted on Improbable indus
tries 1t is the price the people have been
required to pay for so called protection to
American industries.
STRIKES AND LOCK-oUTS.
From 1916 to 1860, period of fifteen
years of low tariff,-of Democratic tariff, If
you please, for revenue only-there were only
seventy-four strikes and lock-outs of which
any official report has been made. Altogeth.
er there were not two hundred strikes and
lock outs during this whole period of fifteen
years. During the past fifteen years there
have been over six thousand strikes and
iock-outs in the United States. From 1876
to 1880 there are no statistics as to the num-
Der of persons involved, but from 1881 to
1890, inclusive, there were over million per-
sons involved in such strikes and lock outs.
HOMESTEAD TROUBLES.
An effort is being made by the Carnegie
Steel Company gigantic monopoly, created
and fostered by our protective tariff laws, to
reduce the wages of It's 3,400 employees by
from 10 to 40 per cent. The rates heretofore
paid were not unreasonably high, as is some
times asserted. Only few of the employees,
and those most highly skilled, received good
wages. Nearly half of them were getting
only IA cents an hour, or 81. II for eight hours
work. Less than l0per cent. ofthe employees
owned the houses in which they lived, and
been summarily evicted since the strike
began. Ifthere was ever a labor contest
where the laborers were clearly in the right
it is the one now being carried on at Home
stead
MILITIA AND DETECTIVES.
The mills are surrounded by the State
militia, and the barbarious treatment shown
to one of the soldiers by his superior officers
for an ofieuse which did not reach the gravity
of misdemeanor under the laws of the State
shows that the militia officers are ut lnstru.
ments for the work in which they are en-.
gagged. This contest has attracted universal
attention from the fact that early in the strike
or lock out IA band of private detectives en-
ployed by the Carnegie Company, armed
with revolvers and repeating rifles, invaded
the state of Pennsylvania, fired upon the
workingmen and provoked battle in which
ten or twelve persons lost their lives and
large number we're seriously wounded.
THE DEMOCRATIC DOCTRINE.
This incident calls to mind the contest
for Governor in Illinois in 1888, in which the
Democratic party denounced the employment
in that state of private detectives to perform
official functions in behalf of and at the in
stance of private individuals and corpora
tons. The Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor III that contest, Gen. John NJ. Palmer,
now United States Senator, was especially
pronounced in his opposition to such employ
ment He said he was sin favor of gov
eminent as strong as the law and no stronger;
AS weak as the law and no weaker" This
is the doctrine of the Democratic party.
We hold that the officers of the law COM
petent to enforce the law, and that the EN-
ployment of private detectives to perform Of
fetal functions, except as the law directs, is
revolutionary and no better than mob vio-
lence itself
TARIFF AND WAGES.
''lf any evidence were needed to prove
conclusively that the tariff does not increase
wages it is furnished by the report of the
Senate committee on finance, submitted by
Senator Aldrich at the close of the last ses-
sion of Congress. Let me read portion of
that report under the heading of Wages.
| 1t appears from the report of the statistieian
employed by the committee that in fifteen
general occupations selected by the committee
wages were three .fourths of one per cent
! h;uhar in Sautnn,har 1901 than IL, the three