The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-10-27
rHEN AND NOW.
ARepublIoan who Tears to shrsds an Al.
legged "Iseformsd RopublIean'a" Mis-.
statements,

\ Republican Who Tears to shreds an Al
legged "Iseformsd RspublIean'a" Mis-.
statements.
To thc Editor Of the tn.slisee=r
SiR:-In the weekly Register Of octo'
Der 10 see an article over the signature
"A Reformed Republican," which il
rather a Sumner" TO thinking men
His reference to the New York Triblm'
l don't pretend to know anything about
but, judging it by nthe. assertions IN
his lettcr, think il may DO taken With
"a grain Of allowance" Now, 40 asserts
that everything We est aud yea: have
advanced Is per cent" since tue Mck!n'
Icy bill passed, which every sclIAol hoy
knows there is not word OF truth in.
Dry goods OF all kinds arc cheaper than
ever before, which every man who
reads his article knows. Groceries arc
10 higher and in many cases very much
lower than they have beeE for many
years, and mis- whino about wool Is
queer, 10 say the least. II IL very
poor quality OF wool that sells for &c.
and what would it have been worth had
we free trade, which the reformed Re-
publicans" particularly desire?
We all know that the product OF the
farm, barring perhaps wheat and wool,
are controlled by supply aud demand,
and il We had absolute free trade l.
would only make the farmer condition
worse, from the very fact that the "a.
boring classes would not have the
means to purchase his produce unless
his prices were reduced proportionately
with the wages Of unprotected labor,
even il one-hdD OF the workingmen OF
this country had wages, which very
much doubt, for the very reason that
the idle manufactures Of Europe would
all be busy, while our own must stop,
which has always been the case when
we had no protection.
IfR. r. can go back to the last Dem
ocratic administration, before the war,
let him explain why two out OF three of
our iron mills were idle land they were
nearly all little two by four concerns at
that time as compared with those Of to-
day.. Let him tell US why there were
only sixty or seventy blast furnaces in
the United States, and half OF them
shut down and insolvent, or in re-
ceiver's hands, while now we have near
" nine hundred OF them all busy. Is
il protection that makes the difference?
] want to know how will he explain the
fact that prior to protection not one
workingman in every thousand owned
his own home unless he inherited 1t,
and not one OF them had more than one
room carpeted (rag carpet at that, and
not one in ten thousand owned piano
or organ, while under our glorious pro-
tectIve tariff nearly every one can own
his own house and carpet it from
kitchen to attic with Brussels at that.
has piano or organ, with the finest Of
furniture, almost bordering on the lux
ury OF the nabobs OF Europe. Then our
wives and daughters were dressed in
calico, and the cheapest coarsest
worsteds. Now any man who is q man
can dress his wife in respectable cloth
ing, and himself in goods he never
dared, even hoped for, in those days,
which / hope are gone forever.
In closing wish TO say that don't
believe that a reformed Republican
ever was anything but simon pure dyed
in The ,Dool Democrat, and, more, / don't
think he is laboring man. II he is,
he certainly knows that wages have not
changed in this neighborhood, while
their purchasing power has increased
somewhat, which any OF our merchants
will substantiate.
An UH-REFoRMED REPUBLICAN.