Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-08-29

American" They appeal to our selfish
and patriotic feelings by linking to-
gether as often as possible Protection"
and American" On banner dis
played at the Minneapolis convention by
the Boston Home Market club was the
following;
American Wages for American Workmen!:
American Markets for American People!
Protection for American Homes!
:,.......................
Is, then, protection" the conservator
of American workmen, markets and
homes? Does it keep out foreigners
who come here to compete with Ameri-
cans and lower wages? DSs it make
home markets where the American peo-
pie can supply themselves with goods at
the lowest possible pricer Does it pro-
tect American homes by reducing the
expenses of running them, and thereby
encouraging their foundation and max
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, 1862,
and was perfected on June 80, 1854
that is, until the genius of Mckinley
took up the subject. On the 4th of July,
1864, before real protection" was
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 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 much
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 year since 1864 when protected
manufacturers did not have agents
securing the Old World offering to ad-
vance passage money to those who were
so poor and miserable that they were
willing to 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
or, but that they are useful to lower the
wage scale, after which American work
men will be taken back into the mills to
work at European or Asiatic wages
alongside of foreign workmen. This is
one explanation of why wages are lower
in protected than in unprotected in
dustries.
A typical illustration of the class of
men brought over by protectionists is
found at Homestead, Pa: "The total
population of Mifflin township, which for
all practical purposes is nothing more
than Homestead, is II ,144, and the total
number of foreign born and native white
of foreign parentage is 7,712. OF foreign
born males eighteen years of age and
over there are l ,773; 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
1895 (78 of them coloredD, in the latter
3,619."
But many of the males over eighteen
that are classed as Americans are the
offspring of foreign parents, and in their
habits and customs are as much foreign
as their foreign born brothers. Thus
nearly two-thirds of the american"
workman at work at american" wages
in this leading protected American" in
dustry, located at Homestead, are virtu-
ally foreigners.
Next, does protection" make markets
where American people can get the full
worth of their money? On the contrary,
tariff, whenever effective, always en-
hances the cost of goods, increases the
cost of living, and therefore virtually
articles are always higher in protected
than in unprotected markets, whether
or not there Is any economic necessity
for it. Often when goods are made
cheaper here than elsewhere our manu-
facturers utilize their protection and
sustain high prices at home, though they
sell much cheaper to foreigners. This
is the case with axes, saws, agricultural
machinery, cartridges, etc. Drawback
duties also enable foreigners to procure
our manufactures at lower figures than
we must pay for them. Never, under
any circumstances, does protection" in
crease the amount of goods that can be
purchased for a certain sum of money.
Many of the leading advocates of pro-
lection hold that cheapness is a curse,
that it is un-American, etc; hence it is
not strange that they SO legislate that
neither our own nor foreign manufac-
lures may be sold cheap here, though
both may be sold very low abroad. Pro
loot 4 ...l.g -