The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-10-27
A PROTCCTIONISr ARGUMENT
An 1risbman to Irishmen.

John Brennan In his book Erin Nor:
The Story OF Irish Repuolicanism," Offers
the following reason why Irish-Americans
ought to be Republicans:
The writer of the following pages can
didly believes that while foreign rule has
been the browning and all com prehe. ding
curse Of Ireland, and while landlordism
has been among its most potent ills, yet
British free trade, identical with the tariff
reform which the Democratic party now
seeks to int Ct upon the United Slater, wal
tho underlying. ii not the immediate cause
of the terrible famine of 1861. ireland.
ono year With another, produces sufficient
food to fatten more than double it, present
population; yet among tho working psO-
pie there, poverty is perpetual ADD famine
periodical. Since the destruction of Ire
londs manu- acturing industries under the
operation OF free trade, agriculture is the
only important industry Of the people; and
. country devoted to agriculture alone is 4
country already doomed, while nation
whose Industries are already healthily d.
versitied Is proof against famine and decuy.
1T Is not difficult to understand why
England favUrs free trade with America;
morris it to be wondered At that among reo-
pie OF great llixencc and of many mind.
like the Americans, E ngland should find
many devoted believers in her llausib biz
AHeo!Aess ous ~ - mystery why At'SnM9n'
OF all other citizens in America, should bs
relied ON to vote in American elactioEs
precisely as England would have then,
vote; and that when Grover Cleveland o:
Harpers Weekly sounds the drum beat o
Eng and calling for soldiers to fight her
battles at the American ballot box, those
who most cleer:ully respond to the roll
call should oe the sons snd kindred Q! 1risl,
exiles. driven from their island home by
that same free trade policy; why those
whose own factories have been de tsoyed
by e nRlish free trade should he slesirous
to vote themselves into the conditions Fl ON
which they ed when they lett their own
green land with tears in their eyes and
curses on their lips.
''ln seventy years preceding 1890 8. so, 00o
Of Irish landed in the United States land
this does not include the children Of Irish
parents WHO came from, Bri: ain and British
those who were in the colonies and ,hoss
who caa prior to 1922, it is % to say thai
Ireland contribu to the United Sta!e.
not less than 4. Is 200 OF people; and tina:
their Descendants are no fewer than l3. 900.
0O0. which. with the parent stock now Inv
ing, would swell tho Irish elcVen' in thi,
coun try to something like Is QUO 0oQ Lei
forgotten the parent lake to which this lie
blood ought 10 be traced. Let Us say that
the Irish element in the United Safes i.
10000 600. They cast in Congressional and
presidential elections 100000 vote.
Their sway 10 absolute In many American
G ties: they are powerful in The Nsx Eng.
land and Middle states. When England
Georsis. Alabama, South Carolina or Ken
lucky. They settled In New York. New
jersey. Pennsylvania and New England,
where Northern enterprise aud Northern
capital built factories aud inau urated pub'
lie Improvements, aud gave them labor tol
their hands and bread for their faMiiies.
Acting under the natural law that men de-
cidetolive where they find least resistance t.
living, two-ihirds Of all the Irish emi%rant!
that ever came to the United States settleJ
in that region bounded on the south BY
tho Ohio river aud on the vest by Q line
drawn north and south through the west
ern limit of Pittsb1rss. Pa. And yet 1t II
strange, and to the American mind incom
prehensible, that the tremendous pol,tica
power o. this vast mass Of men has beer
welded almost solidly. until within thu
oligarchy of the South. and exactly In &C
cord with the wishes aud interest. Of En-
gland, and IN opposition to the wishes ant
desires Of the Northern people by whom
these Irish cx:les were employed and anon:
whom they and their children made thsi
homes. At last the lines are broken. an,
thousands of seIf-respecting Irish: Ameri
cans refuse longer to be dragged ut the chez
lot wheels OF England in American polite
and their allies in the cities of the Nor.h.
America and England cannot both b
foremost among tho manufacturing an
comm erciai nations OF the word. One Q
them must 70 under. England or Amoric
which? The decision rests with Create