Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-10-24

| ia free trade England? Were wages
reduced TO the European leUeJ in order
to make that cheap suit Of clothes?
And il they were, pray tell me where
this benefit of the tariff comes in for the
waEe-earner?
These two object lessons OF sugar and
lCooL ought TO open the eyes Of the peo-
pie of/Gnis country to the utter absurdi-
~ 0i the protectiohist theor?L for it is
me baldest theory ever devised by hu-
, man selishDess and greed to deceive the
people Of a free country.
Cd. The great burden OF the pro-
tectionist cry is to make "home mar
ket" for the American farmer. And
what a market they have made for him
The production Of American wheat and
corn and cattle and hogs has been
steadily increasing with an annually in
creaslng surplus product which has
Oeen Obliged to seek a market in the
pauper labor countries of Europe, where
il has had to compete with the cheapest
labor in the world Chat of India) and
the price thus fixed is the price at
which he must sell that which is sold at
home. But when be comes to take that
price and buy the things he needs for
his own consumption, whether OF neces-
sity or luxury, he is met by high tariff
which tines him from so to 100 per cent
on the price, in order that he may have
home market! But the protectionist
tells him that he is buying everything
cheaper than ever before, and as cheap
as anywhere in the world. and all under
protective tariff whose fundamental
theory Is that we cannot do this with
out reducing wages to the European
level Now one OF two propositions must
be true, according to this theory. Either
wages must be at the Europeon level, or
there is no truth in the protectlonist
doctrine that articles cannot be pro-
duced cheaply except at loO wages.
But we know that wages are not at the
European level, nor anything like it.
The conclusion is therefore irresistible
that the protection tariff does not make
high lCGgeS.
What does make high wages in this
country? First, we have new country
with a virgin soil which responds with
a higher production for the same amount
OF labor, lOfthoW artificial fertilizers,
than any other country, and |
therefore at less labor cnet, |
abundance than any other co,-gre, ana
more accessible, the raw ma OF
iron ore, ~nestone'
Inmber. Thirdly, we nave greater
diversitv of climate, enabling us to pro-
drca larger variety OF agricultural
products. Fourthly, we have the Oess
ana cheapest system OF water auu
rail Transportation IN INC loo'Uh.
Filthy. but chiefest OF all, we
live in free country, "here
overy man may make the most OF MINI
self II he will, and population the
most intelligent, aggressive, enterpris-
inc and ingenious on the face OF the
earth. In other words, we have Ia
richest profusion the bounties OF
nature and the foremost people
in the world. These have made US the
rIcbest people in the world, ana THESE
will enable us 20 command the markets.
NJ the world, when we have thrown Oh
tho sback les of the delusivs doctrlne Vi
-o,oc,ion To cay that the rlcnest
Country in the world in natural re-
sources is inferior in productive capa-
city TO the less favored countries, ana
that the most intelligent and enterpris-
ing people in the world cannot, In such
a country, hold their own against In
ferior countries and people, is to belle
the plain logic OF human reason, 10 dls-
believe the history and possibility OF
human progress, and to challenge the
beneficence of Almighty Godl But we
must do all this before we can subscribe
to the modern doctrine Of the protec.
ZIONIST. Truly, Great is Protection, and
Mckinley is It's Prophet! o y. !. II.