The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1894-05-18

protection. tits the one great plea
by which the support of the labor
ing man has been invoked for the
protective policy. The protection
lists have increasingly preached to
their working-men that the perma-
nency of their employment and the
scale of their wages depended really
upon the action of the government,
and that it was not only in the
power of the government TO secure
to them steady work and higher
wages, but it was its duty to do SO.
To be sure, the protected manufact-
urer had in mind only the power
OF the government to secure to him
by high tariff duties artifcially in
creased profits, and that then the
rich, being made richer, might be
enabled to take better care Of the
poor-if they liked. But it is by
no means surprising that many OF
the laooring men should have tax
en- the matter seriously, and work
ed out the theory OF the logical
conclusion that if it was the duty
of the government to secure to
them steady work and high wages,
it should be done in a more direct
way than by making the rich rick
er and intrusting them with the
care of the poor.
Neither is 1t surprising if the TACT
is remembered that the manufact.
urers have for many years been in
the habit themselves of marching
upon Washington whenever
Congress was in session, to urge
their demands for higher duties
and larger profits, and that these
manufacturers, although not walk
ing on foot, but riding in palace
cars. a''r o.. ~, CAMPING on thu
outskirts of the town, but lodginI
and giving dinners in sumptuoul
apartments, were the original Of tn,
industrial army" approaching
Congress with petitions in boots.
Ifinstead OF going up to the Capt
toll singly or In small groups, the.
had marched up Pennsylvania Az
enue in procession, the tin.pht
men, and the wool men, and tn,
iron men, and the collar and cut
men, and the cutlery men, and s,
on, with Mckinley as grand marsh
al at their head, and the protection
banner floating over them, the!
would, indeed, have presented
much more elegant and well-fed ap
pearance than Coxey and his sorr,
crew, but the cause, in point of fun
damental principle, would hav
been essentially the same. TIL
"protest" which Coxey was prevent
ed by the police from reading o.
the Capitol steps, and which ha
found its way into newspapers, is
on the whole, a somewhat ridicu
ious document, but it has one ser
tence which the protectionist
, might take to heart: "Up Lhes
, steps the lobbyists of trusts an
corporations have passed uncha
lenged on their way to committee
} rooms to which we, the represents
tives of the toiling wealth-prC
{ dueers, have been denied" TIL
representative character of Coke
| and his tramps may be questioned
E but no more than the represents
{ tive character of the manufacturer
who demanded higher profits fC
themselves in the name Of the
working-men.
Neither should the protectionist
:, be surprised when they read OF tn
/ "Commonwealersp in various part
+ of the country indulging in d,i
& threats of fire and murder in ras
+ the government fails to compl
: with their demands. This, To-
: they / ave learned from the protet
y tionists themselves, They remen
{ Der the terrific predictions col
e stantly used by the projections
e to frighten simple-mn led Peep
q az to the dreadful things sure to J
y done by the starving wnrkiug-m'
(, t. Congress refused to enable, |
is 40 Increased tariff duty, the man
IS factursr OF this or that to char,
s. higher prices for his goods, Al
Il nothing is more natural than tn
le the threats which SO long ha
lie been made by the employers in Il
e. name Of the working-men shou
Is now be repeated by the Sorkil
le men themselves, or by those wi
Re pretend TO represent them. N
10 would il be very strange if /
working men, or at least the Zig