The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-01-13
Knocked Down and Dragged
Ont.


with it? Take coal--West Virginia
coal. 1t is now. beating the mines of
the world in foreign markets. Well,
then, isn't it much better that coal
be put on the free list? Carpets, ma
chinery, furniture and almost every
thing else the same way. Now what
good does it do to ''protect" them?"
New DOMINION.
The foregoing is sample of the
average stuff written by free trade pa
pers, and when it does say ''what
good does it do to protect them?"
the answer is easily given: There
isn't any use to protect the articles
themselves, but it is necessary to pro-
tect the man who digs the coal, makes
the carpets, machinery or furniture in
order that he may receive living wa
ges- wages enough for him and his
family. The Wilson bill, if passed,
won't give him that professionalism
gd1ato,o,a Post
And now the Waynesburg Demo-
erat proceeds in the manner and form
that follows to dissect this puerile,
eYasiye comment:
Gosh! that settles it.
Now honest reader, let your politics
be whatever it may, look at the above
carefully. If our mines can produce
coal cheap enough to ship to foreign
markets and compete with the world,
are you willing to give them mon
opoly Of the home trade 50 that they
can compel our own people to pay
more for their fuel than any other
people in the world? Do you call
that protection? Nay, verify call it
by its proper name. 1t is robbery.
1t is robbing the poor laborer Of his
hard earned cash for the especial ben
eft of the lordly mine owner. And
what is the excuse for robbing so, 900,
600 of the people that the mine own
ers may be able to pay the miners bet
ter wages for their labors? Great
Caesar! does anybody think for min
ute that the mine owners or anybody
else is going 10 pay any more wages
than they have to? Supply and de-
mand regulates wages. The million
aire is not going to pay any more wa
ges than common man. He pays
just what he can get hands for who
are capable of doing the work and
never accent more. He would not be
considered good business man if he
did. Then the idea of forcing every
man who has to buy coal in this ma
ton to pay tribute unto the mine
owners and then leave it discretionary
with them whether or not they in
crease the pay of their employees.
What kind of business is that? If
the government really wants to in
crease the wages of laborers why dom
we have some legislation direct on
this matter? This discretionary bust
ness has not been of much advantage
TO the laborers so far while the pro-
tected lords have grown into multi
millionaires. No, our brother in an
swering what he terms 'stuff" gives
away the whole secret Of protection.
Admitting, as he does and must, that
our manufacturers and mine owners
can and do compete with the world
in the foreign markets, while the Re
publican idea of protection gives
them the home market to speculate
on, compelling the people who live in
this country to pay more for the nee
essaries of life than any other people
on Gods footstool. This country
that has been so abundantly blessed
by nature has been so fearfully cursed
by legislation that we are all undone.
We who live among the coal mines
| foreigner thousands Of miles across
the ocean, We who live in the midst
of the oil fields must pay more for
our light than those distant foreign
ers. So of iron products and thou
sand other things. Machinery is
manufactured right in our midst and
transported to foreign lands and sold
for far less money than we can buy it
at home. What causes this? A pro-
tective tariff allows it to be done by
shutting out foreign competition and
giving home capital monopoly OF
hometrade. But that word ''protec-
tion" sounds all right. Let us look
at it for a few minutes and see what
is protected. What is one mans
feast is another mans fast. And
while few thousand capitalists are
feasting the millions of common peo-
pie are fasting. A few Thousand
monied men. are protected and the
masses are robbed in order to protect
them.
Is that an application of the good
old rule. ''The greatest good to the
greatest number, 'or is it protection fol-
the few and robbery for the masses!
Bear This in Mind.