The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-07-01
pERFECTlNG PROTECTION.
Two Slight Changes Suggested In the In
terest Of Farmers and Iaborers.

terpst Farmers and lADOfefb
The senate is now engaged Iii remedy
ing the small i;npcrfectlons CT the DING
lev bill, which, as all good protection
i.ts assert. is one Of the best tariff bills
ever drafted. 1t distributes its blessings
to all-furmer, laborcr and manufac-
turer. Without doubling the good inten-
,ious Of the makers, we wish to suggest
one or two minor details which might
Lossibly help the bill to fulfill the e1-
pectatioDs Of its authors
Firet.-Lubin' g export bounty scheme
slice Of the benefits Of protection. Of
course the farmer doesn't expect-espe-
cialIy at first-to get as much OF the
ben, fits as the manufacturers have been
getting for so years. A protection OF
about 70 per ccnt-that Is 10 cents per
bushel on wheat. 5 cents on corn, etc.
would satisfy him, while it takes four
times az much to satisfy ordinary tariff
infants.
This small export duty would not
make good the farmers loss because OF
import duties On manufactured prod
ucts, saying nothing about past losses,
but in course Of time, after his industry
had felt the stimulating effects Of real
protection what protects, the farmer
might muster up courage enough to fol-
low the example Of Oliver Twist
which example has grown into Gus
tom with protected lntereats-and ask
for more - Possibly also he might
form political trusts or combines to de
mand more and raise millions CS dol
lars to send Hobbies TO Washington to
bride congress. While protection is IN
order export duties are the farmers on
ly hope With them he may hope not
only to change his losses to profits, but
also to regain that power and position
which We're once his, but which have
long since passed into the hands OF the
manufacturers.
Second-It Is also fitting to recognize
the laborer in the distribution of tariff
profits. Like the farmer, he now puts
his hand into his pocket to help swell tho
profits Of protection, practically none
Of which comes his way 1t Is not al
easy matter to equallZe the Dement'S
of protection 80 that the workingman
shall get his full share. A prohibitiVe
duty on imported labor might in the
course Of time afford some protection
by restricting the supply OF labor, so
that manufacturers could carry out
their good intentions expressed when
asking for higher duties) and pay
'Americun wages to American work
ingmen.
At present the condition of working
men III the protected industries is pitia-
BILE in the extreme. The Philadelphia
Ledger, a good Republican paper, told
US about May 1 that i'll the protected
iron and coal industries Of Pennsylvania
the wage rate has been reduced SO low
that it is scarcely sufficient to provide
the necessaries Of decent, sanitary liv
ing 1t says 1.-The lowest classes Of
alien cheap labor swarm in the iron and
coal districts of the state, and the COM
petition for work is so fierce that they
contend. not against the employers for
the highest wages, but among each
other for the lowest:' "As appears by
inc testimony presented 10 tnc 1tSlsla-
tive committee. they herd in squa
lor. subjects of abject penury, and are
beset by disease, dirt and hunger" The
Ledger thinks our immigration laws
are defective and improvident" and
suggests that ito properly protect
American workmen congress should
pass an immigration as we'll as u tariff
bill. This is good idea and should
he acted upon at once. The only wonder
is that some of the good manufacturers,
i'll their anxiety to protect and raise the
wages Of their workingmen, did not
think of this plan before. Then, if they
should have law passed which should
make it compulsory for them to give at
least onehalf of their protection and
monopoly profits to their employees,
| protection would begin to be an all
| around blessing. The manufacturers
might still be getting the lions share,
but they would not get all.
When these changes are made in the
bill, it Will undoubtedly be what the
New York Tribune declared its proto-
type, tho Mckinley bill, to be-"the
bravest and best tariff bill ever passed I"
Will they be made?-Byron W. Holt