The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-10-26
M'KINLEY ON LABOR
His Record In Support of the Interests
of American Workingmen.
CHAMPION OF THEIR RIGHTS.
For Twenty-Five Years the President Has Made
Constant Efforts In Their Behalf.

There Is no better friend of Ameri-
can labor than William Mckinley.
During the % years since the begin
ming of his participation In national
legislation he has repeatedly shown his
devotion to the interests of the work
ingman The quotations from his
speeches here given are from public
addresses, and they are necessarily in
complete and fragmentary, being in all
cases brief extracts from speeches and
addresses. They are sufficient, how
ever to show that William Mckinley
has been at every stage Of his career
and on all occasions an avowed, ear
nest and persistent friend of labor and
of its protection and of the advance of
ats interests by every legitimate means.
In a speech in congress on April 10,
1873 Mr.. Mckinley first took posi-
tion In regard to this question. He
said, in reference to proposition for
reducing wages:
Il must protest against this or any
other measure which looks to the seal
ing down of the wages of labor.
Reduce the tariff and labor is the first
to suffer The difference between the
present and the proposed rate of duty
must be made up somewhere, must be
compensated in some way. AS always
has been the case, when economy in
production is to be studied, the manu-
facturer looks to his pay roll of labor
and commences there first. 1t is
our duty, and we ought to protect as
sacrcdly and assuredly the labor and
the industry of the United States as
we would protect her honor from faint
or her territory from invasion. We
ought to take care of our own nation
and her industries first
Again, on the 9th of April, 1882, he
said in the house of representatives:
1.-THE fundamental argument for pro-
aecti0n is its benefits to labor No
worthy American wants to reduce the
price of labor in the United States 1t
ought not to be reduced, For the sake
good of society it ought to be main
tained TO increase it would be in bet
ter harmony with the public sense.
Our labor must not be debased nor our
laborers degraded to the level OF slaves,
nor any pauper or servile system in
any form nor under any guise whatso-
ever at home or abroad. Our civilian
tion will not permit it; our humanity
forbids it; our traditions are opposed
10 it,
Wages Higher Here Than Elsewhere.
In the house April 80, 1884, Mr.. Nc
Iinley made this statement:
"We must not reduce the price paid
to labor. 1t is already sufficiently low.
We can only prevent it by defeating
this dow tariff bill, and it should be
done without unnecessary delay the
sooner the better-and remove this men
ace which hangs over all of our indus
trial life and threatens the comfort
and Independence of millions of Amer
lean workingmen."
At Petersburg, Va, he eloquently
championed the cause of protection to
American labor, closing as follows:
s'The chief ground upon which we
can justify a protective tariff today Is
that It is in the interest of American
Iabor-American black labor as well
as American white labor-and the pro-
tectiye tariff we want Is tax suffi-
cIent to make up the difference be-
tween the prices paid labor in Europe
and the prices paid labor In America"
In d speech at Boston Feb 8, 1888.
Mr. Mckinley said:
Every yard of cloth imported here
makes a demand for one yard less Of
American fabrication. Let England