United labor bulletin., 1912-09-12

lngS and lectures that Governor Wilson
has proved himself to be an enemy of
trades unionism.
Now let us take Governor Wilson and
protection. Nothing has contributed
more to the high standard of living of
the American wage workers and to the
country's industrial greatness. than has
(, protection. This is an undoubted fact
l-among intelligent and unbiased people
Wilson is the enemy of protection; he
| is free trader and a theoretical one at
| that. This is the very worst kind of
| free trader, for these theoretical opin-
ions are formed and developed far from
the practical affairs of life; formed amid
the environments of wealth and aristoc-
racy; formed minus anything like a
practical knowledge of the real opera
tions of daily industrial life and actual
business enterprise; formed merely by
leaving human being alone and figuring
out abstractedly imaginary theories that
utterly collapse when brought in contact
with actual facts Such a free trader is
Wilson.
But Governor Wilson himself com
pletely kills his own free trade argu-
ment and produces one of the strongest
reasons for protection to American labor
and industry we have yet seen or heard.
short time ago, in a speech extolling
free trade and asserting that American
labor needed no protection against for
eign competition, and that without pro
lection We cou.u soon have all the mar
kets in the world for our produce, he de-
nounced protection. Now we will quote
Governor Wilson himself as conclusive
refutation of his own statement.
In 1902 DIR. Wilson wrote his best
work. "A History of the American Peo-
pie" In discussing the large number of
chinese arriving in this country and
menacing American labor, on page 1856
of volume of the history just named,
he says: Caucasian laborers could not
compete with the Chinese, could not live
upon handful OF rice and work for a
pittance, and found themselves being
steadily crowded out from occupations
by thrifty, skillful orientals, who with
their yellow skin and strange, debasing
habits of life, seemed to their fellows
hardly men at all, but evil spirits, rath
er"
| There was never so strong an argu-
ment in favor of protection to American
labor than the foregoing. Mark you. it
ours, it is not urged by a protectionist
but by shadowy, theoretical free trad
er.
We want to know if American labor
cannot successfully compete against
Chinese labor in the United States, how
| in the name of common sense is it going
to hold its own against foreign labor in
the latter's own territory. or against
products of foreigners made in the lat
ters own country and shipped here, if
there is no protection to our labor and
its high standard of living, and wages
and social comfort Let DR.. Wilson ans
wer himself If the Chinese. as he says
can beat us on our own tract or field,
surely they can send their homemade
goods home and smother us if there is
no protection.
But we will quote again from Dr. Will
son, the author, free trader and anti
trade unionist- 1t is fact of history
and we all know that when the Demo-
Gratis were last in power in this country
with Cleveland at the head of affairs
they reduced the tariff. reduced it to a
most disastrous extent There came a
fearful condition of things throughout
the country: there was disaster and alb
iect squalor in every direction. We are
not going to describe it We will quote
the versatile doctor. On pages 235 and
236, volume 5, of a History of the
American People he writes: a great
poverty and depression had come upon
the western mining regions and upon
the agricultural regions of the West and
South Prices had fallen Men of the
poorer sort were idle everywhere. and
filed with a sort of despair All the
large cities and manufacturing towns
teemed with unemployed workingmen
who were with the utmost difficulty kept
from starvation by the systematic efforts
OF organized charity. In many cities
public works were undertaken upon an
extensive scale to give them employ
ment."
Wage workers of the United States.
rhnrnnghly hon y bs,
going? 1t is faithful record by Dem
ocrat and free trader. of the terrible
conditions of things as a result of the
last Democratic attempt to reach free
trade. Governor Wilson. astounding as
it may appear. wants to renew a policy
that only about sixteen years ago
brought disaster and abject starvation
on the land.
But we will yet make another quota
ton from DIR. Wilson's "A History of the
American People" and il will tell wage
workers of the fact that the return of
the Republican party and protection
made the most wonderful transformation
in industrial and business conditions
that has been recorded in modern his
tory. On page 26o. volume 3. of DR. Viii
sons history. he says: Not until the
very year 1897. when the new Republic
an administration came in. did the crisis
seem past The country had at last
built its railway and manufacturing sys-
TENS up. had at last got ready to come
out of its debts. command foreign mar
kets with something more than food
stuffs. and make for itself a place of
mastery"
Gov Wilson. now the free trade candi-
date for the presidency of the country.
wrote the foregoing encomium on the
Republican policy of protection.
Fellow free traders of Gov. Wilson
would have us believe that he is the
ideal man of charity and that he is the
essence of cosmopolitanism. He may
appear so now. but this only makes him
out to be Pecksniffian. On pages els
and 21s. volume 5. of his history already
quoted from. and written in 1902. APP