Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1924-07-03
PROTECTION OF LABOR

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PROTECTION OF LABOR
1--WE go further labor is protected
by restricted immigration laws; on
account of this protection the manu-
facturer claims he must pay a higher
wage and must have a higher price
for his products than the European
market justifies, and the manufac-
turer is undoubtedly correct in his
contention.
NOW, 1 contend that on the ac-
count of this protected labor and
protected manufacturer that the
farmer is entitled to a higher price
than the European market justifies.
"We do not wish to arbitrarily fix
this price, but we do demand that our
government step in and fix this price
at relative value of other commod-
tiles, to fiuctuate up and down with
these other commodities.
TN other words, TO establish and
maintain the pre-war purchasing
power of farm products.
"And gentlemen, great many of
us who have studied the question
have come to believe that the only
way this can be done is by the basic
principles of the McNary- Haugen
bill, which is simply a reversal of the
tariff idea.
AT present this great country,
Overlooking with milk and honey, to
use that phrase, is on the verge of an
economic collapse. Many many thous-
ands of us facing bankruptcy, hunger
and want.
"The purchasing power of thirty
million of us has disappeared, thous-
ands of our industries have closed
down and their owners gone off on a
picnic virtually millions of laborers
have been thrown out of employment,
restricted immigration laws protect
them no longer, all because one-third
of our population has lost its purchas-
ing power.
And l am in hopes this meeting
here to-day will be an entering wedge
for the remedying of this great evil,
but we must get our chains on, and
our lights properly adjusted.
Don't think for a minute that
am advocating the tearing down of
this tariff wall, there might have
been a time where that would have
been a remedy for our trouble. We
have passed that stage now. Those
who have been benefited by it have
accumulated their millions. Those
who have been fieeced by it have ac-
cumulated debts, and they never can
pay off these debts without being put
in this privileged class.
"These debts were contracted under
high prices, which simply mean cheap
money, and they can never be paid
off under low prces which means dear
DOLLAR FLUCTUATES
'Don't forget that the purchasing
power of your dollar fiuctuates up
and down with commodities. If you
have a bushel of wheat, a hog, or a
COW you can easily understand that it
is to your benefit to have the pur-
chasing power of that product in
creased.
1.-The Same with the man who has
accumulated his millions in the last
few years. 1t is to his advantage to
have the purchasing power of his dol
lar increased This would be done by
tearing down the tariff wall, thereby
a decrease in prices all along
the line, including labor and probably
doubling the value of these accumu-
lated millions.
"For illustration, many OF us went
in debt, borrowed money when it took
So to buy 100 pounds of pork on
foot, or SO to buy bushel of wheat,
or So to Sc to hire a days labor. DO
you wish to pay that debt off with
6-cents hogs, and 90-cent wheat, or
50 day labor?
81 say absolutely no. Instead OF
tearing lown this tariff wall, say
let us put another layer of stone on
top of it, and put in another section,
which would represent the farmer.
This section can be added to this wall
by incorporating in the laws of this
great government the basic princl-
pies of the McNary- Haugen bill.
BOISE DEFEATS BONDS
EOP STATION APPROACH