Labor Wants Protection

Senator Qnay, Clialrman ot' the Kepulilicnii National Committee, furnislies the tOlluu in letter tor publioation : Pnn.ADEi.vniA. Aug. 27, 1888.- The Hou. Mttihew S. Quay, Chairman of the National Republlcaa Coinmlttee, Everett House, New York. Dear Sir: My con nection wilh the 1 ibor movcment tbr the past fourl cu fe irs has mulle it necessary fjrr me to be a close, student of the ciuacs of labor deprem imd of the needa of thoae who toil. Wliile. as n body, h labor oruanizatioli may refrain froiu active participaron lo politica, so much ot what urganlxnd labor demands must be obtained ihiough legislation that the Individual niember of the labor organiz ition must act polltlcalljr ns in his judgment v i 1 1 bost aid tlie aims and objcts expressed in the principie of the org inlzation he reprefents, and wliose sueces9 he destres. In the gigantic politica! struggle now begun side issues count hs nothing except to uid or hinder one of the principa] conihiitaiiU in llie politiciil arena. However sincere inay be the advocates of the iiuafiires to secure wliich these separate political org.ini.ations are formed, ml wbalever stre ngth in volca raay be shovvn at the polls, the fact remains that the candid:te of either the republlcan or of the democratie prrty will be THE NEXT PKKSIDKNT of the United States. Therafore Ui him who hits the (tood of his country and the welfare of her people at heart, the uecea sity exists to choose ro wblch of these two old party orjianizations sha'l begiven ald dluctly or incliuectly. by voice or vote. While it niay be that neither party oft'ers all thut liibor orgailz itims desire, I believe that the republlctn party, in adoptlng and :idv eau lis tlie Ammicin system of enCOUrHffement and proiection to the labor and wajfes of our owii land, is nearer the declsralloiis and dellrei of ofganized labor tiran its free-tr ule opponent, the Democratie partv. Tlie conti et la liet ween the Ani'rican sysiem, M repr sou ted by the republlcan party, wblab wciiild fottêr and encoiirane the labor Oí .ourown people and letain lor thein the inarket add trage of our own country, and the iritish system, as represented by he democratie party, whlcii would break down the barriera of prouction and throw ipen uur home mirket to the poduclions if foreign faclories and forl{(Q Inbor, hui makinif tille our own t llora and reInclng to a lower level the st iiulard of uu-i ii-iin wamt. Wlien ihe Knif;lits of ,aljor and kindred organ .itions shull lave obtained in forei({ll latida the sanie omniandlny r}osiiion and Influeuc en oyed in the United States, the iui (jiiality n WHgea will disappear, not by leveling ui' wnges dowit, bilt tty leveling tbeir vagea up. It is f ar better to UTn DF THNS TO LEVEL DOWN, 8 the larger tbe Income the linker the owcr to conttume. Untü this rqunllziIon eau be itocomplliherl, and until the rages of labor abroad shall equal those t home there must be a proper restricion of ItautljrratUMl, so that our land iav not be the dumping gruund of the auper and degraded labwr of the baluce of the world. This restriction, ?pplemented byaconstitutlon of thought, vMemalic orgiiniation of the labor aleady here, In cmJuncMon with the imerlcan idea of protection to Amer'can ubor, cannot fail to secure lor our peo le the best resulta of their toil, and by our example lift the labor of the whole world to a higher and better plane of exlateme. VVhichever party wlna, sotnething must be done to regúlate more stiictly this importado of foreign labor mider contract, and the immigration of paupers and depemleiits. If nothinr should be done, tliea de nocratic success would mean not only free trade in gooda matfa hy pauper labor, but the itnportatinn of both the labor and the goods. While UOder free trade goods muy be cheaper to tlie consLiiner In many lines, the labor made idle by these Unes must turn to other ïneans of employment, and thus by competition oom pel a lower rate of wages to tliosc alrendy employed therein. The power of i workfff man to consume depends upon wliat lie recelves for bis labor. Uneinploycl, bis power to consume, exeept en charlty or theft, ceases. I prefer tliat America sliould be A I.AND OF WORKKRS rutlier tlian a land of thieves and p mpers. What Is truc of the individual, is pqually true of the Natlon. The primar; elements of National wealth and National property ure production, dlstrlbulloa and coiiaumprlon. Whsterer affects the power of labor to coiiiume, affrets tlie entlre Interest of the Nation. Wliatever lowers the wages of labor nffectl lts power to consume. An "average reduction'' of 7 per centum on the cost of trooda imponed will not compénsate American labor for the loss of 100 per centum in wages in the lines affected, and of from 10 to 50 per centum In wages In the Unes of einployment by the sub¦tltutlon of tlie fice trade for the protective System. I hold it to be far wlser statesm.inship to buüd up and retal n our home market by a system thut protectl American !abor, than to command h mai kot in foreicn hans secured by the wholesale degradation aml pnitperlz itlon of our own people. l'.vcry dollar's worlli of labor valué imported is by o niiich a rednetion o home 1 iborers' wmiíi'S. This nxtom is not offset hy the d.cl ,ration tuut tlicre are moie {""'Is n the Imported dollar' worth. 'J'üe positiou of the protection ist is rat her strengthened by suoh a specious presentation of the matter, becanse the question is then instan lly forced upon every intelligent mxn - how can American labor earn dollars if the imlustiy In which he is expeneuoed is transtVned to foreiirn lands V Tlie theory of protectlon sdvocated by the republlcan party s the same as tlie Quderi?loK principie upon whiHi all labof organiz 'tions are fonnded. A friend toorfranized labor tii.it bellere in the orpanlzatlon as a mcans to enhance and malntaln wagce CAN NOT CONSISTENTLV OPI'OSK a party tliat applies to all labor the snnie principie of protectlon from unfair conipetition, tliat the individual trade orjrauzation gives to the single (rada Tcad orgniiiüatloiis so aid in advancing wa'es n their respective trades, and the protective system demanded by the repubtlMB party will secure for all the tailms in lio land a similar foltering care. Tliat this is olearly understood hy most )f the thÍDkní leaders of orgaotzed abor is proved by the decluration ly made in f.ivor of the American system and H home naarked by the prettding offlcers of the organization repreaantlng the iron añil fliss industries of the United States. Tliere is no better orfRuiizition of any one trade thau the AmalL'amaleil Assoclatiou ot Iron and Steel Workers. There is no trade more thorourhly organi.ed or better disciplined tlian that of the window glass workers, nor one in which bigber waaes are pald. The warning of the offlcers reprefentinsr those trades afjaint free trade are significant and should be lieeded. A careful consideration of all these facts convinces me tliat the present is a grave crisis in the poll tica I aflkln of onr couutry, and that I ikivi' no rijrli t to retnaln silent. My posltion as General Swivtary of the Knights of Labor has xiven me an intiuiite knowledge of tlie various pitases ot tlie labor qnratlon, and froni tl; knou lede Ihus gained I c!o not licsitate to fay that the triumph of the democratie party, dominated by intoleraiiCe in the South and British tree trade sentiment in the Nortli, would be tlie most serious blow to organized labor it could possibly receive. 1 can not remain inactive in such a conllict. Therefoiv, to jou and your nssociates on the National Republican Committee as the represen tatives of the repnblican party. I offer my services in any position or capaclty where they may be deired, or be thnugUt most U8eftil, to aid in secuilui; the auccefs of llnrrison and Morlón, the representatives in thU cuni.u;n of the Anici-can idea of protection to American abor. I have the honor to reninin, 'ours to comiminil,