Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1892 — The Pauper Labor Germ. [ARTICLE]

The Pauper Labor Germ.

If the Republican party—that Is, the protected manufacturers—really want to legislate to protect American workmen against the pauper labor of Europe, it will ask its president to continue indefinitely the twenty days’ quarantine now placed on passengers from Europe. The immigrants have nothing to sell when they land here, but labor, and the continual stream of this commodity pouring into this country tends to keep wages down to the European level, just as certainly as several connected bodies of water will tend to a common level. Break the connection and it is possible for one body of water to become and remain higher than the others. Stop immigration and it is possible for wages—piece wages—to become and remain higher here than in Europe. There is some doubt, however, if this is the intention of the nanu'acturers. The last thing they would think of doing would be to put uo the barriers between their mills and th 9 cheap labor of Europe. If European labor is cheaper than American they want free access to it, and thoy have it and use it to displace American labor. “Don’t stop immigration,” says Andrew Carnegie, “there is room here and work for all immigrants.” And the laborers have been thirty years in getting their eye 3 open so that they could seo this farce!