Speech #530055375

In this discussion it must not be forgotten that our protectionist friends. who pretend to be so solicitous about labor and the wageearner. have always permitted cheap labor to come to this country free. There is not and never has been a duty on labor coming to this country to compete with American labor. and there never will be if it has to originate or proceed from the manufacturer or his advocate in this House. If the hightariff men are sincere in their declarations of a desire to protect American laborers wages. why have they not put a duty on immigrant laborers. that would either have raised a liberal revenue. or have kept competing labor out of this country and retainedthe work for our own countrymen? They ought to do this and protect American toilers from real dangers instead of trying to frighten them by thrilling accounts of imaginary ones. But the decisive test of the ability of the manufacturer to compete with .foreign goods in the United States is � 1.746 that he not only does compete with them here after the tariff is removed. but he ships some of his goods to Mexico and South American countries and successfully competes with the Englishman there..