New-York tribune., 1880-10-25
ARE 7HERE 1Wo ABRAM S. HETITTS'

| N -.
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TIE HEWITT or 1913" THE TARIFF DETFR-
MINES THE WAGES OF TIE LABORFR,' THOUGHT
| AN INGENIOUS YOUNG Man, AND so He
WORKED AND VOTED FOR CENTRAL TAYLOR.
| TO the EdftOr Of me Tribune.
SIR: In the course Of his speech on the tariff in
! NeN-York on Wednesday evening last, the Hon.
! Abram s. Hewitt said "1he workngman knows,
or ought TO know that it is not the tariff which de
teI1nlnes the rate Of his wages ii Is known that
| up to the time that Nr. Hewitt was invested with
| the dignity of Democratic leadership. and
! made much of by willy Democratic politicians,
lie was pronounced friend Of protection
to home industry. But his recent associations
seem 10 have warped the fore Of lis mental make
I'D TO so serious an extent that he sacrifices the
convictions of a lifetime on the insatiate altar Of
| Democratic partsanslip. Thlrty-two wears ago,
when i'm thc flush Of hiseaTly mauhO Opd-bravr, hon
| est aud inecuuous-before lac had been tempted by
Democratic leadership, Mr.. Hewitt gave deliver
ance III this city to sentiments dlamctIically op-
| posed to the sentence above quoted, and
comprising about mas.erfui an eG-
position of the relations Of labor to the
tariff as know of in our economic literature. In
| an addlcs 10 the wOrkmen employed In Cooper ~
IleWls rolling mill IN this city III the Presidential
campaign of 1915, Mr. Hewitt urged the reasons
Why although Democrat, he felt II 10 be his duty
to support General Taylor and the protective sys-
ZEN. A pretty full report of the speech and OF a
series of resolutions which Mr. Hewitt offered. and
which were unanimously adopted. appears in III,
State Gazette of tins city of that year. From that
account / copy the following:
Pro ecuon to American manufactures Is nothing hut
rogcnon to n mad, ae e S VI, ,Sog, g o. ncd e y
proouee IL. Goa aud IRON N he mines 81 nothne
are the free efi oi God. B'J iuey are * tted
by the pick ana shovel II Tue workman; by hm they
are WhCc Ell, car'cd, hoaod 10 narAet b' tc lk dn
th"y are cAIIeo % IN. HI' = llV 3
mace heated and charged; hN hn IRON y puldtcd
rolled. pa up for market carried 'hiihrr 'Hd .o -
labor labor labor mat .sou.tiru'es every addition 10
value oi the article. ana i the N n Who bslows
mat .abor who should enjoy all the fruits fh-rto
eiven 70 kirgor lord but thc whole ~ belong,
ami should be enjoyed by the men wIo N sr NJ Mr
Hewitt continued tnat Ac was n'ta WllE bui Demo
crgi st Ae vent for protection nov, I'd should sup
port General Tay bee he woul1 rii 10 pro-
eH tG. nv c "tv .ttd for rry eI 5 Hr diger
e,ee teceen American labor and Engish labor tuat
American wages instead OF stopping work.
The following is from the of resolutions
which Mr. Hewitt offered:
ResoIred. That tins meeting, composed q men who
depend their livelihood upon the id60r of ihtr Own
hand, hold the following facts and principles 10 he un
That natural reai Is the fruit Of ndirduoi hbor
That Therefore. the best Government ana TIE best
largest possible return for It's labor
Inat thc superiority OF free institutions and oconom-
cal coverumo M proved by the fact that the United
Sras the average wages OF labor from rcS fOW
tunes large under the monarcnica governments OF
mat bile foreign labor paid at this price. IL would
be tnan insanity to adopt any policy by which the
evel because would De throwing away all the advan
tagrs secured 10 us by free ana economical govern
That If the rho'e productive industry OF the country
were employed III pf.ducnG tae %hlch we sen
abroad, when ale mainly breads uls ana provisions,
cotton. rice aud tobacco, we should Produce much
larger quantity than We could SeH foreign markets
ould be cutted with these articles the price of
them would all the labor that produced them would.
matter OF course. Zee We I>s r. muneaton than II
now does tne only stopDinO point III the decline of
wagcs would oe the starsHg pol"t, and tue inevitable
resu would be tnJ W. should be forced 10 give equal
labor equdi lab instead Of days labor for Or,
as have been doing Tor many years.
That therefore. If We would keep M the price of labor
cannot employ the whole productive labor OF tAe
country in raising such articles as We export; aud the
farmers Of all men in the community are most inier
,shnr wicn If devoted To aericultur, wou.d prolnce
cut aud consequent ial OF prices IN TIE foreign
and lhU the only way IN Wllch Sucn Surplus
labor can he employed IS In producing certain manufac
tured ar.Iccs, be bought cheaper IN foreign
countries because ~ takes less TABOR there To pro
duce hem because that labor is paid for less
That herce arises the necessity for tariff which.
properly devised merely system whereby the prlcc
of labor, winch auraiiy results under iree and eco
nomIral government. - prevented from b.ins
ine1 as naturally results under governments
first fruits Of labor ins,ad OF being secured
MAINTAIN costly splendOr Of thrones and the idle
IEInce Of an encrNdttu ail~lt cfdC1
That tie tariff should be der gued 10 guard the In
terests OF abor matter how employed, bur
mecidtc the farmers in efcstsiustice To TIE whole
community r. Qrcs tbat duties shOud ~ imposed ORly
uuon such rtIcts can he prOnuccd here, with tne
same GD.put Of labor IN iOIsgn countries
other wor.s upon sucn articles for the production Of
natural advantages are at least equal 10 those
possessed DV IOttigI uatiuns.
That the amount Of duty imposed upon such articles
should be- the exact ON rene" between the of
The ndGCS Of iGJor pdl Tor tEcr production here, aud
the Amount qulrcd IOr their production abr ad That
ne opera "A isrf which does not impose sufficient
dutV 20 cover dn In the price Cf labor
necessarily the price Of such labor or force Il
mo agricultural pursuits, whereby tDosc who
sumrrs o. bread tufts become pr, dnccrs resulting
speedily the accumulation OF a large surplus anu
consequent fall in prcesln other wOris fall IN the
pr7cr OF tie labor winch produces them, AMI In the
average wages inrousGouI the country III every depart
meui ui industry.
That As General CaSs y pledged 70 maintain The tarf
OF lsiG "a Tariff OnA j. and a. neral Iat-
or IS pledged carry the VIII of the people upon
and believe that our dearest interests,
social aud political depend upon the repeal of tie taif
40, admirably adapted 10 deIr"ss the pric" ~
llbJr, aud the Enactment Oi new iaFn, framed win
tue express object T. MAINTAIN the price ~ labor b.
ana cIceSSipc tcchc duties upon such ar
tclr> a. prO.uccd iE tais country with tHe
iGbOT else here and We believe tbs point to o.
the great indeed the only issue Involved ~ tr com
feel cou-ITausd to throw ADD Ir dis
tmcton sectional p.oIL4iccs, ana vote Ios General
Taylor.
The italics throughout the above are those of Mr.
Hewitt himself The veteran politician of to-day
now tres to discredt what the genuous and honest
young man of 1878 told Us. VIC
Trenton " j.. Oct. % 1850.
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AMERICAN INDUSTRIES ~ PERIL.