Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-16

Aais well known one Of the favorite
cries of the protectionists to the work
ingman is that protective tariff keeps
the lsborer busy and guarantees him high
wages. and is indispensable for fostering
our "infant industries" Statistics fur
nished by the census reports of 1880 do
not verify the former assertion, however,
if iron and steel-sbout the most heavily
protected articles in common use
are any criterion These statistics,
as collated by the Boston Post, show
that in 1890 there were 805 companies
engaged in producing iron ore, and they
produced 1911. 7O3 tons. employing to
do the work 81 1858 persons, at daily
cost of $31, 793, a very few cents over 81
per day for each person, which is less
than the average workers in any IN
protected business in the country. The
tstal number employed in the production
of pig and bar iron and steel was 49,
975, who received $1S4, 922 day, or 81 30
each, their service coming more under
the head of skilled labor than that of the
miners. Surely 81 30 a day on an aver
age for skilled labor in one of the most
protected of all our many protected in
dustries, cannot be regarded as very
munifcent compensation, especially
when, according to statistics of Labor
in Europe and America" a special re-
port on that subject, published by Ed.
ward Young, Phi. D., Chief Of the
United States Bureau of Statistics in
1875, it is stated that at that time semi
skilled labor in English rail and angle
mills received on an average from IS. to
6s. per day.
In this connection the Free Trade
League, of New York, has issued a
pamphlet, which deals very forcibly also
with the 'Infant industry plea. 1t says
Gin the first place, our infant industries
are century old. In the second, the
compiler of these statistics acknowledges
that our superior skill places the world
at disadvantage with u.s. Thirdly. our
iron ore and coal are generally situated
so close together that the former can
easily be worked with the latter.
Fourthly, while the iron and coal OF
Europe are far down below the surface,
ours are almost upon it. Filthy, our
iron and coal supplies are in close prox-
unity to the market. Sixthly. they are
adjacent to the great food producing
centre of the United States, which is
relied upon to supply half the food
eaten by the iron workers of Europe,
Therefore, without any protection at all,
it is shown, our iron masters could
afford to pay 100 per cent. more wages
to their workmen than they do, before
foreign competition would affect them. u
These are very plain statements of
facts and figures to show that protection
neither protects wages nor our infant in
dustries to the extent claimed, while the
strikes which have been In progress in
the West for some months past are de
cidedly practical proofs that it does not
keep the workingmen busy at all times
and under all circumstances. But,
as our Boston contemporary aptly
remarks, 1.-THE prOtectionists do not care
for demonstrations. When the next
Presidential campaign comes on they
will have their formulas and threats to
workingmen posted up in their furnaces,
factories and mills. just as they did in
1890, and not until the people who labor
turn their thinking to some account, stop
striking, and redress their grievances by
voting, will they make positive ad-
vance towards independence and better
circumstances.