The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-28
THE NORWEGIAN AND THE TARIFF.

THE NORWEGIAN AND THE TARIFF.
Quite an interesting sketch from the pen Of
some unknown mechanic appeared in a re-
cent issue of the indianapolis News. The
argument seemed to be that the workingmen
are in favor of free trade because it will
| England, man can buy twice, or more than
twice, as much for his 81 of wages as he can
for his 81 of wages here. The first assump-
ton is, we believe, like an inverted pyramid.
an immense mass of assertion standing upon
an exceeding small point of fact. 1t would
be no trouble to cite hundreds of petitions
that have been sent to Congress from hun
dreds of thousands of workingmen asking
and demanding a protective tariff. 1t is diff
| fcult to find a single intelligent mechanic or
laboring man who favors free trade. Charles
H. Fitch, of New Haven, Conn, says:
american protection has given the laborer
higher intelligence and self-assertive power,
has varied his comforts and has often doubled,
trebled, quadrupled, or more, the capability
| of a man to produce actual wealth."
William A. A. Carsey, builder, of New
York, and representing the Laborers Union,
made the following statement to the Tariff
Commission, in giving facts:
~ That to develop our own resources,
make our own exchanges, and fill our own
| markets, would employ all the energies of
| our people, and would be better and more
profitable trade than that with pauper ma
| tons
(2) That to eat our own food and manu-
| facture our own goods at any standard of
cost or rate of exchange is wiser and better
| policy than to employ others to make our
| goods and eat our food for us, unless we wish
| to build up an idle aristocracy, with an idle,
pauper people Therefore, we ask tariff
on all goods materials that can
| be produced or made in this country. not as
| a means CT revenue, but as policy to pro-
tect and employ American labor and develop
| the resources CT the nation, and high enough
to allow a fair profit to the American manu-
| facturer and producer on his capital invested,
after paying as high a wage as is required to
keep up to high standard the American
| laborer."
Mr. Frank Purcell, representing the indie
pendent Labor party, of New York city, de-
clared that there were 100000 men, women
and children at work in the manufacturing
| industries of that city, dependent for the
means of life on the welfare and protection
of those industries, and representing a labor
and product value of 81 ,OOO, 900, 900 per an
mum, and said:
eve ask you, what care we for govern
| ment or its revenues, or what benefit would
it be to our class, if, by free-trade policy,
our industries we're destroyed and we were
idle tramps upon the streets2'
There is a problem clearly put, which no
free trader can solve II is evident that if the
factory goes to ruin, the factory hands must
go to beggary and starvation But we sup
pose able writers on free trade might say:
eve will be willing TO see the manufacturer
broken up. his hands dismissed, their
children taken from school and made to
drudge, if only there is a possibility mot a
certainty of our being able to buy few
articles of British manufacture little
cheaper than we can now" Such is the doc
trine they advocate. If they do not hold
this view. then they must argue thus: First,
reduce the tariff and you reduce the manu-
facturers' profits; second, when the n>snufac-
turer makes less profit then he will pay
higher wages third. therefore, reduction
in the tariff which will break up the manu-
facturer will cause him to pay his employees
better wages than he does now" If this is
good reasoning then the free trader has at
least some show of right on his side.
| What are the facts as to wages? The sta
tistics will show that skilled laborers in the
manufactures get in per cents here more
than in England, as follows;
Workmen in glass from so to go per cent
more.
| Workmen In alkalis 100 per cent. more.
Workmen in albums 100 per cent more.
Wokmen in earthenware from 100 to 1876 per
cent more.
To change to weekly wages: