The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-11-06

liz In n llONdu lIllDO IN Il.
for us all to look well to our position as affecting
| the ultimate result? am not actuated by spirit
of captiousness and dogmatism, but daily
among the toilers, ard my heart bleeds for them,
especially for the little children operatives who
Are weeping in the paytme of the others,
In this country of the free"
and believe there is form of slavery yet to wipe
out and work for soldiers, old and young, yet to do
j. HARRISON MILLS, Denver. Colo, Oct. Is.
Our correspondent states much that is I'M
deniably true, and states it very well. But his
exceptions to our editorial are not well taken
and on certain material facts he puts an aspect
that the truth will not warrant.
| In the first place, it is, as he says, the tend
ency to reduce the wages Of workingmen to
the lowest point upon which they will consent
| to live. This is not peculiar to this country,
but is everywhere and at all times the same.
The manufacturing employer always has
| tried to get men to work for him for the lowest
possible wages, and he always will. 1t is
natural that he should. We must expect him
to continually strive to buy his labor cheaper,
just as ne continually strives to buy his raw
material cheaper and to extend the sale of his
goods He is endeavoring all the time to pro-
duce goods cheaper than his rivals in the same
business, and as all are in the same race, they
are in effect in combination to reduce the price
of wages to the lowest limit. They are aided
in doing this by the fact that in all countries
workingmen increase faster than does the
amount of employment, and so everywhere, as
rule, there are more men offering to work
than are needed and the employers take adj
vantage of this surplusage to reduce wages.
Our correspondent speaks as if he had but
recently discovered that this is "a question as
serious as any that ever called q people to
arms" We can assure him that SO far from
being new, it is nearly the oldest and gravest
question in social economy. Ever since men
have been organized into society the division
of the proceeds of labor has been the most
fruitful source of troubles, contentious, revo!u-
tions and wars, and it will continue to be
fought over as long as men dwell together and
are reciprocally dependent. Twenty-Five hun
dred years ago Isaiah wrote:
The hearts Of all those who work for hire are sad.
And $500 years in the future some writer
will be saying the same thing All that can
DO hoped for is some method that will mitigate
the trouble; no human system can ever be ex-
pected which will infallibly give every man
who works such return as he deems sufficient
for the wants of himself and family.
What we are trying to do in this country
and what is the principal object of protective
tariff, is to so arrange our farming and agricul-
tural systems that they shall be recprocally
helpful in providing work, food clothing,
homes, and the comforts of life for all our omn
people. Just now we are raising much more
food than our people can consume, and are COM
PEELED to send across the ocean at great expense
to find buyers. We are also not making in many
lines as many goods as our people need. and are
consequently compelled to buy several hun
dred million dollars worth year in Europe,
and bring them across the ocean at great ex-
pense. We hold that the expense of taking
our wheat and meat 1900 miles to market is
unnecessary, and the cost Of carrying manufac-
tured goods the same distance equally so. If
the wheat growers and the manufacturer are
brought together in this country both will
have more of each others goods than they no,y
have, consequently both viii be much moro
comfortable and prosperous.
Rat IN
Messrs. Clark & Co. do not make merit of
keeping their employees wages up" because
there is no merit to them in it. They, like all
other employers,-be they farmers or mill own
ers,-pay just little as they can get labor for.
They pay much better wages to their employees
at their factories in Newark than to those in
Paisley, because they cannot help themselves
because they cannot hire the same grade of
workmen on this side of the Atlantic for the
wages paid on the other. This is because the
standard Of comfort required by the American
his fellow in Scotland.
Oar correspondent flies in the face of
the facts and common sense when he
states that the expenses of living in Scot
land are SO much less than in New
Jersey that the difference in wages is equal
lied. Except some kinds of clothing the Scotch
workingman must pay higher for nearly every
thing needed for tho support of his family
Food must be very much higher than in this
country, or else it would not pay to ship enor-
nous quantities of wheat, flour, corn, pork,
beef, lard, cheese, fruit, ETC., over there for
purchase and consumption. Kerosene must be
| higher, as they buy hundreds of millions of
gallons every year. Rents for the same class of
houses must be very much higher because
every species of landed property is vastly more
valuable than in this country
| Our correspondent asks, "Where is the phi
| losophy of the suggestion 10 import the Paisley
| workers." 1t is this, our friend: Our own
are not yet numerous enough to produce all
the thread our people need. Consequently we
have to buy several millions dollars worth each
year from the Paisley manufacturers. Inas-
much we have to buy their products it were
much better to have them over here where they
| yyouId haya To buy orr farm nroducts FROM