The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1884-03-20
WAGE WORKERS.
The Reduction Of Wages Under Hisl, FRO
tcctiye Tariff Duties.
fphfladeIphia Record


lPhiladclphia Record
In many Of the protected industries
the reduction Of wages is still going on,
while il is observed that there Is no
corresponding reduction Of the wages
Of skilled workmen who are indebted
to the tariff for nothing but burdens.
In aportion Of the anthracite coal re-
gions the wages have been cut down to
what the miners describe as starya-
ton rate. Since the beginning Of tue
year the reduction of wages OF factory
hands in New England has varied from
10 to ID per cent. Bradstree''s review,
quoted III the Rcco1i not many DAYS
ago, shows that in the rolling mills, the
steel works, ard tho nail factories Of
the East an almost general reduction
has taken place in the rates Of WAGES,
while there has been a partial reduction
of the WAGES in these Industries in the
West. While there has been large
increase in tho Matchmaking capacity, a
general strike against reduced wages
prevails in the nail works Of New In
gland. In the window-glass trade pro-
duction has been resumed after q long
strike, and will continue until over
supply induces another reduction of
wages or another strike. In other pro-
tectcd industries t.cre has been little
variation from the downward tendency
in wages. These reductions Of wages,
with strikes and loss Of employment in
many quarters, il need not be said have
been accompanied by much distress
among working people.
In connection with this condition in
the field Of protected industry it is
noted that greater reductions Of wages
have taken place in the East than in
the West The manufacturers Of the
East are on the outer edge of the home
market, while the tariff closes tho for
eign markets to them, and they arc
therefore the first to feel the effects of
over-production. Cost of freight does
not permit them to take their products
far inland before they are met by the
competition Of the West, and cos. Of
raw materials through the tariff will
not let their products out. They are
thus between two fires. and when the
crisis Of over-production comes they
must meet it with reduction OF wages.
Hence removal Of the heavy taxes OH
the raw materials of industry Is fast be.
coming crying necessity with the
manufacturers as well as the working
men OF the East. and all the sophistries
of protection will not silence it. With
busy manufactures in the rear to sup
ply the home market, il is of small adj
vantage to dwell on the ocean front
when blind Legislative policy will not
permit the tceming products Of East
ern skill and industry to reach the mar
kets Of the world.
Another significant fact in this re-
duction Of wages is that it has not
affected III the least the earnings Of the
skilled worLingmcn WHO are outside Of
the so-cllled pro ectcd industries.
The carpenters, blacksmi,hs, masons,
plastcrcrs, anil many other guilds Of
skilled mechanics have suffered no los
of WAGES, hut, on the contrary, some Of
them are moving for MI advance III or
der to plosect themselves against the
enhanced cost OF the accessories of liv-
ing imposed unon them by the tariff.
Protectionists noisilv assert that their
wonderful system maintains the wages
Of labor, and vet it can not keep up the
wages of that labor which is made its
especial care. by what sophistrv will
it b, pre- ended that q system Which
cannot prevent the wages Of ironwork-
ers, nailmakcrs, coal miners, glass;
blowers, an.l the hand III cotton fac.
tories from declining 10 starvation
rates, is the protecting angel that keeps
mp the wages Of stonemasons, carpcn-
tiers, b,acksmiths, butchers, and bakers ?
II general financial and industrious
cries like that Of 1857 or 1873, rcduc-
tons Of wage, loss Of employment, and
depression are experienced III oil indus
tories and nearly all pursuits. But in
this partial disturbance of trade the de-
precision runs along certain line Of in
austriei that are under the protection
of high rates Of duty, while outside Of
th,s line there are no signs of stagna-
ton or nea~iness. How do the Pro-
tect;onist champions account for the
singular phenomenon? In the condi-
ton O. over supply c.used by the un-
healthy tariff stimulus the workingmen
in the protected industries are the chief
sufferers, and yet it is in their behoof
that this benevolent system was devised
The manufacturers can reduce wages,
and thus obtain their commodities at
cheaper rates, while waiting for rise
in the market. Whatever may become
Of their laborers, they at least are pro-
tected to considerable extent in
market in which scarcity as we'll
as overproduction is caused by law, if
they can only wait until demand over
takes supply. But the workingmen,
who cannot wait for better market,
must sell their labor for what it will
bring, or starve. Ii they strike, with
the market glutted with products un-
der tho tariifstimulus, they are in many
instances doing what their employers
desire. While the strike continues,
production is diminished, and the tariff
ut the same time protects the manufactr
urers from competition. In this situa-
ton the workingmen, the protected"
workingmen, lave the alternative oil
waiting without employment until an
other demand springs up, or Of going
to work at the reduced wages, unless
in the meantime their employers send
abroad and secure an ample supply Of
cheap labor.
The workingmcn Of this country will
not always be under tie glamour of q
false system, which plumbers and de.
grades them with the hollow pretence
Of atiording them protection.
The Howl OF the GOldites.
1t was to be expected that the decis
49,, IS <ln C,,,,rnn,a Comet SAaiv n