Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-07-28
Protection VS.. Free Trade.
WHAr MANUFACTURER Has LEARNED IN
SCOTLAND.

Ex-Governor Person c. Cheney, the well
known Manchester, N, H., paper manufac-
turer, writes home from Scotland to his
brother, the editor of the Lebanon, n. IL
Free Press, as follows:
have said to you and to many others that
as a paper manufacturer, | did not care
whether the dnty of Is per cent was removed
by Congress or not. | shall not repeat that
statement. On the contrary | think that if
il was not for this Ii per cent duty our mar
ket would be filled with paper from France,
England, Scotland and Germany. | say this,
for | see no reason in the world to prevent
it. Norway and Sweden furnish to England,
Scotland and France wood pulp mt less
price than orr pulp manufacturers sell it for.
Rags of all kinds, cotton waste and bagging
are all here in abundance and shipped in
large quantities to our country; and while
these are duty free the manufacturer here
saves the freight and has this advantage.
The chemicals we use are mostly made here
and are no small item in the interest of the
foreign manufacturer. But saving nothing
about the cost OF the original plant, which is
one third less here than in the nited States
we come to the striking and appalling
item of labor. For instance. will take our
$4,000 We pay for superintendent and
bookkeeping three times as much as is usually
paid here. We pay our machine tenders
81 80 per day the price here is SIPS, some
times they make Sl37 where a stipulated
number of pounds is made to a machine.
Engineers on our pay roll receive 81 per day.
while here 81 is common price. Other
help, including women, we pay from - cents
TO 81. IS per day. while here they receive
from % to 81 cents per day. Again, they use
womens help to do the work that men ought
TO do, which, of course lessons the cost.
You will see from the items given you that
il IL safe to say that We pay fully a. much
again tor our labor as the foreign manufac-
turer. In such grades of paper as we make
the item of labor exceeds one cent per pound
of the cost, or from ~ to % per cent of the
selling cost of the paper II refer more partic.
ularly TO news or card mindless, so that this
protection is almost wholly in the interest of
the people employed. Without it large re-
duction in prices would necessarily follow.
suppose what is true of paper is true of most
other industries, and If the price of labor in
our country should be reduced one third, it
would bring ruin, terror, and dsmay TO us
all, for il would really take SO much from
the great purchasing power in our home mar
ket, which is and should continue to DE, our
main reliance Tor our manufactured products
If We would keep y good home market for
our goods we must aim to keep up the price
OF labor as high as possible.
asked one manufacturer in Scotlund why
il was that he could get labor for one halt
what | was paying for the same work. HIS
reply WAS that dollar went further here than
il did with us. Does it." | asked. $50 far
as il relates TO the actual necessity of your
workmen? Are we not shipping you constantly
-four, wheat corn, beef. pork, lard, apples,
and many other things in this line. and don't
we furnish our workmen with as cheap pota-
toes, salt, milk, butter, cheese, tea and cof-
feeg You charge a duty in your 'free-trsde
country of - cents pound on tea. ) cents
pound on coffee, and cent on bacon,
while we have no duty on either. The sd-
vantage would seem to be with u.s." "Well,
he said 'our fuel and house rent are lower. "
POSSIBLY" said, ''that may be so. What
do you pay for coslg" Five dollars aud a
half per ton" But your coal is not quite
equal to ours in the amount of heat 1t gives,
and we can buy in large quantities at this
price, so the fuel must be counted out. "What
do your operatives pay for renty" inquired.
''Twenty dollars to $40 for three rooms. -
''well," said, II have several tenemepts
that do not charge NV tenants over S25 a
year for, SO the advantage still seems to be with
us" He finally said The fact is, our
workmen do not require so much and are not
accustomed TO living so well as yours do -
SNOW" | said, "your answer is complete and
satisfactory. This is Just the case. Our
wor&meu are a part of our great Republic,
so closely interviewer with its interests that
it is hard to draw the dividing line between
them aud the manufacturer. They fill places
of responsibility in our churches, our school: