The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-03-18
Puzzle.


Our contemporary the Charleston Ne,os
and Courier Is recognized rs high authority
by the Revenue Reiormers. They quote
Its articles freely, and endorse them unre-
servedly. We have before US one OF them
the burden OF which is that skilled
laborer Is better paid in free-tra9c England
than skilled laborcr In protection America.
We let our contemporary state In its own
words the conclusion Il has reached. IL
says:
"Thus 10 appears that the skilled laborer
In the Lehigh Valley saves 1921 OF his
Sl0 per week. while his fellow-workman
at Bristol, England, saves s3.74a OF mis- ~
per week."
Conceding that conclusion to be correct,
we are bound to admit that the skilled Ia
borer Of England Is so much better cir
cumstanced than the skilled laborer OF the
United States that IL would be TO the In
terest Of the latter to migrate to England.
Inasmuch as the Englishman lives as well
as the American and yet saves more, 1t fol-
lows that the former Is not merely better
circumstance than the latter, but much
better; for not only can be save more mo-
ney than his American competitor, but the
money thus saved will buy dollar for dol
lar more OF the comforts and necessaries OF
life than the money saved by the American.
Unfortunately for our contemporaries
argument, he did not stop when he had
come to the conclusion formulated in the
words which we have quoted above. On
the contrary, he went on and drew other
conclusions. Among them is the follow
ing:
making every necessary allowance for
variation in rates, Ii Is evident that the
boosted superiority OF the American work
ingman is not maintained by the present
enormous tariff. Indeed, the tariff tends
10 reduce American labor TO the tepel Of
E,tr0pedn labor by inducing foreign work
ingmen 10 come here and relieve the labor
market OF other countries while Cutting
our own"
There's the puzzle. After demonstrating
to its own satisfaction that the skilled Ia
borer OF England was really receiving
higher wages than the skilled laborer OF
this country, the Ne,oS and Courier forgot
itself and came out with the candid admis-
sion that the "level Of European labor" is
below the level OF American labor. One
of two things must be true: Either the
skilled laborer gets better paid in this
country than in Ell gland. or else there can
be no such thing feared as producing
American labor 10 the level Of European
labor"
But what is il that "teuds to reduce
American labor to the level of European
labor"? It il the tariff. How? Surely
not by reducing the wages OF labor. No
Englishman could be induced to come here
by the prospect Of receiving lower wages.
Nobody will venture 10 make such pro-
position as that. 1t follows inevitably that
the foreign laborer must be tempted hither
by the higher prices which prevail in this
"land of the free and the home Of the
brave" And what room is there for ar
gument upon this point, when thousands
and tens OF thousands and hun 1reds OF
thousands Of workingmen are coming
from Europe to this country every yearf
Is it conceivable that they come hither to
get lower wages! Is there any other
country in the world so prosperous as this,
taking all things together? Any other
where labor is so well rewardedY