Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-07-27
country over any European country
The same authority quoted above says

Z
81 per per cent higher there than in
Australia; 81 per cent higher than in
the United Kingdom, 162 per cent
higher than in Germany, and 205 pei
cent higher than in France Great
Britain IN ITS TURN shows a rate OF
wages higher by AZ per cent than that
of Germany and 65 per cent than that
of France"
! If you remember that Great Britain
enjoys free trade and Germany and
France high tariffs, doesn't it begin tc
look as as if the night were quite gone
and the growing of the tariff chicken
superfiuous
! 18th Question. Cannot the American labore
J buy more of the necessaries and comforts of life
with his wages, than the laborer of any European
! country can purchase with his earnings"
| Answer. The only answer to this
| question that l have seen is found il
the Report of the Massachusetts Blu,
reau of Statistics and Labor for 1885
The comparison there made is between
the earnings and expenses Of family
of five workers, including children, in
Massachusetts and Great Britain
Earnings in Mass sSs3 Al Earning, in G. Br s5l7 Al
Expenses " 754 ~ Expenses " " sos g.
Savings of S per --- Savings of per-
sons in Mass. 40 05 sons in CIR. Br. L
Where are the blessings of tariff
taxes? Are they summed up in $40 a
year divided among a family of five
workers We have seen that wages
are not determined by a system of
taxation. hence the burden of our tar
if taxes in this instance is shown by
the difference in expenses
Expenses of family in Mass. ~
" :" - Great Brita1n.........- sos IS
Leaving as the burden of our tariff taxes. 246 o.
Let us test the correctness of this
result in another way. Our average
tariff at present is trife over AZ per
cent. Let us add AZ per cent. to the
expenses of the family in Great Brit
ain and we get $747.97 or an amount
which is practically identical with the
expenses of the family in Massachu-
sets. Can you longer believe that
high wages are the result of high tar
iff-and can you longer deny that
tariff taxes shamefully rob the people
of their earnings?
4th Question. Do you believe that the wonder
ful development and prosperity of this country
during the last quarter of century has been in
any degree stimulated by the protective tariffs
that have been maintained?
Answer | believe with the firmness
of a personal conviction that our de-
velopment and prosperity during the
last quarter of a century have been
UNNECESSARILY discouraged and re-
tarded by our system of protective
tariffs. | might cite many things
which would sustain this belief, but |
am not engaged in controversy. l am
answering your questions. Mere con-
trOyersy conyinceS no one, and | have
no taste or time for a mere exchange
of words in debate or dispute. have
answered your question by stating my
positive belief.
9th Question. If not, what prevented the com
ing Oh this prosperity and development during
the seventy -tve years of our national life pre-
ceding the war?
Answer. Our prosperity and de
velopment bntween 1850 and 1866
were at Il greater rate than during any
period of our national life. Hence it is
clear that whatever preventing cause
there may have been did not begin to
operate till 1860, or about the time
high tariff went into effect. Here are
the facts of the case:
Between 1850 and 1860 our exports increased
27O per cent
Between 1870 and 1880 our exports increased
200 per cent
| do not cite the period 1860 to 1870
for the obvious reason that it would
be unfair as our exports were seriously
reduced during the war. And | desire
to avoid citing single fact that is
unfair, or adding one word that is
fallaciouS. The decennial rate of in
crease in the value of our manufac-
tured products shows the same thing.
The value of our manufactured pro-
ducts increased IS per cent. between
1850 and 1S6O-SO per cent between
1860 and 1S70-and only 50 per cent.
between 1870 and 1880.
18th Question. lis there not greater per cent
OF wealth possessed by the wage earners of
America than by the same class in any European
country ?"
l wish again to avoid any possibility
of objection in answering the seventh
and last question. | shall avoid coun-
tries having the same system of tax
alton as we have.
The per capita wealth in Great
Britain is S1245; in Holland $1,000; in
the United States $500. But this does
not represent the extent of the in
equality. Our individual fortunes are
the largest the world has ever seen.
and the possessors of these fortu mes
are more numerous than in any coun-
try in the world. This fact would
still further increase the difference
shown above, and to our disadvantage
The real difference would show that
our wage workers, while they earn
the highest wages in the world
are still kept poor,-poorer than those
of the same class " in more than one
European country.
l have now answered the questions
you desired me to answer. In another
column of the same issue You ask
another question regarding an industry
with which l am connected. You say
the question needs no answer. But you
then proceed to answer it. You may
remember that in a former issue you
made the following statement regard
ing the relation of this industry to the
tariff
AS a manufacturer of oxide Mr.. Jones can
" afford N IL, ariH rF,N,,,