The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1888-09-14

loudly CRYING out Don't touch the
tariff :" that the country has not
been ruined by the burdens they
condemned It to bear; ruin was
arerted because the national pros
perity was more powerful than the
national impoyerishment Even
since the Morrill, act was passed in
1861. importatioIs have increased
more rapidly than population, IN
spite Of q tariff intended to be al /
most prohibitiye. During all this
tine the American people have
been paying the full amount of
duty IN addition 10 natural prices, I
b0th on domestic productions and /
imported goods, proving that ex-
IRENE production mas rot been the |
cause Of any fall in prices
Al, but Mr.. Blaine's ignorant |
followers !. e, those who need |
educating refuse 10 regard the /
matter in that light. They have
declared, first, that high wages are /
d great benefit, and can only be Sc
cured through high protection;
second, that high wages are GER
tsinly d disadvantage. and must
therefore be offset by high protec-
ton They are ike Baron Nun
ehausen's hare, which could al
ways eluae pursuers because he
had one SET Of legs where every
good hare is supposed To grow
them and another set folded upon
Lis back When he got tired out
on one set Of pins he turned over
and nan on the other set The
I generally accepted idea is that raw
material IN the manufacture of
. goods averages about 60 per cent
II their final cost The tariff on
this material is 30 per cent, or Is
I per cent on the finished article.
Tie amount Of wages in this fin
ished article, according TO the Ia
test estimate, is also Is per cent
/ 1he manufacturer, therefore, pays
an increase in the shape of tariff
tax equal 10 the full amount of
wages IN his goods. The result
Of this nnjustifable imposition is
b diminish production. That is
all
Less than one per cent. of the
population, or 1885, laborers,
we're employed in the wooden, cot
ton, iron. steel and sugar indus
tries when the last census was
taken in 1880. Suppose an aver
age Of three persons depended on
each q these workers, still there
viii be less than 1 per cent. of the
ahole people benefited by the
increased wages" it is declared
protection gives these laborers.
II the argument that high wages
are secured IN that way could be
substituted land il cannot), the /
fact would still stand out in bold
relief that 96 per cent. of the ma
iioa i taxed for the benefit of the |
other 4 per cent Ga the produe-
lions mentioned More points
for the Republican textbook
~ 1875, when the government
was IN the hands Of Republican re-
formers. the Department of State
Published a statement to the effect /
that he sgsrnge American work
man performs from one and a half
b. twice as much work in day as
the average European workman"
At this 3oficial" rate the Ameri- |
can workman is paid al least %
4 Der cent less than his brother
across the seas. For, see here,
,, -, 5s5 American workman pro-
duoe manufactured articles valued
at =. 369. 579,l 9l, equal TO sI965
per worker, while the English av-
erage WAS only $50 per worker.
Thus tie republican official state
meut e eorroborated But that
statement was issued for a purpose
The purpose failed Now the
same parties who issued il declare
the government must protect
the manufacturer because he pays
y per cent more wages than the
foreign manufacture" "a vile
falsebood, for, according to their
own official document American
labor Is really 30 per cent. cheaper
than labor abroad.
While the late President Arthur
was in power the department of
state also published the fact that
English cotton operatives were re-
oeiTing s25I a year for ffty-six
hours Of labor per week. The
last census shows that American
cotton workers only received s2I4
per annum, while giving sixty-six
hours Of labor a week Thus the
American reeeiyeds7 less pay,
though giving IS per cent more in
work and paying 20 per cent more
. IN cost Of living. for rent, etc.
Similar protective benefits