The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-10-11
SOME POINTS WORTH CONSIDER
mo,

We are told now every day with re-
markable pefaistency, that we want
high protective tariff 10 protect labor
ihu Republican argument ~ that The
tariff question In a question OF wages.
That q high tariff means high wages,
ana u low tarlit low wages.
Has anybody ever proved this, any
where by atatlsticsY Not that We have
ever heard OF,
Ihis 10 not an untested theory, mind
you, but we have had the highest tariff
ever known for over quarter OF q
century. Have wages ever increased,
IN the mean tlmey No, they have
ateaaily declined.
Well, II we have had q high protec'
tive tariff for over 20 years, and wages
nave been steadily on the decline, what
ID your theory good for, that q high
larll protects laborY
ltis absolutely good for nothing
Ia iact II is u sham, n false pretensei
4 dishonest aubtertuge, and ought not
70 fool anybody.
DO you ask why o protective tariff
fails TO keep up wages. We VIII tell
you. Wages are regulated by The law
of supply and demand
Whllu Il tariff may raise the value OF
manufactured article, because the
article 10 protected against foreign
competition, the labor that enters into
the article Is not protected, beCaua Ia
Dor Is not protected by u tHrill, There
'ls absolute Iree trade IN labor. Manu-
factulera, who desire ~ fix the price OF
labor below the standard fixed by labor
organizations, have always u0ne 30. If
the labOfers 60 on q stnke, the manu-
lacturers have filed theif places with
imported laborers. We are not discuss
lnp II theory now but actual practice.
For instance, we have In this Congress
lounl District very large manufacturers
of pottery wares Qn East LIVERPOOL.
This Is u highlyprolected industry The
average per cent, OF protection is over
30 per cent, These pottery manuiactur.
ers have grown very rich. Many OF
them are millionaires, Pottery Is an
article Of universal consumption, The
whole American people are now being
taxed TO enrich inOrdinately Il few pot
lery manufacturers. IL rs done on the
ieory that the pottery manufacturers
can pay better wages 10 their workmen.
Now suppose we show that the work.
men IN the highly protected potteries
Of East Liverpool get no more wages
than men working In any other class Of
skilled work suppose we show that
carpenters, brickllyers and blacksmiths
IN East Liverpool, working side by side
with the protected p0tteries, get as
much wages, and even more, than the
pottery workers. That knocks out
your theory that protection protects
labor.
Tne real facts are that the workmen
In East Liverpool poIteries have had
their wages reduced 40 per cent. When
these laborers went on astrise TO main
tain wages, the manufacturers let them
20 out to starve, and imported fol eign
laborers TO take their places, az reduced
wages. This rs not theory. This Is the
actual demonstration Of experience.
We can show the same Identical ex-
perience In the iron industry, In the
steel industry, and In the iron ore indus
try; In fact In every protected
industry.
The total labor cost in a ton of Amer.
lean steel rails Is about $3.50. The tariff
bonus is Sl7. Now the Democratic
tariff, fixed In the Mills bill Is Sll u ton.
This is certainly high enough to pro-
tect both the manufacturer and the
laborer, and leave Q handsome profit TO
the manufacturer. ltisnot high enough,
however, to allow the Trust sharks TO
form q pool and force up prices beyond
Il certain point.
The whole schedule of the Mills bill
is thoroughly protective TO both the Ia.
borer and manufacturer, but IL IS
framed to prevent the organization Of
trusts, TO control the market In the in
terest Of high prices and monopoly.
The tariff schedule proposed by the
Democratic party Is in the interest Of
labor because II proposes to cheaper
necessaries Of life and articles of uni
versal consumption. IL is also Of real
substantial benefit 10 all our miscella-
neous manufactures, because II takes the
tariff tax of raw material. With the
tax off raw material, and off the
necessaries Of life the American
manufacturer can secure an enlarged
market for his products, which means
increased production, and more work
and steady employment for the Amer
lean artisan and mechanic.
This is the true theory of tariff tax;
and the only theory that can stand the
test Of time and actual experience.
This is the theory Of the best thought
Of the English speaking race to-day
This Is the theory that will be adopted
In the coming election.
The drift OF all intelligent thought Is
In this direction,