The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-10-31
INDIANA AND THE TARIFF.
EXPERIENCE OF A HUNDRED YEARS.
The Fallncy OF the Home Market Theory
Exposed-Earnings of Agricultural
LabOrers in England-How the
Farmer is 'fProtected.'

| European countries consume all of their
own farm products and import largely
from other countries. The European
agriculturist therefore sells his product
in competition with products on which
| the cost of transportation, commissions
for handling, and profits of middle-men
are imposed. II we take England for ex-
ample we find that agricultural wages
there are very much lower than with us,
and yet our farm products sell there, with
all cost of transportation on them, in COM
petition with their product, and the
prices there fix our home prices. Let me
call your attention to the following &C
count of the condition of the English
agricultural laborers from the pen of John
L. Heaton, protectionist, which was
published in the indianapolis Journal of
Sept. so, of this year:
4@s
Upon the question of agricultural wages-ad-
mittedly difficult one to get at, owing TO local
differences will ask the readers OF the Jour
nal to accept no authority but the highest, and
the highest authority is, of course, Mr.. Joseph
Arch, whose grand work in organizing field la
dition has made his name a household word
the world over. With this plain, strong En-
glishman had the pleasure of talking just a
week ago to-day. Here is a portion of the con-
versation:
'.How do farm laborers' wages co mpare with
those of ten years ago"
"They are higher now"
"And how about six years agoY'
Al l.. L
are now. A fair average of the present wage
for all England is S2.67 or 1921. In some
counties it may run as high as $40 and in
others as low as S2.1S. Women work in the
field much less than they used"
"The laborers' cottages are usually two rooms
each, are they not?'
Usually two rooms. There are still great
many one-room houses left though have torn
down good many, aud TO some extent three
room houses are now being built. Where there
is but one room it is, of course. Kitchen dining
room and bedroom for the entire family" In
discussing remedies for the bad condition of
the farm-w orker. Mr.. Arch said that he strong
ly favored an extended system of small allOt-
ments of land to them at rates not higher than
those paid by farmers At present if agri-
cultural laborer asked for an allotment under
the useless makeshift act passed by par
lament he must pay fI or 60 rent per acre
for it, where ii would cost the farrser only Fl.
If the farm laborers had each a few
acres, two or three or four, they could
still devote the greater part OF the year to
other labor When their little harvest was
gathered, their potatoes, thelr barley and
beans to feed their bacon, they would be in
better shape for winter than now. The wife,
too, If she were enterprising, could market each
week some eggs, vegetables or poultry, and the
family could pay tleIr rent and grocery bills IN
cash instead OF having each weeks earnings
spoken for in advance, every penny OF il, at the
grOcerS' and the bakers. Suppose, said Mr..
Arch "the twelve or thirteen men whom
farmer may hire TO be placed in this altered
condition; then when toward winter the farmer
says, L shan't give you but Sis this win
ter.'"-
''Is that common, Mr. Arch?"
"In this country that's the policy, sir" re-
piled Mr.. Arch, with great vigOr. Continuing
he sand: Suppose the farmer to say that, then
the men would be in a position to reply, Then
| shan't work for you Now they say to them
selves, If / go, where shall | find work? God
help me, must take the S2.1S.'"
You see, therefore, that with home
market far better than we could get by a
century of the highest protection the con-
dItion of the agricultural labOrer is very
bad, and this is a necessary result OF the
home market. To increase your home
market you must increase the population
OF the country. An increase OF popula-
tion increases the value OF farm lands and
their rental price, and makes farming less
profitable in proportion to the capital in
vested. In this TACT lies the fallacy OF the
argument.
Turning to official figures we find the
prices of agricultural laborers in England
per week according TO the state depart
ment report of 1881 ranging as follows:
Gloucester without board), $3.50 for
twelve hours per day in summer to 1921
for nine hours per day in winter; Wilt
shire and Dorsetshire without board),
1921 for ten hours in summer to S2.67 for
nine hours in winter; vicinity of Hall
with board), Sl.40; vicinity OF Liverpool
without bOard), 81; Lancashire without
board). S4.3S; vicinity of Southampton
without board), $40; Stafordshire
without board), S4.3S or with board)
S2.l5. OF course the protectionists will
claim that this rate of 60 cents day, or
such a matter, without board is due TO
''free-trade" in England. We will, there
fore, accommodate him by stepping over
to Germany, which has a protective
tariff, thanks TO Bismarck. designed
for the protection OF agricultural prod
ucts as well as manufactures. Agricultural
wages there average per day as follows:
East Prussia, twelve hours) % cents;
West Prussia, eleven hours SO cents;
Pomerania, twelve hours As cents; Sile-
STA, twelve hours) 35 cents Hesse- Nassau,
AZ cents; Alsace-Lorraine, 10 cents. The
variation is due chiefly to the various Gus
toms of the provinces as 10 furnishing GER
tain meals, drink, wood, pasturage, etc
| The average, however, considering all ac-
| cessories, is considerably lower than in
England. In Italy, which is protected"
still more, agricultural wages are still
lower. Manifestly then a home market
does not increase agricultural wages.
But the protectionist has another argu-
ment. He informs you that the farmer is
protected by the tariff as well as other peo-
pie. He points out the fact that there is
a tariff tax OF 20 cents per bushel on
wheat, 10 cents per bushel on corn, oats,
barley and rye, 10 cents per bushel on po-
tatoes, and 3 per ton on hay. That is
very true; but as we export these articles,
and as the home price is governed by the
price in the foreign market, when they
compete with the farm products OF the
world this tariff cannot under ordinary
circumstances have the slightest effect on
the price of these articles. l have several
times inquired of protectionists what ben
eft these duties were to the farmer, and
the answer was that if they were removed
the country would be flooded with the
farm products OF the pauper labor of Can
ada. The same argument is used by
David Ii. Mason and other protection