Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-08-09
HENRY GEORGE
Gives Some Sound Advice to
Workingmen.
Protection Does Not In
crease Wages.
When VIII the American Laborsr
Cease Paying Tribute to
Monopolissf

u tAbor ~ VIII cOAmAuu IN eAcutuBu. ~ lt1aA
exactly. therefore, the effect Of protective
tariff Is to increase thsamount Of labor Cor which
esrtain commadities viii exchange. Hence It
reduces the value Of labor just as II increases
| the vaIde Of commodities.
Imagine tariE that prevented the coming In
Of Iaborsrs but placed no restriction on The
coming in Of commodities. Would those who
| have commodities to sell deem such tariff sor
| their benefit Yet to say this would be ~
| reasonable a. 10 say that tariff upoa commod-
ities is for the benefit Of those who have labor to
| sell.
It is not true that the products Of lower priced
labor will drive the products Of higher priced
labor out Of uny market In which they can Be
freely sold, inees Is We have already seen. low
and u 10 the comparative mot the absolute, cost
Of production that determines exchanges. And
we have but 10 look around to see that even In
the same occupation, wages paid for labor
wross products sell freely together, are gen
orally higher in large cities than la smail tswns
IN some districts than in others.
It il true thas there 10 q constant tendency Of
all wages TO q eommon level and that this tend
ency arises from competition. But this compe-
titiou Is not the competitioa Of the goods
market; ID ~ the competition Of the labor mar
ket. The differences between the wages paid
tuG NAo0uItAOo " Noo0u VIA 1clA lfcGty tu tho
same market eann0s arise from checks on
the competition Of gsods for sale; but
I m1nifestiY arises from checks on the CON-
Il petition Of labor for employment. Az
the competition Of labor varies between en-
plsyment and employment or between place
ing being greater in large cities than in small
towns, the higher wages In the one are not more
attractive than the lower wages In the other,
while tha differing rates Of wages In different
districts are mSuifestiy maintained by the in
ertia and friction which retaFd the dow OF popu-
lstion, or by causes, physical or social. which
produce differences in the intensity Of e0ripeti-
tion in the labor market
Trades unions, by checking the competition
OF labor, have considerably raised wages Ia many
occupations, and have even brought about df-
fsrsucss between the wages Of union and nom
limits the possibility Of thus rzising wagcs Is
clearly NOT the free sale Of commodities but the
difficulty Of restricting the competitions Of labor.
Il These facts show that what American work
men have to fear il not the sale In our goods
marketof the pfeductso OF s'eheap foreign labor"
bat the tRansfsrsnee 10 our labor market Of that
lnhos itself Under the conditions existing over
the greater part OF the civiiized world, the
| minimum OF wages 10 fixed By what
ecsaomista call standard OF eeHifort''-
that il to say, the poorer the mode
OF life 10 which the laboFefs are accustomed the
1 AOWg Wgf Sit tnE WG9U3 anu tAS AISotGE u tucu
ability 10 compel reductions in any lsbor mas.
ket they enter. What. then, shall we say Of
that sort Of "protectiou of American werkina-
meas which, while imposing duties upon goods.
under the pfetsnse that they are made By
spsaper hbsr, = freely admits the .paHPer h.
borsF's himself
The incoming ee the products Of eheap labor
is very different thing ffcm the incoming Of
cheap labor. The effect Of the one il upon the
| production Of wealth, increasing the aggregate
amount to be distributed; the effect Of the other
ID upon the distribution Of wealth, deersasing
the propertioa which goes % he working classes.
We might permit the free importation ef Chinese
!, eommedities without in the slighest degree sf-
, feeting wages; bat, under our present eondi-
tioaa. the free immigration Of Chinese Iabofefs
I woald lessen wages
Ill Let a. imagine under the general condition Of
! modern civilization one country ot compare
/ tivelY high Eages and another country sf com
/ parstisely low wages. Let ~ in imagination
hiring thsse eoautFies side BY side, separating
! l thsm only bTa wall which permits the free
, | trsasmission Of commodities hat 10 impzssabls
I for hnman beiags Can We imagine asprotsc-
tieaist nstions require, that The high wsgs coan-
try woald do Ill the importing aad the Iew wage
country all the exporting, until the demand for
labor 30 lesaane6 Id the one country tAat wagsa
: would fall to the level Of ths otksrf TAat
/ would be to imagine that the former country
1 would 60 ON pushing its commodities through
n II
I | the enc country weuld expsFt 10 more than II
got return for, and the other could import nc
| more than 1t gave return fer. What would 60
on between the two countries 10 the exchange Of
their respective productions, and, a. previously
L pointed out. what commodities passed each way
| II this exchange weuld be determined. not by
/. ! the difference Il wages bstseen the two coui-
) txisz, nor " ky differ snees between them II
{ cast Of production, hat hy Differences II each
! country in the compgfative cost Of producina
! difsrent things. This exchange Of eomn1cdL
4 lies uoRld &c On "a the matnal advantage q
Z beth countries ip1feaslnz thu amaaHt which
3 easA ahtaineds BAT no mastsr to what dimen
+ siuns ID grew, how could Il lessen tha demand
2 for labor or have any efeeE in redneIng wageal
3 EaW let us change the snpPositiaa snd I'm
+ aaias such barFinr between the twu cunntrfei
: | Is would prevent the passage of commodities
3 while permitting the free passage Of men. No
n Rooas produced By the lnNeF paid EzbsF Of thl
4 one country cauldnoW be hraaghti into theether
y but ueuld this prevent The rsdRcti0n q MaEos
= Manifestly net. Empiogers In the kigkar war
country, being eaahled % Ct in lahersrs willing
ta work for less eoald quickly lower wages.
i What we maY thus See b md ef the inEs@ina
tion accords with what we - see % : maAhsf y
fact. In spits af the high dnties which shatoul
commodities on the prstesse of FFotectinl
4 American LABOR, An1eeiean wezknen h
n Ill tradea are heins faaced into eam
y hinatlans 10 psotsct themselves ~ ekeck
q ina the competitions cf the lahof markss. On
!, proksciiss tariH ON cemnoditias RAISES III
Il psice II commaditiex bnt what raisng thers j
y 81 vzaes hae been aecsmplished By trade
/, uaiars and tke Eni9hts 0f LaboF. Break u
* theae organimtiona and Wkat would tka taxil
d a. ta prerent lie forcing deWn Of wegez In q
u tke asM osganized iradez.
III seheme really intended for the preteeiI1l
!, / af workingmea fHam the eempetltion u cheaj
III Labor wuald not merely pEohibit ths impsrts
ID ttsoa ct cheap lahsg uadsF contract but wonl
Il prehibis the landing of say lnbofer who ha'
" not s1fiinient me8ns 10 raiss him abeye the IL
eaasity a. competing for wages Or who did ma
sive hoaas 10 Join sons trades Hnion and abid
y kY III rules. Ard it under sueh d scheme, an
Z dufies Oh eomm0ditfes we're imposed the
I. uouid Be impsasd IN prefsEsnce en saeh con
n medities as esald he prudussd with snall ear
!, itat, nos "a fhasa which sequire large saBitkl
thaf ii A. nv, - effort Waatd III n protect IL
Y dustrias IN whIeh Warkmen en- re1lftv engae
4. On fhsix onn seeount rather than thcss IN wnie
= tie mere wnEkmnn ean nezef hops e hseonl
y hia eun enpisFer.
u Oar tarin. liz IN pxotestfxe lariiEs. ans
y notbfnu 81 tkEs Kind ltsA1slds the enploYiu
pkasuceE ftcm eempetitiaz, hak IN - NY N
= fenntz ta ieszea eoDpeiitieu emong tEose WI
81 - 51fl E1la zHafr IaSGes es16 TIA ~