The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-09-20
PROTECTION AND LABOR.
Prof. KY Presents the Question In . Way
That Can't BE Misunderstood.

Prof KY Presents the Question In . Way
Thkt Can't BE Misunderstood.
It would be hard to find q clearer
and palmer presentation of the tariff
Issue as 1t stands to-day before the
people OF the United States than that
made by Prof r. T. Ely, Phi. d., in his
book, Problems of To-day" Anent
the Observation-Disclosures labor
argument, he says:
About 1910 we can find the watch
word, Protection to American labor
against cheap labor taking the place
of the former rallying cry, Protection
to our infant industries No doubt
for party purposes 1t was an immense
improvement.
ut proceeded upon the hypothesis
that the American employer must pay
more than his European competitor for
labor, and that the difference must be
made up TO him by a tax on foreign
competitors; some indeed with a nice
air Of accuracy, claiming it as a ,cien-
tific principle that duties should be
precisely such in every instance as to
equal the difference in cost of labor.
1t is assumed that If duties fall Ameri-
can labor must also fall in price and,
like European labor, become pauper
labor.
Zone manifest superiority in this
new plea is that 1t does not advocate
duties as something temporary, but as
L., A IL
can labor is dear and foreign labor is
cheap
Another is the benevolence wrapped
up in it, and not merely benevolence.
1t is benevolence OF a superior and
unique sort! Benevolence often means
sacrifice on the part OF him who exer-
cises it, as when | wear an old coat
that ] may help educate the orphan
child of an old friend. Not so the be-
nevolence Of the protective tariff, for
it i, warranted never to take penny
from the pockets of its most devoted
adherents. They may live in palaces,
eat the choicest cuts OF roast beef,
drink champagne, and be merry while
their bank accounts swell! Have
they not done their part? Are they
not the representatives of protection to
American labor?
but is American labor after all pro-
tectedp
Let US at once 60 to the heart Of
things.
"If have any thing to sell, it is con-
ceivable that l may be helped in two
ways by government. To say that l
want to sell a thing means simply that
/ want to get something else for it. /
sell that l may buy. Money simply
comes in as a medium. A farmer sells
nrn for money, and with the money
buys shoes Corn is really exchanged for
shoes, and money is used as medium
merely to facilitate exchange. Now,
If government in some way can in
crease the supply Of these things which
/ wish to buy, ! may be benefited.
More will be offered me for what
have to sell. On the other hand, if
government can diminish the supply
OF the article / want to sell, can get
more for it, and l am benefited.
How stands the case with the
wage-receiver?
What has he to sell? The COM
modify, labor, and nothing else. With
that commodity Qabor) he must pur-
chase all other things.
Now, what is government doing
for himp
as government rendering labor
scarce and commodities plentiful? On
the contrary, no duty is put on labor.
Labor comes in free. Not only that;
our protectionists are helping to in
crease the supply Of labor and to keep
its price down. Do not Federal con-
suls encourage emigration from Eu-
rope to American Do not States and
Territories send agents abroad to aid
and abet foreign labor in its purpose
to fill up the supply of labor in our own
market? Do not the protectionist en-
ployers themselves keep their agents
in every part of Europe to help swell
the throng of those coming to our
shores, and, in case of demand for
higher wages, to take the place of the
discontented? Strange! Yet it is all
true. The commodity which the laborer
has to sell is not protected All that
government does is to help &ncrease its
supply and thus reduce it's price"