St. Paul daily globe., 1888-08-20


"And Mr.. Hold-what's he worth?"
well, l should say about 10000, ,O00."
| "Mr. Snatch, | believed is the Co.of the
| firm. What may he be worth?'
| u should say from 100000 to SS,000,-
''And they all made their fortunes out
of their business inside OF twenty
| years?"
''Of course, for they
| DOUBLED THEIR
| plant right along for years, and are the
| greatest firm of the kind in this or any
other country
What did you have eighteen years
ago?'
Il had wife and baby and house
and lot worth couple of thou
sand dollars, and a hundred OF two in
the Dimes Saving bank"
And then you had your skill and
your muscle Desides?"
Certainly"
And these you regarded as $50, 900
capital on which you were entitled to 6
per cent per annum in the shape of
wages?''
"Yes."
"Yon have not been spendthrift,
have you?''
Il have not"
Excuse the question, but will you
tell me how much you are possessed of
now?"
Il have my wife, of course, and five
children and the house and lot, but
there IS mortgage on the latter for
nearly $780,
lis that all? How does that come
about?''
''Well, the firm cut our wages 10 per
cent last winter, and we went on strike,
hopeless. Some of us tried to hold out,
and that is the way l came to mortgage
the home for a little ready money"
but you gave up the fight at last and
accepted the reduction?"
''We had to. There was no chance
for u.s.
.'Grab, Get, Hold & Co. were the en-
| ployers in your case, and you were the
| employees"
''Certainty.'
''And all this time we had the highest
kind of high prOtection?"
THAT is true"
"Whom did this protection protect?''
1.-The Workingmen, you may be Sure.''
Let us see about tnat. Grab put in
10000 in cash and $4,000 credit?"
Yes
"And the other three partners the
same each?"
Eyes"
"Your skill and muscle you regarded
as the equivalent of S20,000?"
"YeS.'
"And the other employees in propor-
ton to their skill and ability?"
Just So"
To-day you tell me that Grab is
worth over S30.000,000, Get S5,000.OOO,
| Hold 10,000,000 and Snatch 1000. 600
or over $50, 100000 in all as their profits.
Now, what have you made out of your
skill and labor while they have grown
into millionoires under high taritf?''
well, L was only an employe, you
knOw?"
Certainly. that is true enough; but
If the tariff is for the benefit of the
wOrkingmen and not the mill owners,
the former ought to get rich more rap
idly than the latter. Your skill and
labor, at fair estimate, was equal to
$4,000 OF capital at '6 per cent, was it
not?"
''Of course it was.''
NOW, show me what return the tariff
has brought you. good artisan"
Il don't understand you"
"Why, Crabs $4,000 cash has grown
into millions, thanks to the tariff-but
the important thing is, what has been
the income on your $4,000 worth of
skill and labor? Has tariff taxation
multiplied it by 50O or 500, or 100, or
even by 10 in the last twenty years?
''Well, L am just about as well off
mortgage and the fact that | am not as
capable of working as l was then"
Your capital has been impaired all
around, and your income is inyisible?''
Pm afraid that such is the case.''
'It has taken all your earnings to de-
Gently feed, clothe and educate your
family and pay the taXes?"
Just about"
''And on every dollars worth of the
necessariee of life you have been pur-
chasing all this time you have been pay
ing an average of Al per cent of tariff
tax. This enriches not the consumer,
but the privileged class who pocket the
increased profit. They tell me Mr..
Grab, of your firm, has an income of
S., COO day?''
THAT is fact, no doubt"
That's nearly 100000 net profit
year. Of his employees how many of
them do not receive over 1865 a year?''
"a good many thousand, but they are
not skilled labOrerS."
'And yet Mr..
GRABS PROFITS
for year are equal to the total earnings
protection counts. How much tariff
did your employers pay Oh the laborers
they imported to take your places when
you were unwilling to stand a reduc-
tion?"
Nothing. There is no tariff on labor.
1t is admitted free"
EXACTLY, and therein lies the advan-
tage of the protected manufacturers.
Whatever they manufacture is protected
by tariff taxation. But labor is admit
ted free. There is no tariff duty-no
tax on it. The labOring man must face
the widest competition to sell his labor
in the market, and then pay the tariff
taxation Oh all the neneSsaries he pur-
chases. And yet the tariff barons try to
make him believe that he is being pro-
tected while he is being taxed in the
direction of the Door house. Since we
have free trade in labor, we ought to
have lower taxes on life's necessities.
Don't you think so?'
''Well, yes, do.''
''You ought to understand your own
experience"
The same is equally true of the
farmer. The corporations, the milling
combinations, the railroads have Waxed
rich from his products.
But how much interest has he re-
ceiyed or capital invested or wealth laid
away in the same period?
A system of high taxes that permits
the employer or the corporation to
hoard untold gains should work with
equal favor to the labOrer and farmer.
Does it?
1t is on the platform that low taxes
benefit all and that high taxes enrich
but the few that Eugene Wilson and
the Democratic party go forth to battle.
A Useful Suggestion.
Life.