Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-10-12

and with none but a home market, no
country can be prosperous and progress
sive.
80. What effect is the continuation of
our present tariff policy, which restricts
the sale of our manufactured products
mainly to the home market, certain to
have on wages in this country?
"a. 1t is certain at no distant day to
greatly reduce them.
80. How can this be demonstrated?
ga. By reason of the great inventions
and discoveries in recent years; an oper-
ator engaged in machinery production
can now produce far more in a given time
than at any former period. This is ac-
knowledged to be especially the case in
the United States, where machinery is
more extensively used in the work of
production than in any other country.
The result is that the power of domestic
production continually tends to be, and
in most departments of industry already
is, far in excess of the power of domes-
tic consumption; and unless a continu-
ally increasing foreign market can be OBJ
tanned for such excess of product-a
market among the people of other coun-
tries who do not produce with machinery
production must be curtailed, and as a
I consequence wages will be reduced.
2 80. Have wages in consequences of|
l a restriction on our markets been already
2 reduced?
"a Npmipallu thav haxa ,ot ,oo11-U
they have for there is hardly one of our
great manufacturing industries-cotton
wool, boots and shoes, iron, Bessemer
steel, paper, hats, etc.-which if worked
to the full extent of its capacity could
not in from six to ten months fully SUM-
r ply all that the home market could con-
sumo of its products in twelve. For q
part of the time in every year tire oper
atives engaged in these industries are
u therefore,, through a necessary suspend
, sion of production, without employment
and this manifestly reduces their average
annual receipt of wages.
80. How many persons engaged ii
gainful occupations in Massachusetts
were out of employment a part of tn
time in 1885.
q "A. pa ,5S9, or 29.59 per cent out o
sl6,47O, the total number engaged in tina
10 year in gainful pursuits.
80. In what branch of manufacture
ing industry is business and the EMPLOY
ment of operatives most irregular AM
" uncertain?
"A. In the boot and shoe industry. L
this industry in Massachusetts,, in 1SS5
y 81 per cent of the male and II per cent O
the female employees were unemployed
rs during a part of the year.
H. 80. How was it in other great manu-
featuring industries in that State?
"a. In the cotton mills, 80 per cent of TIL
:" Il males and 43 per cent of the females ha
', periods of unemployment in that yea
In the wooden mills the like proportion
= were 80 per cent of the males and 45
y" the females. Fifty-six other occupation
~" were enumerated in this State in whic
iN over one-half of the whole number EN-
ployed were idle part of the year.
Go 80. During the many periods of ID
~ preston of business which nave occurre
in recent years in the United States, hid
~ the accompanying reduction of wages i
~ the various industries been in any degre
u uniform?
"a. The latter part of the year 1Ss
- was a period of great business depression
60 A careful examination of the econom
circumstances of this depression" inst
% tuted by Bradstreet's Commercial Jou
' nal showed ii per cent fewer operatol
of employed at that time than there were
al 1882, with extensive reductions of wage
1t was also proved that the industries i
which the heaviest reductions in wag@
had been made were those protected b
.. tariff duties; and, further, that these n
auctions had been generally in propo
ton to the amount of protection accor}
ed to them.
80. What were some examples
%, these reductions at that time?
"a. In wooden and cotton mills I'll
/, reduction was from % to 80 per cen
while there was no reduction in the wa
es of the unprotected house builders, ca
eS PchleIs, stone-cuttcTs. anu DTickuldkeI
he In the iron industry the reduction
k wages was from 10 to % per cent, viii
nv the pay of butchers, millers, baker
tanners and printers did not decline
m all. Wages in the silk manufactures fd
We from Is to 25 per cent, but the wages
agricultural implement makers renal
substantially unchanged.
be so. Have we any indisputable ev
ri dence of the falsity of the common pr
tectionist assertion hat the present cor
be paratively high rate of wages in tn
d; country is wholly due to the high-tar
policy of the last % years.
"a. In 1883 the Bureau of Labor ST
49, .:.4;aa- L. AInrrual.na4+r -oEl.l.4Al