The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-07-14

tax upon all laborers and giving the
proceeds, not TO all labOrers, or even TO
some laborers, but only to some en-
pt0yerS? This is the plan OF protection
III protection can Increase or maintain
wages it must be in this way. What
protective duties actually do is to in
crease the profits of certain employers
to allow them to collect tax from
their fellO citizens without any siipu-
lation as to how they should spend it.
To SUPPOSE that wages can be increas-
ed in this way is to suppose, in the first
place. that these protected employers
voluntarily give up their profits to their
wOrkmen, and to suppose, in the Sec
ond place, that the increase Of wages
which the benevolence OF the protected
employers thus causes in industries
which at the best employing more than
900, 900 people can raise wages in
occupations that employ ~, ,000,000 peo
pie!
Observe also that the first step in
this precious scheme of plunder which
Is called protection to American labor
is really to reduce wages. Wages do
not really consist of money. Money is
the mere tlux and counter OF ex-
changes. What the man who works
for wages really works for are commu-
dities and services for which he pays
with the money he receives in wages.
Necessarily, therefore, to increase the
Irice OF the commodities he must buy
with his money wages is to decrease
his real wages. For instance, good
many OF the highly-protected American
laborers in the state OF Pennsylvania
Gas In some other states) are compelled
by their benevolent protectionist en-
ployers to make their purchases in
what the highly protected American
labOrers call "pluck-me stores" In
fact, it is through these pluck me stores
that these highly protected and pros
porous American workingmeu get their
wages. as the pluck-me bill is deducted
from what is coming to them as wages
before any money is turned over to
them Oh pay days; and many of them
being kept constantly in debt, hardly
see dollar from one years end to
another. Now, it is evident that If one
of these employers adds dollar to the
prices his men have to pay for the
goods they must buy in his "pluck-
me-" he just as effectually cuts down
their real earnings as though he reduc-
ed their wages by q dollar And SO il
is evident that the protective taxes
which we impose for the purpose of
increasing the prices OF commodities
must i'll the same way operate to re-
duce the real wages OF labor. There
fore the protective scheme for raising
wages iully stated is simply this
| Wages generally are in the first place
reduced by taxes which increase the
price of certain commodities, iiI order
that a comparatively few employers
who profit by this Increase in the price
of what they have to sell may benevO
lently Increase the wages of their
employees, and that this benevolent
RAISING of wages in some occupations
may cause the raising of wages in all
occupationsl
Is 1t not time that American work
ingmen were done with such O. prepos
ferrous scheme as tbisp There ID one
sense, and one sense alone, in which
protection may raise wages. When
real wages are low enough, it may IL
some extent raise nominal wages. Il
the protected Pennsylvania employer
were to keep on raising the prices i'll
his workmen's protected home mar
ket," the pluck-me store, TO would
come to q point where their nominal
wages would not enable them to get
enough food and clothing to support
lite, and where, consequently, he would
be forced to increase their nomiua
wages in order to prevent their removal
or starvation. In this way protection
like u depreciation of currency, may
|
Whomsoever protection may benefit
and analysis will show that it cannot
even benefit the employing capitalists
whom It assumes to benefit, unless they
are also protected from home compe
tition by some sort of monopoly ii
cannot benefit the laborer, 1t is to the
laborer y delusion and frauds
scheme of haretaced plunder that add:
insult to injury; that first robs him
and then tells him to get down ON hi:
knees and thank his robber!
The impudent pretence that wha
is called protection is protection tC
labor is peculiar TO the United States
aud All afterthought here. When this
utterly un-American system of robbing
the many for the benefit of the few
was introduced into this country, i
was not pretended that 1t was to pro
teQt labor on to compensate for higl
wages. 1t was asked for the protection
of capital-to give capitalists a bonus
so that here, where interest was
high, they could engage in tho same
sort Of manufacturing business as IL
Europe, where interest was low, Il
was asked for the "protection OF intan
| InIu lt riAa' 'b-.tn uiua fhani tlt
support for u few years, when, it Wa
then claimed, they could stand alnn,
without any more protection.
But men who ppee secure the enact
menf of laws TO enable them 10 TAX
the earnings OF others never want al
excuse tor demanding the comtinnanc
Of tho privilege. Now that Unite,
States three per cent. bonds are at
premium, aud the great protected iii
dastrles have become very industrial
giants, IL would be only ridiculous {,
talk OF protecting capital Or nro!0otIn!
"iufant industries" SO we are nov
told that protection is "proteution 10,
labor" and is made necessary 10y ou
higher wages. In fact, we are now
told that il is because of protection tha
wages are so high and the country y,
prosperous.
The pretense is Us hollow and insult.
ing as the Dretense of the alaYe-owncrl
that slavery was the protection ni th'
slave. Special privilege needs pro
lectiOu aud monopoly needs proicc
ton, aud all legaliZed systems OF rob
berry that euabe men who do 10 labor
To grow rich by aprropriating Tho
earnings of those who do labor neer
protection, but what is labor, that Il
should need protection? What is labor
that votes should have to be bought
and coerced, and lobbyists maintained
and congressman Interested, and news
papers subsidized, and our coasts amc
borders lined with sellers and search
ers aud spies and ini0rmers and tax
gathers, to keep II from falling 10 pau
perism2 Is not labor the producer oI
all wealth. Is it not labor that feeds all
clothes all, shelters all, and pays Ion
all? Is not labor the one thing That
can take care of itself; that requires
but access TO the raw materials ol
nature to bring forth all that mans
needs rcouiref What benevolent Capi
talist drew tariff wal! around Adam
up famlly2 Whatever else may need
protection, labor needs no projection
What labor needs is freedOml Not the
keeping up ot restrictions and the per
petGation of monopolies, but the tear
ing of them down.
Who are these benevolent individ.
uals, SO anxious to protect the poor,
helpless WOrkingman, SO fearful lest