Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1888-10-05
FOR CONGRESS
OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
HIGH AND LOW WAGES.

The high tariff advocates say that Demo-
Gratis "are forced to admit that wages are
higher in this country than they are in
England" Democrats are not forced to ad'
nit anything of the kind. They have at no
time denied that wages are higher in this
country than England They have no dis
position to set up any claim 10 the con
trary. Wages are higher in this country
than they are in England and no Democrat
has asserted that they are not.
But what then? Does it follow that the
tariff has anything to do with this? What
Democrats deny is not the fact, but the
unwarrantcd conclusion the high tarifiites
draw from it, Admitting that wages are
lplier in this country than in England, it
does not follow that they are SO because this
country maintains higher protective tariff
while England has very little OF any kind.
The Republican assertion that the lowness Of
wages in England is due TO the fact that
England has no protective tariff, and that
if this country had no protective tariff wages
here would fall to the English level, is a
mere assumption, They have no evidence of
any kind to support such assertion. The
claim that tariff makes and maintains high
wages rests upon no experimental evidence
whatever.
The Democratic contention is that wages
are lower in England than in the United
States not because one country has protec-
tive tariff and the other has not, but because
of the operation OF other causes The opera
ton ol any cause ought to be uniform, and if
protective tariff is the cause of relatively
high wages in the United States it ought to
follow that wherever protective tariff pre-
va wages should be high. France has
stiiye tariff; GegynanS hiss u protective
arltl, and % -L<s"ftay. di, then. lsyal
il cause adequate TO produce high ges,
wages should be high in France. Germany
and Italy, but as matter Of fact they are
not Wages are not only low in these coun-
tries in spite of thetariff, but lower relatively
than in England where there is practically
10 tariff Wages are higher in one State
than in another, higher in the North than in
even in this country, showing that their
relative highness and lowness depends on
other causes than Il tariff levied on imports.
Democrats maintain that with lower tariff
than that how existing and with the free
list extended by the Mills bill wages in.
stead Of being lower would be higher.
Their contention is that wages are high or
low according AS the demand is greater or
less than the supply, 1t is in the experience
Of every workman that he can get better
wages when work is plenty and when labor
is in demand than when there is little work
and the demand for labor is dull. That will
always be the case, tariff or no tariff But
with the tariff reduced as the Democrats
propose and certain raw materials and neces-
sites of life are added to the free list, manu-
featuring and commerce will be SO stimu.
lated that there will be great deal more
work than there is now and consequently
greater demand for labor, which always
makes good wages. What the Democrats
propose is To provide more work to do, to
make more places for men to work, to in.
crease the demand for labor and then wages
will take care of themselves They will be
high not by virtue of any kind of tax
or any kind of legislative interference, but
because OF obeying the natural law of sup.
ply and demand they cannot be otherwise
than high.
That is the true theory about high and
low wages, and the Democratic plan is the
this country. No tariff however high can do
1t and the claim that may be made by Repub-
lcan high tariff takers that wages will sink
TO the English level il we reduce our enor
nous taxes a little is a delusion and hum
INV