Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1888-08-31
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TARIFF REFORM.


TARIFF REFORM.
The Editor 6f the Press, who man
yes the Tariff department, evidently
,kes an occasional holiday, else how
IN we account for the following most
rrect statement of the worth of Amer
an labor contained in its issueof July
'th.-"Thepape mill at Schuylerviile
aploys 81 men, at the average yearly
lges of 1895, and produces / 900
unds of paper daily, Or an average
arly production for each laborer of
3 tons, making the average labor
It of ton of paper at that mill SS.-
81 The average yearly production OF
Sper per capita in the English mills
iA$13.46. In other words, paper IS
uAade at Schuylerville at cost for
Ia or of $4.59 less per ton than the
la or cost of manufacturing in England" !"
All in the face of such as this the
paper men hate the imprudence to talk
about high-priced American labor and
the tariff being for the wage earner's
benefit. Even the advocates of high
tariff are betrayed into telling the
truth OCCASIONALLY, as was the United
States Senator presumably Mr.. Ed
Aunds or Mr.. Morrel) when he wrote
@pse "strong words and bitter, but
ty'7:"
"The campaign which we are about
- enter will concern more than any
dy else, the manufacturers of this
untry," "who make large fortunes
ry year when times are prosperous, "
be men "who are most benefited by
tariff laws"
We have talked SO loLg about ''pro-
n of American labor" that a good
honest people no doubt believe
.-.as.the tariff does help wages. Yet it
must strike them as at least something
TO be explained that the Pennsylvania
iron miners should be out of work large
portion of the year because of over
production, and that his actual wages
when he has work should be about 81
week. And this is perhaps the most
highly protected of our industries.
And labor cost to produce ton OF pig
iron in Pennsylvania is said to be 81.
he duty on a ton of pig iron is 1913.
We fancy any of our readers could
devise a means of raising subscriptions
for labor protection fund, by means
of which greater amount than 80 per
cent of wha. was collected would reach
the pockets of those in whose name it
was asked. The manufacturers have
succeeded in making their own commits
sions in the transaction so large that it
is no wonder that they wish to retain
the position of the workingman's alvo-
yocate, but is seems as if it were, time
for the workingman to speak for him
self.
Here isa specimen case, showing the
sincerity of Republican manufacturers
in using the "Free Trade" and ''Low
Wages" argument. Senator Warner
Miller is paper manufacturer, and we
saw from the slip just quoted from a
high tariff organ, the relative cost of
labor in a paper mill here and in Eng
land. Now, read the following inter
view between Mr.. Gray and a Star
reporter:
The Star reporter asked Mr.. Gray il
the statementcredite to Mr. Miller was
correctly reported in yesterdays Star.
"Yes," said Mr.. Gray. "His exact
words were: If We can punk it down
the workingmen's throats that free
trade means less work and less wages,
we e~ilAS bury this man Cleveland
at should be explained that punk
is Chinese for push
81 tell you 1 was mad" continued
Mr.. Gray. "We were riding in the
public stage together, and Miller drew
fne is.o a nee..-aa--esvJjhAvTersation about
the town. Then he asked me how
Morton stock was, and told him tha
Morton would not carry the town, ano
| offered to bet him that he would not
After he got through questioning me
asked him to give me his ideas of tn
possibility of the success of the Repub
lican ticket, and then he made tha
statement about 'punking' stuff dow
workingmens throats. l just raises
my voice and told him in pretty plaiI
terms that he would find the American
workmen too intelligent to have hi
party lies 'punked down their throats.
In connection with the high wage
theory the following is interesting
When the salt lobbyists are a
Washington pleading with Congress t
protect them, they profess a profoun
Interest in their wofkmen, to whom,
might be supposed, they were payin
the most liberal wages. The censu
figures expose their hypocrisy. In tn
26S works given in one of the cehsu
tables, there arc employed 4,2S9 worl
ing men and women. The total amour
Of wages paid in a year (lss0 arhOunte