The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-09-29
CONUNDRUM.

We lay no claim 10 De especially good
at conundrums," but II that astute and IT..
genious "Laboring Man" ~ ]. II. W. to
wiD who pokes few at US through yes :
terday's Ottawa Republican, expects US to
"give II up" he must give US something
harder. 1t Is enough to say that the Dem>
ocratic party (and that includes the FREE
TRADRR) Is In favor OF protection, when 1t
Is shown to approve the Mills bill, which
does offer protection to all our manufactur.
ers at an average rate of AZ per cent, and
even J. H. W., We are bold enough to be-
lieve, Is ready to admit that any industry
that cannot live In this country on that
amount Of protection, has no business here
That amount-which all reasonable men
must agree Is enough-the Democratic
party is necessarily In favor Of, because It
Is absolutely needed to raise sufficient rev.
enue to support the government. and no.
body proposes to raise that revenue In any
other way.
As to the claim that tariff makes high
wages being "rot," the proof may be
indicated In this way: There are, accord
Ing to the last census reports and later Of.
fetal estimates, at present 005, 5S5 protect
ed" workers In this country, employed In
about 14,5OO protected mills, against 49,
261 900 breadwinners employed In all the
unprotected occupations. The wages In
the latter are admitted to average trifle
higher than they do In the protected occur
pations. Take carpenters, brick layers,
house painters, plasterers, cabinet makers,
farm laborers, &c, SC, for example. We're
the wages higher in the protected Indus
tries than outside of them, how long would
1t take to glut the labor market for the
100000 protected" workers by accessions
from the $4,000, 900 lower paid workers
outside? 1t is true there are, here and
there, in the protected industries, highly
skilled men employed, (as one In ten.
Judge Cation says, In the glass industries)
who could not readily be replaced from the
outside but as TO all the others, they can
and 'ojU at any time be discharged and
their places supplied from the 100000
outside If a saving of even one cent per
man per day can be made In the wage
schedule of the protected mill. This IL
universal experience and simply In accord
with human nature. The wsg of labor
are governed wholly by the law of supply
and demand, no raising or lowering of the
tariff can affect that law, and 1t IS "rot' to
pretend anything else.
As to ,ohom the AZ per cent protection Of
the Mills bill, or the AZ per cent of the old
war tariff, "benefts,' that, we confess, is a
more difficult conundrum. The amount
paid into the public treasury by reason of
that tariff, or tax, is about sec, 900, 900 a
year, and the additional cost of goods to
consumers In consequence of that AZ per
cent protection Is moderately estimated at
$500 100000 more year. The man is an
ignoramus or an idiot who pretends that
the whole of these vast sums do not come
there can 10 the nature of things be no pro-
duction without labor. Not a dollar can be
paid to the government, or to our manu-
featuring bosses or trusts, that does not
come of the sweat and toll of some labor
err" The man whom protection, therefore,
benefits, is obviously not the laborer. for
his sweat and toll pays all its cost. Under
our constitution and system of government,
however, ii Is decreed that the only prac'
ticable way to raise sufficient revenue to
support the government is by means of a
tariff, and pretty high tariff at that-so
high as to be eminently protective, and
while the democratic party yields to that
necessity, it would yet so levy that tariff as
to make II as little burdensome to labor a