Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-07-04


in an article intended to be perfectly fair
and entirely free from party coloring or
bias, assumes that the labor troubles of
the first three months of President Harri-
sons administration have not been mark
eddy in excess Of the corresponding
period Of President oleveland's admins
trstion, and from this assumption essays
to build up the argument that the tariff
has nothing TO do with the case. Now 1t
is possible sometimes to build up plaus-
ible argument on an imaginary basis, but
in this instance the argument Is clesrly
as vulnerable as the ssumption-indeed
even more so. To begin with the Tele-
graph dces not know-snd does not pre-
tend to know-how many strikes, look
outs, 10, are properly chargeable to the
opening quarter of the Cleveland admin
istration while for the arst three months
OF the Harrison administration 1t has be.
fore 1t not only the number, but other
details of these troubles, such as the date
and place of each strike or lockout, the
number OF men disemployed, 80. But II
takes the number OF business failures re-
ported for each period-between seven
and eigh. thousand with an increase OF
eight to ten per cent OF the Harrison end
and airily assumes that the labor
troubles will be found to bear about the
same relation, term for term, as the bust
ness troubles; which is very much as il
one were to compute the volume Of
cheese and butter produced in any given
season from the area of pssturage re-
ported.
But, waving this point for the sake of
labor troubles were as numerous and far
reaching during the former period as
they have indisputably been during the
latter-and as they continue to be-what
does this showing prove? The Telegraph
answers that the proof is that the tariff
has nothing to do with it. If there had
been different tariff system In operation
under the Cleveland administration there
would be some plausibility in this on.
swer. But the fact that there has been
no change whstever-that the same
schedule precisely has continuously pre-
vailed-obyiously knocks the whole bot
com out of the TsiegrGphs argument at
once. There has been continuous and
unchanged restrictive tariff. and there
has been continuous record OF business
and labor troubles as inseparabIy con-
nected as cause and effect we'll can be in
any problem or series Of problems in
political economy. And, viewing the
situation from the TelegrdOh's own stand.
point that there has been correspond.
ing ratio of increase OF labor and bust.
ness disasters-it necessarily follows that
this cause is cumulative in evil, and that
continually.
| The Telegraph still furthnr weakens its
case when it takes up single instances OF
the past three months and undertakes to
show that, irrespective Of tho leading
plea, the tariff could not have had any
bearing on these particular cases-be-
cause they happened in unprotected in
dustries. How under heaven is 1t going
to make this special pleading consist
with the universal claim Of the tariff ad'
vocates, that whatever directly protects 0
few must Indirectly better the condition
OF all? Once abandon this ground and
protection" is left absolutely without q
single leg to stand on since it has beer
conclusively demonstrated by reliable
statistics that only per cent of the wage
earners of the United States are engaged
in the directly protected industries. Ii
other words, II the whole tariff system
, were wiped out at one blow, its abolition
would directly affect not more than sever
> ont Of every one hundred American
, workingmen.
The simple fact is that the ante-elec
. ton promises and prophecies of the pro
! tectionists Lave proved delusiys, have
!, failed to make connection; as in the vary
nature of things they must. You canno
tax a people into prosperity, and thu
a longer the attempt to do 80 ia kept up
> the greater must be tho failure.