The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-11-01
POLITICAL SNAGS.

over the principles OF social action, the mo-
tives which control individual success or
failure, sometimes known as political econ
omy, and is brought severely to task by its
more lucid contemporary, the Couricr-Jour-
nal, of Louisville, Kentucky. In a recent
article the latter paper ventured to say
that the only possible way to abolish pov-
erty is to increase the production of wealth
and to minimize the waste. Whether this
is true as regards nations or not it is in
disputably the case as regards communities
and peoples, and as they make up nations,
why should it not be good Us to them' A
moments reflection will convince US all
that it is.
From this point on, the Louisville lumi-
nary sheds it's light upon the ways that are
dark and tricks that are vain of its Chicago
contemporary, saying amongst other things
that the undisputed thing suggested by
the latter as attributed To BAsrIAr,
were set forth by SAY before BAs-
THAT, and by ADAM SMITH before
SAY. The CT, however, is still glad to
know that the other publication is dipping
into BAsTIAT, "for we never would have
suspected it from the character of it's edi-
torial discussion of the tariff But the
point is that the Inter Ocean admits that
the only way to abolish poverty is by pro-
duction. Heretofore our esteemed Repub-
ican contemporaries have insisted that
waste makes wealth, and that the only way
to save the nation from beggary was to
shut out the food of cheap goods the vain
world is always ready to pour in upon
u.s."
Then, to continue, the Inter Ocean takes
up the wondrous tale and says: "But,
after all, it is only a half truth, for of
what use is plenty of food or clothing on a
market 10 man who has little or no money
to buy any of it?" To which the reply is
made that in America the man has
his labor, and in this country
labor, except for the tariff, would
purchase anything within reach. Thes
columns have many time given express
sion to the truism that money is merely a
representative of value, only medium of
exchange. We again use our able Louis
vile contemporaries language: To chance
the phrase, what use is a pocket full of
money to hungry man if he is not permit
ted to spend it to satisfy his hunger!
1t is well always to inquire into the origin
of things; to decide what is the cause and
what the effect
If the American workingman ever has
any money in his pocket, what put it there!
Labor, or the tariff! Labor, certainly.
Indeed labor was so remunerative in Amer
lea, that is, wages were so high, that the
capitalists all said: 1--WE can not pay the
high wages required to draw these labor
ers from the fields to the factories, unless
we are protected"
THE HERALD at this time has but little
opportunity or space to devote to subject
which pertains to national affairs and
which can only incidentally figure in local
matters until the great struggle three
years hence, and yet it is subject concern
ing which all should be advised and one in
which we all have a common interest. tits
as much an educational matter of grave i'm
port as anything else we can thing Of, and
the fact that the election last year went as
it did goes to show this along with other
things.
The Chicago luminary seeks to relieve its
friends of all responsibility for thus inter
fering with the production of wealth, by
declaring that the tariff does not cause
scarcity. 1t says: England has no duty
on wheat, and yet wheat is more plentiful
in America than in England"
This the Louisville paper declares, and
THE HERALD comedies, is amusing as well
as surprising. The general impression is
that the abundance of wheat in America is
due to our vast wheat fields cultivated by
skilled and high-priced labor. In truth
England gets all of the American wheat
that she wants at her own price. We flood
England with cheap wheat, and when she
sends in return cargo of woolens or of
pig iron, or of steal rails, our customs Of
flcers confscate one third, fearing that
these things will become too abundant
here, that is, too cheap, and thus the peo-
pie are protected against the evil influences
of prosperity.
The Republican papers keep on declar-
ing that we have more Of everything that
we need on earth right in our midst, thus
setting forth in substance that we have
nothing to fear from foreign competition,
and in the next breath assert that our
resources must be protected from ruinous
competition from abroad. 1t is all Of
piece with the majority of the prstensions
of that party-they appeal only TO the
ignorant, the unskilled and the unthinking.
The more the masses are stirred up to their
real interests and their best condition in