Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-09-19
WAGES DEPRESSED.

WAGES DEPRESSED.
My last article was devoted to an
inquiry into the sources of that mys-
FERROUS wealth that protection is
alleged to bestow on its toiIing vo-
taries, in the form of increased wages
for work. Our investigations brought
us face to face with the stern fact,
that what labor has in this world,
labor must make; and that increased
general wages can come only from in
creased exertion, or efforts character
lied by better adjustment of means
to ends. In brief: in order that all
laborers may have more, labor in
general, must produce more.
We found that protection in no re-
speCt fullilIs the requirement of max
ing industry more productive; on the
contrary, its very nature, and neces-
sary operation deranges and lessons
the efficiency of industries that have
grown up through the force of their
own inherent productiveness, without
any protection, and arbitrarily estab-
fishes others at the expense of these,
in the vain hope that they will some
day be made profitable. Until this
happy time arrives, and protection is
established, it must lessen the aggre-
gate production of wealth, if mot alb
solutely, at least relatively to what it
would have been if all Industries had
been relieved from its pernicious inhu-
ence. And, hence, we arrive at the
conclusion that protection, instead of
increasing general wages, as affirmed,
must inevitably, lower them, by di-
minishing the fund from which alone,
wages can be paid.
The only cases in which it can be
contended, with any degree of plausi-
bility, that protection contributes tow
ards the maintenance of wages, are
those in which it establishes new indus
tries, and develops them to a point
where they can pay the ordinary
wages, and profits on capital after
the assistance of protection is with
drawn. If they continue to receive
assistance, after they have attained to
this degree of efficiency, no part of it
will be paid in wages; because the
better wages would attract labOrers
from other fields of employment, and
the higher wages would be rapidly
equalized, and reduced to the general
level. The benefits from protection
in this supposed case, would be wholly
absorbed by the proprietors, as addi-
tional profit. There would be no in
crease in wages at any time to compen-
safe for the diminished wages paid in
other occupations on account of the
assistance afforded to these industries.
With the professed object of pro-
viding employment and good wages
for the charging population, protec-
ton would be continually reducing
the wages in all other occupations taxed
for the support of these, and as the
wages paid in these, could never rise
above the general level; all wages must
decline, both in the unprotected and
protected employments. As far as
wages are concerned, it would come
to the same thing as if the increasing
number of laborerS competed, directly,
against each other in the unprotected
industries. This would be true if it
did not lessen general production.
But, as we have shown this to be the
necessary consequence o, projections;
a still farther indefinite amount of re-
duction in wages is unavoidable. Pro
lection for the avowed purpose of
making more work employs men to
accomplish less, with n given effort,
and then processes to pay them larger
wages from this lessened product
claims to pay higher wages when the
MEANS OF PAYING THEM ARE NOT IN
EXISTENCE,
If we suppose protection to be abol-
ished after it has placed an industry
on self-sustaining basis, the wages
that it pays will not be SO high as if
it had attained this condition without
any help during its minority $50 to
speak it win have slightly depressed
wages in all other occupations, and
they will not rise above the lowered
level; they will only increase slowly
as the industries relieved from the
burdens of protection become more
efficient. If we were compelled to
admit (Which we are mott that there
are industries which never could, or
never would have been established in
! this country without protection, and