New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-27
UIGLS IND TIE TARIFF.

"WageS reduced IN an lron-miil anu II >u'lho
of many thousand ~c0kc-wOrkers against rcdUc-
ton of wages tell what the new tariff Is dong
for Labor So argue certain Free Traders who
are wilfully blind to facts Of an opposite CHAR
acter. Not one of them mentions the advance
in wages last week in sundry manufactures
Not one of them calls attention to the bulIdlh2
of two new cotton, three new wo0llcn mills ana
three new shoe factories, announced last week.
with the starting OF three cotton several khlt
goods. two woollcn and one Shoe establishment
which had been shut down, nor observes NAT
these are results of Protection. Not one cares
tell the truth about the establishment of TIN
plate works in all parts of the country. sup
preston of truth in this case lis the worst form
of fa'sehoOd.
The truth about the iron and coke industries
can be frankly stated by ProtectioniStS with
honest pride. The policy they advocate has
stimulated 80 vast an increase i'll producnoh'
particularly i'll the iron manufacture, that Tor
the moment there is embarrassment because
consumption has not grown quite 50 last. lct
the consumption in this country has lncrcaSc1
50 much more than in any other country that
any comparison seems q waste Of time, ana II
has at last come to exceed British consumption
very largely. The only trouble is that III eN-
panding production from about 4,00o ooo 10
over 10000. 900 tons III a single decace the
iron-makcrs have gone 4 little too last. liad
they produced only about 800, 600 tons less the
stocks would not have Increased last year a
all. and vet both production and consumption
would have greatly surpassed that OF Great
Britain. The inevitable penalty of m!Sjuds-
" - 1905, Lcr.,. oxDousion X m ocpIu4uld-
ton of stocks, with consequent depression oi
prices. 50 for the time many IRON works are
compelled to choose whether they will stop pro-
duction and wait until the consumption over
takes them. For some this would involve hard
ship to cmpioyeS, and they are so situated That
even at p,eSen; prices they can continue to run
with a slight reduction of wages, and 80 they
Mace that alternative before the men: shall
we LAY a little less for a time, or suspend opera
tons for a time ?" The workers are generally
intelligent. and know the facts as TIE employ
cS do. and prefer to keep in the ranks OF the
producers. leaving other establishments not 50
well situated TO bear the burden OF waiting until
consumption catches up again. Thus scarcely
any of the iron works have had any strike. ana
comparatively few have made any reduction III
wages. As the surplus stock last year was less
than two weeks output, and was moi one
seventh of the increase in consumption IN that
year over the preceding, the delay need not be
long or serious.
The exceptional prosperity in iron man'uact-
ure stimulated some railroads. some mIne-oWncrS
and some cokc-produccrs to make charges which
the industry in the interior could not stand az a
time Of depressed prices. Though far removed
| from foreign competition. SO that coke prices
are not mere affected by the tariff than railroad
charges. these works were near competition with
the cheap negro labor Of new Southern cStdb-
Jishments. When these work, demanded lower
charges and prices. and stopped work because
they we're denied. cokc-produccrS sought 10 re-
duce wages. Their workers are exceptionally
ignorant, and in spitc OF the industrial depression
demanded higher wages. The strike has no
relation to the tariff. except tha, the cOkc-work-
crs would never have received the wages they
do. nor dreamed Of the possibility Of obtaining
such wages. lad not Protection been doing It's
wOrl; grandly for many years. The Protective
policy does not make manufacturers Exempt
from the dangers and penalties Of error in iudg-
ment. If they want TO prosper. under a system
which stimulates industrial activity 10 the ut
most. they have to use sound sense in deter
| mining how far and when to enlarge their ont
| put. But Protection defends them from those
| calamitics which would Overtake them when
ever. instead Of a mistake by themselves, a
| blunder of Judgment had been made by the pro-
ducels in other countries.