Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-12
THE POTTERY STRIKE.
The Pottery Manufacturers Asked for
Higher Protection ard Got 1t.

The Pottery Manufacturers Asked for
Higher Protection and Got 1t.
The following two facts have a special
timeliness. coming so soon after the at
tempt of the McKinleyites to raise
wages
The pottery manufacturers at Tren-
ton, n. j., have submitted a schedule of
wages to the sanitary ware pressers
which means reduction of about So 1-3
per cent.
Nearly 400 potters are or strike in
trenton, y. j., because Of the decision
to reject the reduction of wages pro-
posed by the manufacturers. The men
were willing TO continue work at the old
scale pending further investigation. but
the bosses insisted that the new list was
to go into effect. and the men quit work.
These items are taken from one coll
| umn OF The Boston Commercial Bulletin,
which never wearies of defending our
high tariff system.
When the manufacturers were before
the Mckinley committee, one of their
number, John Moses, of Trenton, \. J.,
said:
The domestic potteries have been
kept in operation with the hope that the
wisdom of our members OF congress
would lead them to give Us the protec-
ton which We 50 much need to maintain
our ground against the colossal fortunes
which have been made by foreign manu-
facturers at the expense of the American
people
The following extract from his testi-
mony Is Of peculiar interest in connec-
ton with the present reduction of wages
and the strike:
Mr.. Cariisle-In answer to a question
by Governor Gear. you said that if the
Mills bill had passed. in Your opinion
You would have been compelled either
to close up your establishment or to re-
duce wages. Is 1t not fact that shortly
after the pa, age of the act of 1888. which
Increased the duties, you reduced wages
at Trenton:
Mr.. MoseS-NO. sir.
Mr.. Carlisle-They have never been
reduced since 1888:
Mr.. MoSes-In 1885 there was a reduc-
ton submitted to by the men them
selves. owing to the reduction made in
the price of goods From 1879 to 1885
there was no reduction of any kind. al
though the price of goods had been
gradually going down. In 1885. about
the LIST of January, we called our men
together and held consultation, and
we showed that there was a necessity
for reduction of wages
Mr.. Carlisle-That was less than two
n tor no af
In about two years after that You found
you were not able to pay the same wages
as you did before that act passed.
Mr.. Moses-Yes, sir, that is true. be-
cause the foreign goods of all classes
were thrown into our market. Prices of
goods fell in the foreign market.
This Mr.. Moses, who proposed to lead
the pottery industry out of the wilder
ness, wrote out the duties he wanted and
handed the list to Mckinley 1t is
printed as part of his examination, and
it reappears in the Mckinley tariff law
without an alteration, except in the way
of making the language more specific
and sweeping.
The duties submitted by Mr.. Moses
were not all that he wanted: he asked
also that the duty on the foreign article
should include the cost of packages, for
sign freights, etc. Under the old law
these expenses were deducted before the
duty was calculated. He said that the
importers were in this way escaping the
duties on from Is to so per cent. of their
invoices
Well, Mr.. Moses got everything he
asked. the Mckinley administration
law was passed and was pat into opera
ton Aug. 1. 1890. 1t allows nothing for
breakage. makes the packages dutiable
at the same rate as the goods, and in
cludes freight charges and all other ex-
penses before calculating the duty
And what Is the RESULT Higher wages2
No; but reduction OF third, and
the men are out on strike.