The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-02-21
How the Tariff Law "Aids the Poor
by Raising Their Wages"
From the New York Times, Ind.

/
The continued reduction of wages percepti-
bly, disturbs our high-tarif contemporaries,
and some of them are constrained to offer
| feeble explanations. Unfortunately for them,
1 the people who were too stupid to under
stand the new tariff in the recent campaign
| have not forgotten their assertions and prom
| ises, and know inconsistency when they see
it. They have not forgotten that Speaker
| Reed said, on October Is, at Buffalo:
They ask me whether | consider the Nc
| Kinley bill Just to the poor. Well, | should
say so. A bill which has for its object the
aiding of the poor by raising their wages, it
seems to me, is just one"
| And here is an explanation of the tariff
makers purpose, published on December "a
by the Cleveland Leader" the newspaper
representative of Mckinley himself:
''The aim of the Protectionists in Congress
was to preserve the existing level of wages in
this country, and they have fully succeeded
| in doing So
| How well they have succeeded is shown by
the reports of reductions which are published
every day, and especially by such action as
that which has been taken by well-known
manufacturer Of knit goods at Little Falls, in
this State, whose workmen find that large
increase Of tariff duties on imported knit
goods has been followed by a loss of 20 per
minded of their employer use of the ''scare-
| pay envelope in 1888 and of his predictions
IN 1890 as to the effect of the Mckinley act
upon their incomes. To show why our high
| tariff contemporaries are annoyed, we group
some Of the recent reductions in the follow
ing list:
Brooke Iron Company, Birdsborough, Pa,
closed Feb. 2, and $50 men thrown out of
work because they refused to accept reduc-
ton Of about I per cent.
Ellis & Lessig Steel and Iron Company,
Pottstown, Pa, closed Feb. . 100 men out
Of work because a reduction of l24 per cent.
was rejected.
Hopedale Fabric Mills, Hopedale, Mass;
wages of weavers reduced 2! cents a yard
last week.
Silk mill at Warehouse Point, Conn; wages
If winders and doubers reduced from Sl.37
to 81 per day.
Sturtevant Blower Works. Jamaic,. Plain,
Mass; reduction of from 10 to 80 per cent.
Pottstown Iron Company, Pottstown, Pa. /;
reduction Of about per cent.
Bethlehem Iron Company, Bethlehem, Pa;
reduction Of 10 per cent. Feb. 2.
Pennsylvania Steel Company, Steelton, Pa;
reduction Of from TO 10 per cent. Feb. l.
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company,
Scranton, Pa; an average reduction Of 20
I
Homestead Steel Works, Carnegie, Phipps
& Co.; 10 per cent. by agreement.
Pullman Palace Car Company 5 works; new
scale making a reduction of about 10 per cent,
brought forward Jan. J.
Otis Iron and Steel Company, Cleveland,
Ohio; reduction of 30 per cent.
Coal mines, Duquoin, ILL.,; reduction from
90 to 20 cents per ton.
Ribbon Weavers in Patterson, \. j.: re.
duction of 10 per cent.
Coal mines near Leavenworth, Kan; re-
duction of II per cent
Cocheco Manufacturing Company: wages of
weavers reduced per cent.
Manufacturers of pottery, Trenton, \. D.:
wages of sanitary ware pressers reduced y
per cent.
Merrimac Mills, Lowell, Mass; wages of
mule .spinners reduced cents per hundred.
Buckeye Mower and Reaper Works, Akron.
Ohio; reduction of from 80 to so per cent.
reported on Feb. 3.
Saxony Knitting Mill, Little Falls, n. Y;
reduction of about 20 per cent.
Protection moves toward higher wages
and lower prices,'' said the Milwaukee ''Sen.
tinel'' a few days ago.
Our high tariff friends must try TO account
in some way for the reduction of wages, but
they should not forget everything that til ey
have said in the last six months.