The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-08-18
POETIC JUSTICE"
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ADVISED
NOT TO CUT OFF ITS NOSE.

The New York Sun Denounces the Free
Trade Principles OF the Party 1t Sup.
ports. aud Points Out the Evil Results
Sure to Follow Their ADOPTION.
The infamous World calls on the
Democrats of the house to suspend the
rules and pass bill reducing the duties
IN iron and on all Of the Carnegie steel
manufactures at least one nalt. I" THAT, "
1t tells the Democratic majority would
be poetic justice, good politics and an
admirable enforcement of the Home
stead object lesson upon the relations of
high tariffs to lowered wages.'
This pretended friend of labor wants
tie Democrats in congress to punish Mr..
Carnegie by declaring themselves in
favor OF policy to reduce the wsges of
his workmen far below the scale against
which they are now fighting. 1t would
make the Democratic party responsible
for policy which would shut up all our
iron and steel mills and lock out many
thousands Of operatives, and compel
them to remain out until they were
forced by starvation to work for less
than the cheapest of the Carnegie work
men.
The whole iron and steel industry in
this country, whether it has its seat at
Homestead or elsewhere, is dependent
on the tariff which the scatter Drained
and anarchistic World would have the
Democrats in congress vote to destroy.
n sa al xa1 <hok a.
tariff Is essential to its prosperity, its
very continuance, on the present scale
Of wages. The mills cannot sell their
iron and steel cheaper unless they pay
less for their production. In otf.. words,
they must pay lower wages. Even with
the tariff the margin Of profit is now so
small that the manufacture does not pay
unless the production and sale are emo
nous. 1t is a very small percentage,
and home competition tends steadily to
make it less. Even protection cannot
save the producer from that competition.
II only helps him against foreign COM
petition.
II, then, the producer must meet both
home and foreign competition he must
get down the cost of manufacture. He
must reduce wages to the foreign stand
ard. Otherwise he will have to 90 out
OF the bust ss, and his operatives will
be without mployment, unless they go
into other e. ployments and reduce the
scale OF wages in those by reason of their
competition with the laborers already
there. II the tariff on iron and steel
were reduced by lat least one-half," Of
course they would fall in price, and not
less certainly would the wages Of the
operatives concerned in their production
fall proportionately. Men will not put
their capital into manufactures If they
cannot make fair interest on it. They
will shut up their mills if they cannot
run them without losing money.
This demagogical World, this pestilent
enemy of labor, would follow the orien-
tai method OF furnishing a man against
whom you have grudge by committing
suicide on his doorstep.
Free trade of course means lower
wages. The two go together necessarily.
With free trade all around, however,
argue the free traders, the lower wages
would buy more. Everything would be
cheaper, they say, for the cost Of produc-
ton would be less because of the lower
wages paid. But to take off the tariff
on one protected industry without re.
moving 1t from all is an outrage on the
free trade doctrine. The equilibrium Of
the free trade theorists is not established.
II the law tends to reduce the wages of
the iron operative by bringing in foreign
competition, justice demands that it
shall put all other producers in the same
boat, so that everything he buys shall be
made cheaper for him. He must have
cheaper rent, cheaper food and cheaper
clothes. II he gets one dollar day in
stead Of two dollars the price of all he
buys must be reduced proportionately or
he is the loser. Hence all labor of all
kinds must go down with his, so that the
cost of production generally may be de-
creased for his benefit. That, in brief
is the free trade theory. Itislow wages,
low production and cheap prices. New
York Sun Dem.).