Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-10-13

undertaken. OF all the varied subjecta
investigated and reported upon during
the bureau 3 nine years experience
none have borne a closer relationship
TO the welfare of the wage-earners OF
the state, or furnished the public In
general with statistical data so valuar
BILE to a comprehensive understanding
Of the practical workings Of the one
great economic question OF the present
day than the tariff.
Tariff, whether levied for revenue
only or for revenue and the Incl.
dental protection of American manu-
facturers and American labor Is Ger.
tainly q question of such vast import
as to enlist the most thorough and dis
D assionate investigation at the hands
of the American people. And while
the present report has, under the law,
been confined TO the state of New
York, it's results can now be taken as
indicative of the conditions existing In
every section of our country where
manufacturing and industrial purs uits
are followed. er
''With the exception of limited
number of the great industries carried
on in our country, no state in the union
offers field SO varied or extensive
within which the statistician can carry
on his work with greater assurances OF
intelligent success than is presented by
the state of New York. Within it's
borders are to be found by far the
greatest number of manufacturing es-
Establishments, the most varied indus
tries and the largest number of individ-
ual employers and wage earners OF any
of the forty-four commonwealth en-
braced in the United States. So that,
whatever the statistical data collected
and tabulated may prove, relative to
the effects of protection on labor and
wages in New York, it may justly be
taken as fairly representative of the
conditions throughout the whole coun-
try.
mot for many years had the subject
of the tariff assumed such great proper
TOMS as attached to it in 1888. Always
an important and interesting question
of political economies for discussion by
our statesmen, yet by reason of the
president of the United States making
it the sole subject of his annual mes
sage to congress in December, 1887, in
terest in it became general among the
masses and a memorable Campaign of
Education followed during the ten sue
ceeding months of 1888. 1t is not the
province of the undersigned to here dis
cuss the merits of protective tariff
or to pronounce for or against the pub
lie policy of tariff for revenue only
A majority of the American people de-
clared by their votes in 1888 in favor of
the latter policy, and yet their. candi-
date was defeated by reason Of our
electoral system. the minority candi-
date and congress in sympathy with
the chief executive being elected The
canvass was carried on with relentless
vigor by both sides, and public interest
was unusually aroused in a question OF
great public policy, rather than as to the
personality of candidates. The selfish
business interests of the manufacturers
and their employees were appealed to-;
larger production, wider markets. and
| increased profits, were promised the
! employers.
More work, higher wages. shorter
| hours of labor and uneXampled pros
| perity were among the inducements
held out to the wage-earners by the adj
vocates of protection On the other
| hand, the advocates of the policy of a
| tariff for revenue only, 'contended that
| only through q reform of our tariff
| laws, j. e., a reduction of our revenues
to basis of raising just sufficient
money to defray the expenses of the
government honestly and economical
~ administered, could all of these de-
sirable rcsu Is be attained.
almost innumerable queries were
made of this bureau by the great writ
ers upon economic subjects, the leaders
of thought and discussion in our pull
| pits, on the rostrum and through the
public press, for reliable data and sta
tistics bearing upon this very impor-
tant subject.
'And il was by reason of this situa-
ton, no less than with a view to estab-
lish the truth or falsity of the premises
taken by the two great political par
ties of the country, that the under
signed finally decided to make the sub
ject of The Effect of the Tariff on
Labor and Wages one of special inves'
tigation. II may be urged by some
that the investigation made has not
been made broad enough or of sufficient
scope to fairly warrant the deductions
arrived at, by reason of the fact that
the cost of living, including the neces-
saries that go to make it up, have been
| given no place in the work. 1t should
be borne in mind. however, that it has
been my endeavor to investigate only
that phase of the subject which relates
simply TO the increase or decrease OF
| production and the rates of wages paid.
''rhe period covered by investiga-
ton includes the year immediately
| prior to the enactment OF what IS
termed the Mckinley bill' and the
year immediately following its becom-
ing law. That is, the data upon
which the report has been made was
for the year commencing Septem Der 1,
$780, up to and including the 31st OF
August, 1899, and the year commencing
September l, 1890. up to aud including
the 3lst of August, 1891. The meth
DDS employed to secure the necessary
data were almost entirely those OF the
blank system, which has proven SO
satisfactory in nearly all of the pre-.
vious Investigations carried on by the
bureau since 1883.
1T was not the original purpose, nor
is il now pretended, that the data and
statistics presented represent any but
purely Wholesale manufacturing es.
Establishments. To have undertaken to
cover the retail and custom manufac-
turing establishments of the state
would have been physical and finan-
cial impossibility in the present status
of this bureau. Some 5000 blanks were
addressed and mailed to as many separ-
ate establishments throughout the
state and of this number 5000, or "a
per cent, were returned fully and cor
rectly answered. The figures secured
are based entirely upon returns
furnished this bureau by over 5000 sub
stantial, representative and leading
business firms of this state. 1t appears
that there was net increase in wages
of Sc. ST., 925 90 in the year 1881, as com.
pared with the amount paid in 1890, and
a net increase of production of S3l,.
3i5, $50. IS in the year 1891 over that of