St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-31

culture. 100000. Now. let us see If
the tariff advocates the greatest good
for the greatest number. The most
ardent advocates of n high tariff never
have made and never can make ra-
tlonal pretenSe of benefiting the first
class by their system. This disposes of
one-fourth of the population that must
under the protection theory pay
tribute to some portion
of our population without receiy-.
ing a compensating benefit. The same.
is true of the 100000 engaged in trade
and transportation. Now, ask the agri-
culturists of New England. who live.
under the very shadow of the protected
industries. where. If anywhere, this
class should realize the beauties of pro-.
lection in the bandsOmeSt returns from
their labOrs, If farming has been more
and more rtmunerative from year to
yeaI as their indirect taxes to the gov
eminent ard tribute to their own manu-
facturerS has been increased by an in
crease of the tariff.
Ask the wheat raiSers and the wool
growers of the West and the Mississippi
valley, and the cotton growers Of the
South the same question, and they will
answer by pointing to the ever-increas-
ing farm mortgages and yearly decrease
in the market value of their stock and
crops. This disposes of sevcn-nintiis Of
our population, who receive 10 com
pensating return from the eXactionS OF
the ''fuling class" in our country for
the tribute eXacted of them.
or the other 1000. 600. engaged in
mining and manufacturing, perhaps
half million are owners of mines and
factories. These men are the bene-
ficiarieS of the tariff. or they could not
contribute their millions on the eve of
an election to make war upon our re-
public by briblng the electors. But the
wealth they receive by virtue OF the
privileges granted them by our govern
ment is a tribute eXacted by the strong
arm of law from % per cent OF our peo-
pie for the enrichment of the other )
per cent, as we shall see by making an
analysis of the effect of the system
upon their employees. Is this fair?
Is this the purpose for which gov
ernmentS are instituted among men?
Is this the meaning of the preamble to
our constitution? Is this guaranteeing
equal rights, equal privileges and equal
opportunities to all classes of our peo-
pie, and special favOrS and privileges to
no claSses9 Ask the miners if increas-
ing the tariff has ever increased their
wages, and their answer is: Our wages
are fixed arbitrarily by our masters, for
they can by indirect methods import
any number of the lowest grade labor
erS to take our places if we refuse their
terms. as there is no protective tariff
on that kind of labor.
Ask the more intelligent employees
of the manufacturers the same QueS-
ton, and they must answer our wages
have gradually grown less and less from
year to year during the last twenty-five
years. while the tariff has more than
doubled in that time. Furthermore, as
an absolute proof that the tariff does not
| increase our wages, it is fact that the
greatest difference between American
and European wages occurs in those
trades that not even the friends OF pro-
lection claimed to be directly influenced
by the tariff; such, for example. as the
wages for bricklaying, stonema-
sonry and carpentry. Wages i'll
these trades are two OF three
times as high here as in England
and five times as high as in Germany, a
| country practlcing the protective policy,
| thus showing conclusively that il is the
ratio of the number of workmen TO the
work demanded that fixes wages. In
| all protected industries wages are very
| little and III most of them comparatively
no higher here than in England, that is, in
| comparison to the amount of work done
by each class of laDorerS.