Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1892-02-24
PROTECTION KEEPS UP IMAGES


why DasIes ON Raw Materials R.ssr,cs Ex-
port~-rhe Principal Element I'm the Ccss
ut Producing rhese Materials IL Labor
Hence the Cc-t IL Greater ON Account of
the Higher uages Paid IN Our Working
men.
1t is not the duties that Brazil and
other south American countries impose
on the products of the United States en-
tering their ports" says free trade
paper" il is the duties imposed in the
United States upon materials Of manu-
o,turc anu OF industry generally. and
npon the necessarics OF life. that arc tho
chief obstacles"
The American worl<ingman has only
TO carefully anaiyze these two sentences
to get at the real anirnus OF the free
trade reform" doctrine. suppose the
'reformer' himself is present To explain
and answer questions, and something
like the following dialogue would prob
ably cnsuc;
Workingman--lIow do the duties on
materials restrict our exports?
Reformer--By preventing the manu-.
facturer from getting cheap materials
from abroad at prices paid 10y foreign
manufacturers Obliged to use HIGH
l priced domestic materials, he cannot
sell his product as cheaply as the for
eign manufacturer can, and hence can
not compete with the products of the
! foreign factory
WorlSingman-Are not iron, steel.
/ cotton aud wooden cloth. chemicals
paints, cordage. yarns. ribbons laces
metals, and numberlcss similar prod.
ucts, used rs materials" in manufac-
I turing?
I R.sff q. fs.l. A..
cost more in this country, and the
things made from them must cost more
Hence they can not compete with for
cign products In tho markets of tho
world.
WorlSingman--You speak OF the du.
! ties upon the materials "of industry
generally" Define more clearly.
! plcase2
Rcformer-By that mean the in
creased cost Of machinery. higher rents
and such incidental items in the cost OF
! production. which are due 10 tariff en-
HANGED prices OF machinists' supplies.
/ building materials and the like.
! Worlingman--Ab bout the necessaries
OF life9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cost OF clothing,
salt, tinware boots and shoes. and Of
tates a relatively higher rate OF wages
Thus, the tariff on these things enters
into the cost OF production, and oper-
ntcs TO keep ms out of the markets of
\ the world.
| WorlSingman-It means then that be-
/ ginning ut the finished product and
/ tracing the materials TO their sources,
/ the tariff affects them at every stage?
4 Rssfn That Il lo
The American manufacturer Is com
pclled by protective duties To use high
{ priced American materials. from ore
and wool TO watch springs and worstcd
cloth.
workingman-You speak of "high-
/ priced American materials" i can un-
derstand that the product of high-priccd
materials must itself be high priced, but
you have not as yet explained the origin
OF the high price. Why. for instance,
should American iron orc be more
high priced than English ore. Are
the iron mines more accessible or the
ore richer abroad than i'm America
Reformer-We have some OF the rich.
est iron mines in the world, and the ore
is more easily taken from them.
WorSingman-What are the elements
In the cost OF iron orc?
Accommodation is almost the only
! element
Worlcingman-Ahl Then the reason
why American ore costs more is because
the labor which brings IL TO the door OF
the furnace costs more. It seems now
that we have reached something tangi-
bic in our pursuit OF the tariff When
you demand free ore you mean that
thousands OF American miners and la
borers shall either be thrown out OF
employment or that their wages which
cause the high price OF the ore. be re-
duced 10 the level OF foreign labor /
think ! shall have no more difficulty In
following your argument now that
have begun at the end opposite 10 the
finished product with which you started.
The ore costs more because American
labor costs more, and that additional la.
Dor cost clings 10 IL through all its forms
till IL ends in the higher priced machine
10 which you object Salt that neces-
sary Of life, costs more because the labor
of producing II costs more. My coat
costs more because the wool grown by
high priced American farm labor cost
more. Your demand for cheaper ma
terials, then, is simply asking for lower
wages or no employment for the labor
producing them. When we come 20
consider the higher forms OF materials
like cloths. chemicals and so on your
doctrine assumes n more virulent mode
Of attack on American labor. High
wages in their production are what
make the high prices" will know
In the future what Is covered up under
your sophistical references 10 the clogs
imposed on commerce by our tariff. I
think that do not care for any OF your
reform" thauk you.
Only American Cotton Ties.
Many are the pages OF the Congress
I eiouaI -eeord devofcd 70 dcs.rf,.t f,.,,. ~