The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1892-08-31
WHOLE NO. 2I44.


ges and general distress hsye invariably
followed periods Of revenue tariff. Il Is
admitted on all sides to-day that day:
wages viii buy much more food, much
more clothing and much more Of the
other necessities Of life than before the
war.
Il IS not necessary for me 70 lroduce
broadside Of tabulated tables to convince
the average American wage-earner that
with protective tariff this country OEsrs
better wages than any other country IN
the world. II is these increased wages
these additional comforts, these broader
opportunities and these happier homes
that have attracted our kin from beyond
the sea, and which made the gates ol
Castle Garden swing inward and not
outward. The official iigures show thai
since 1872. or for nearly % years tie tar
/ if rates Of the United States on total im'
ports have remained substantially the
same In that year the average rate Of
duty was p per cent. Since then 1t la;
never reached higher than 81 per cent
The Mckinley law reduced the average
10 25 per cent, the present rate. When
IL IS remembered that the war tariii
reached a. per cent it is easy 10
realize the large additions 70 the free
list and reductions in duty made by the
Republican party during this % years.
The protection theory is that by en-
eouraging such home industries as may
fairly be expected to take root and grow
here It is possible in the end, not only 70
firmly establish such manufactures. but
ultimately TO produce articles as goOd
aud as cheap as our foreign rivals. The
free trader vii be met this campaign on
every hand with uncontrOveItible facts
proving this TO be true. In the iron and
steel industry il viii be shown that We
have distanced England and are now the
greatest iron and steel producing nation
in the world.
Even the recent strike at Homestead
viii prove a strong argument for protec-
ton. The men we're receiving high wa
ges, lived in comfortable homes and had
money in the bank-tEice and three
times as much as similar Workmen are
paid in England. A comparison Of
strike statistics shows that the number Of
strikes and persons involved are far
greater in free trade England than pre-
lection America-ab0ut three times as
great in proportion to the number en-
ployed. The fact likewise remains that
We are paying double the wages paid for
same class Of work in England, and, in
spite Of the talk about higher cost Of liv-
ing the Senate Finance Committee hg-
ures viii prove that for family buying
the same quantity and quality Of articles
at retail in the two countries that the
cost OF living would no. be higher in
America
The condition, however OF tie AmeEi-
can workman Is infinitely superior TO
that Of any othe- peOble IN the world.
Under this protective tariff We have
built up a vast textile industry, employ
ing in the aggregate neariy 10000 par
sons, and turning out annusliy product
to the value OF aoout S13OOl0001 It
viii be shown in the great branches Of
the manufacture Of wool, Of cotton, Of
silk, that We have steadily Improved The
quality and lesseEed the cost % TIE con-
sumer. Every variety Of cotton goods,
including lace curtains, voo,en cloth and
dress goods, blankets, Wool hats, Init
goods cotton and WOODEN, carpets OF all
grades, silks ana ribbons from American
mills viii be exhibited this camTaign-
better IN quality, more taste in design
and lower il price than heretofore. And
the fact that every housewife knows tbis
to be true, without reading this article in
the Pres or studying a column Of census
figures, make these fsc.s hard nz.s FOR
free traders 10 crack. But lie will have
OILERS. Wages in Ell these Industries
have gone up considerably in the last
decade.
The census shows that the number Of
employees IN the wool manufacture in
creased 81 per cent in the ten years from
1850 to 1870, and their average annual
wages increased Is per cent in that ten
wears. That i, wages paid to all help
Men, women and Children IN al branch
Is Of the business averaged SOS annual
y in 1880 and s347 in IS9O-an increase
Of Is per cent
The tendency Of wages IN al our pro-
tected industries is steadily upward-1ot
always percePtibly from year 10 year
but very marked when measured By ten
year periods. No less marked IS the
steady downward mo sement in the pricc
Of commodities consumed BY wage work
ers. This doEnwarI trend has been
more conspicuous IN woolen goods than
in any other line OF Manufactured aFti-
c,es. The net result % labor has been,
from the two ealses, an increase in the
purchasing power Of wages Of nearly 80
per csnlum in the last 10 years. This IS
not Z result % make wcrkingnlsa hostile
to the protecti7e tI.if OF manufactured
wool, and more especially il tais true If
the lat IS established, aad is viii BE-,
that wages abroad during TIE same psri-
cd have been reduced
Steadily, but surely, the free trade-
MS been driven from the positions he
has occupied, ard n his rapid aad in
glorious retreat there IS lissie leG but The
cry Of fraud and robbery" ani "ths
lack Of constitutional power Wages
and cost Of living at hone and abroad
are especially beyond qussti5a- Steady
reduction IN the COS. Of protected com
modites to consumers caHno. be dsaied-
PJor old Trust vent doSr 10 avoid the
punishment provided by Republican les-
islaticn, and general prosperity makes
people extremely Indifferent 10 3 change,
especially such q radical one Is proposed
by the Democratic platform.
To upset these industries n0E adjust
ing themselves 10 the new tariff TO de-
stroy the millions which have gone into
new industries Ike TN plate, pearl but
tons and q score Of 4rt-cies, = change a
business policy whicl works 80 satisfac-
torily to thrJx han ireGs Of thousands
ont Of enplovme1t and resI1 !. the VA