Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-09-08
PECK'S REPORT.
G-norsl Prosperity Raised wsGes, Not the
Mckinley Act.

G-norsi Prosperity Raised Wages, Not thu
Mckinley Act.
Labor Commissioner Peck, OF Albany,
has prosecuted an investigation snd
made a discovery. He has investigated
''the effect of the tariff On labor and
wages" and discovered that protection b
boon and the Mckinley law blessing.
II would hardly seem to DO the fnno-
ton Of the state bureau Of labor staeis-
tios TO so into partisan politics, especially
in the midst of an exciting campaign.
But Commissioner Peck, seeing that the
Republicans were fighting for proteo-
ton and the Democrats fighting against
it, felt 1t to be his official duty ito estab-
lish the truth OF falsity Of the promises
taken by the two great political parties
of the country" Accordingly be set
ont to investigate the condition q labor
in this state the year before and the
year after the MCKINLEY law took ef1ect.
He discovered thoA IN the tndUerasl
field he covered there WINS an increase N
the latter year Of tso, 900, 900 IN prod
ucts, $4,000, 900 in wages and tc3 in ths
average yearly earnings Of workingmm.
As this prosperity appeared sfSer the en-
actment Of the Mckinley law, therefore.
as tho situation looked 70 COMMISSIONS
Peck, the Mckinley law must be tho
cause of It.
This conclusion, with the figures fSun
which it was drawn, h duly sst forth tn
the ninth annual report Of ne bureau
OF labor statistics, No essential part Of
which Tho Herald has already pub
lished- Tho RepubtSsans have hailed -
publication a. a boom fo~ psotecSsou
from Democratic o6isiA IN the great
est Of manufacturing states, end WI
doubtless food the coun1ry with n - Q
campaign document eome q oux
Democratic contemporaries, on the con
trary, seem 70 be affected by q feeling
OF indignant amaEenent, bordering on
panic, that Democrat should put forth
such report at such time.
Now lot Us see what Pscks discovery
amounts TO. He hndh nBst thst moro
products wore turned cat and nuose
wages paid In manufacturing indUh4ss
in 1901 than 1890. Wen. whaA of Ihets
II Is Just what any wen h1essnsd DIR
son would expscs Ti,s iDcssase h -
aggregate Of wages and psoducz IN
manufactures has always bean - sossd2
and sure as tho increaee IN popuist1cn
That great truth prevailed In tkh curn-
try long before the Mckinley bfD vas
ever Thought Of, and II VIII pSv~d ing
after that law disappeass hon oth
statute books. Had Commissions Pedk
extended his investigation baokvpr4 b
would have found In evSsy yeB bs6nss
the Mckinley law q volume a wagR
and Of products creates Shsn 49, of Ne
preceding year
The industrial march Of NV Yusk
may be demonstrated By courpsriscn o.
tho federal census manufacturing ststls-
tics Of 1850 with those Of 1cF0-<be ha-
ures for 1890 not yet having been pub
lished by tho census buresu. IN 1870 the
value of manufactured producte vus
$6oe. .00O. 600; in 1880 IL was o. ,0S0 ,000,-
900. In the former year the amount 81
wages paid was si14, 900, 900; m the lat
ter e was si9s, ,000,0 900.
This elbows during the decade yearly
increase Of moro than ~, ,000, 900 IN ne
value of products and nearly c6,5oo, 900
In the amount Of wages. A more str1k-
ing progress could be shown n ne dec-
ade between 1880 and 1890 II the figures