The morning call., 1892-11-11
THE ENGLISH CHEAP LABOR SCARE.

Some days before the election Eastern
free-trade papers predicted an influx Of
European lRboTers that would have a
similar effect upon the rate OF wages as the
free admission Of European goods. The
thousands that were being thrown out
of employment in England and other
European countries would come over to the
United States and work for what they could
get The Brooklyn Eagle screeehed as
follows:
They would take work at any price. They
would undersell their labor by undertaking
American workers everywhere. Capital, aud
Republican capital first and most Of all. would
hire them on their lowest terms. The Mckinley
picture of Zone days work. with Two men 10 do
IT," would he changed 10 zone days work, with
four men TO do H." The drop IN wages that
would follow would be felt clear through 10
China.
Rather than invite a drop in American
wages that would be felt clear through to
China. the free-trade papers preferred a
policy which would let in the products of
cheap labor but keep the cheap laborer out.
1t was represented that English cheap labor
was more to be dreaded than English cheap
goods. The New York Herald made fan
tastic argument in the following lines:
Ii is not British free trade but American pro-
lection that Will close The mills Of England's
great industrial cente rs. 1t Is not British free
trade but American protection that will throw
untold thousands Of English operatives into Idle.
ness at home aud drive them to the United
States in desperate search Of work and wages
In short. II is not British free trade but American
protection that VIII food this country with
English cheap labor to the sorrow and distress OF
our Own wage-earners.
The journal last quoted went so far as TO
print bill araphrased from the Chinese
exclusion act, the purpose of which was to
exclude English laborers from coming 10
the United States.
1t assures the workingmen that the only
way to protect them from cheap English
laborers would be TO enact a law putting
English laborers on the same footing as
Chinese The right to do so was inferred
from the exercise Of that right In respect to
the Chinese.
1t is probable that arguments of this
nature had some effect upon laborers who
already felt the effects of the large immigra-
ton of recent years. A proportion of
voters may have been convinced that there
was less danger from free admission of
goods than from free admission Of the
men that made the goods. These men may
not have stopped to think that the Ameri-
can tariff could only close tie American
market against foreign goods. The markets
of all the rest of the world would be open
to England as before. The point involved
was simply if American labor should sup
ply the American market with goods or
whether cons derable proportion OK our
market should be supplied from abroad.
From contending that there was really little
difference between American and European
wages, as the free-traders had done before.
they took the other extreme and repre-
sented that American wages were from
twice to three times as much as European
wages. The argument ran that IL The Eng
llsh laborer could earn twice as much In the
United States as in England every man and
every woman of them would cross over
within year or two.