The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-09-16
WHAT 1T MEANS.
Lower Wages and Mythical Markets
What Free Trade Means.

What Free Trade Means.
The London Iron and Steel Trades
Journal prints an interview with j. IL.
Rogers, the managing partner of the
firm of L. Norwood s, Co., proprietors
of the South Wales and Cwmbwria tim
plate works, which is almost as inter
csting reading to the American work
man who is asked to vote for Cleveland
and free trade next November as uoti-
iication of an actual cut in his wages
would be, SO plain does Mr.. Rogers
make it that lower wages is what free
trade means. Mr.. Rogers is chairman
of the Wales Tin Plate Makers associa-
ton, and as such is far more interested
in the protection of British industries
than an American. His firm is building
a large tin plate mill near NOrristown,
Pa, and he has just returned from a
visit to this country to look over the
ground, but he is anxious to keep his
Wales works going. He says:
1--WE intend to make u hard fight to
keep our works here and at Cwmbwria
running. Our American works are
what is called in sporting terms Il
hedge" so that if the actions of the
leaders of the working people and the
house of parliament make it unprofta-
BILE for us to carry on our works in this
country, we shall still be able to be
large manufacturers"
This is what he said in answer to the
reporters question, ''Supposing Mr..
Cleveland were elected, what do you
think would be the effect of his policy?"
81 think the result would be that the
duties would be gradually lowered, and
that wages would consequently fall.
The working class would, of course, not
be willing to remain without work, and
manufacturers would have to reduce
wages to enable them to compete sue
cessfully with other countries. Wages
in America are at present about double
what they are here, but if America
adopted free trade they would probably
be reduced by one-half, and become
equal to the wages paid here. The
question of free trade or protection in
America is, therefore, of far more i'm
portance to the working class of
America than it is to any class in this
country. In America the working class
earn high wages at present, and the
cost of living out there is SO little more
than it is here that they have much
greater comfort and are able to save
more rapidly"
Could there be palmer case tor the
workingman? Could there be more con-
elusive evidence that capital will take
care of itself under free trade and make
labor stand the lower prices because
capital would have the power to force
reduction and labor would not have the
power to refuse it? That is the tes-
timony of manufacturer, who is not
republican nor a politician talking poll
ties, but an Englishman talking in an
English town, and who would prefer to
see the tin plate duty repealed. But
the democratic statement of the case
really is no better when you look at it
hard.
Proceeding. Mr.. Rogers remarked that
some of the democrats said: ''We are
quite prepared to admit that if the du
ties are reduced wages will have to be
correspondingly reduced, but our aim is
that wages shall be SO far reduced that
our manufacturers can undersell Eu-
rope in neutral markets such as India,
Autralia, etc, but we believe that the
cost of living and of luxuries should
also be so reduced that workmen would
be as well off at the lower wages as they
are now at the higher wages"