The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1892-02-26
A WORKMAN'S VIEWS.
TIE NECESSITY OF A TARIFF CON-
SlDERED By A WAGE GARNER.


Experience in England and In the United
States - Free-trade Demagogy - Com
parison Between English and Ameri-
can Wages.
You see," said the Free-trade SIRE
form" demagogue, as he cooked his wise
looking eye upon his listeners, 1.-The tariff
does not protect American labor, because
! it can produce more cheaply than the la
Dor of any other country. notwithstand-
ing that it is better paid. To make my
point clear, suppose an American work
ingman who gets two dollars day and
an English workingman who gets one
dollar, both engaged in exactly similar
work. The two dollar man is really
a cheaper man than the dollar man, be-
cause he produces. say, twenty of GER
tain manufactured article, while the
slow. thick witted Briton can only pro-
duce nine of the same article. Hence
the employer of the American labor can
afford to sell his goods cheaper than the
English employer. since the former gets
his goods made at ten cents apiece,
while the latter pays over eleven cents
apiece. When. therefore. the robber
baron demands Protection so that he can
v,ntinue to pay the higher wages to his
employees, he is deceiving the public.
He wants the Protection so that he can
exact higher prices for his products
when he sells them: perhaps, to the very
ones who make them. Protection is a
fraud. delusion and snare. and di-
rected chiefly against the interests of
labor"
AT this point an intelligent looking
workingman elbowed his way through
the crowd and addressed the performer"
as follows:
THAT is very nice story to tell to
any one who doesn't know any more
about it than you do yourself. worked
in England for years, and have worked
in this country for long time, as pot
ter. and | know that that theory of
yours about lower cost of production in
this country is pure rot In the old
country made just as many pieces a
day as do now, but got less than half
the money that get now. | happen to
have in my pocket the list of prices that
used to get in Staffordshire, and | will
give side by side with them the prices
get now for making exactly similar
goods"
But the mere mention of price lists
was too much for the theory loving tariff
performer" and while the speaker paused
a moment to search for the lists among
tho h ndfl7l of pa parS ba bod ,lra,r,, f,o,,,
his pocket, the theorist quietly slipped
through the crowd and hurriedly disap-
peared around the nearest corner. NUT
tering something about being obliged to
hurry to Il Henry George meeting where
the sinfulness of private property i'll
land was to be discussed.
THAT is my usual experience with
these Free-trade demago9ues," resumed
the workingman when he looked again,
but in vain, for his opponent. "They
are mighty plausible in discoursing of
theories and supposed cases to the I'M
informed, but they run from facts and
figures every time. However, as you
who have congregated here seem anx-
ious to hear me to the end, | shall con-
tinue as though our tariff 'reformer'
had not run away Here is the list of
prices paid for making cups, saucers,
mugs and plates in England and this
country, with the per cent. of difference
in favor of American labor given in
separate column. All other kinds of
labor, skilled or unskilled, by the day or
piece. in and about the American estab-
lishment, receive wages proportionately
higher than the rates paid in England: