Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1892-10-19
FLYING MACHINES.
HOW THEY WILL AFFECT COMMERCE,
WAGES, PRICES AND TRUSTS.

WAGES, PRICES AND lhool 10
According to the Proteciionist Idea We
Already Have Too Much Commerce, and
Any Device to Quicken Transportation
Would BE Followed by Dire Results.
The Iron Age of Sept. | says: Pen
nington's airship factory in Chicago Is
lust completed, and the aluminium car,
which weighs 235 pounds. the inventor
saws, will start for New York in threeo or
four weeks
Think what this means! If his ship
can successfully navigate tie air we may
next year see hundreds of these man
made birds darting from city to city and
from continent to continent carrying pas .
sengers and valuable freight. How tine
they will look and how they will aid
commerce by reducing the time between
points now connected only by circuitous
railroads. rivers or ocean routesl But
horrorsl What will become of Mchin-
ley, of protection, of the workrngman
and of the farmer, and last, but notleast.
of the hundreds of dearly beloved tariff
trusts?3
According to the protectionist isea we
already have too much commerce. LAS
one Of them puts it. we would be better
off if the oceans Were walls OF me.
Hence every true believer in Mckinley
ism curses all improved means OF com
munication and al inventions that fos-
ter commerce and cheaper the prices OF
commodities. But the McKinleyitesees
even greater danger from this new ma
chine. He. sees it puncturing more holes
in the Mckinley tariff bill than tll
Democratic congress would make. VI
what use will be custom houses when
airships can cross our borders by day o.
night at 10000 different points. and can
anchor in 100000 different places!
What unriyaled opportunities would be
provided for smuggling! The vigilance
Of 10000 customs officers could not pre-
vent smuggling by wholesale, and the
competition in smuggling in large guam
titles of pauper made goods would soon
lower the price of hundreds of articles.
Woolen goods, plate and window glass,
tin plate, pearl buttons and dozens Of
other articles that now sell here for
double the prices in Europe or Canada
would soon come down almost to COM
mon level. And what terrible effects it
would have upon farmers and laborers!
It would probably reduce their expenses
fifty dollars per family, and they would
all-free traders and protectionists alike
be foolish enough to buy all they
could of these cheap goods. They would
even worl, the harder TO produce all
they could to exchange and get their fill
of goods for once.
Increased production would make
demand for more labor, and this would
raise wages. Higher wages would mean
increased consumption, and the wheels
of industry would just hum, not only on
this but on the other side Of the ocean.
II is -Chrlstianlike to think that our
European neighbors would prosper with
Ms. but then it couldn't well be helped,
while goods could be exchanged through
the air so that each nation would get the
benefits of the natural and artificial adj
vantages in production Of all other ma
tions. This could not lower the prices
of farm products, for our farmers lave
the best opportunity to produce In the
world and now compete with all other
nations. Itcould not lower wages, for it
would remove no barriers that obstruct
the passage of labor from one country to
anotler-because there is none TO re
move. 1t would in fact raise wages by
increasing the amount Of goods that
could be purchased with certain sum.
But the poor trusts-how they would suf-
a fer and perhaps die under such competi-
ton! The Pocket Cutlery trust, which
has raised prices 30 per cent. since 1890,
would have to reduce prices at least 40
per cent, because cutlery costs only
about half as much in Europe as here.
The Cartridge trust, which has ad
vanced prices here 90 per cent. and sells
80 per cent. cheaper in Canada, would
have to have a leveling down Of prices
Hundreds Of other trusts now making
millions ont of the tariff, only thousands
of which have to be spent to sustain pro-
lection. would have to be content with
ordinary profits or yield up the ghost en-.
tirely.
Such are some of the Affections that
will follow the introduction Of flying
machines. If protectionists understand
the situation they will bride Mr.. Pen
nington to stop work on the airship.
which will do them thousand times
more harm than Peck's report on wages
will do them good.