The Dickinson press., 1892-09-17

them ut least al "Hc"::s' q! - Fer ceat.
more aNnuii i%pco!H".
",Many &! tl:r { ~.:t.:yS !.nYy i:,o,r than
doubled thti r capacity in buildings and
machincr*, nni all of Them ,h"w.iis rcased
production. Tho 2::4i.! il "t.i i'Ht 81 course
reduces incidental expenses
''I'lc fac; tt;,t ,ir Na.," tt 'hc pocket
cutlery imported !a>; y,a;. witi.-tha duty
added. SO closely app"uNi"!a;eS tl"|a"n"ant
made here .,:ows The conditions OF coupe
tition prr,t." accurately adjusted"
The scn#;nr hcyeHnil;, .wi tirc Oft lt0;Vd
| statistics OF Mr.. y. Sc!!oc..su. and other, in
regard to .ir greater caicjciey and c"msc-
qucntly .lc,tcr clica,nrss Of American
labor, showed their glnrimg .al.acirs, dem
onstratcd that wages in many lines are Il
per cent. higher in .Nnieric" tia" in Eng
land and continued:
The rule that sluuld apply in FIXING tue
rates Of protective du'ir' is that they
should in all cast equal ;lr difference be-
tween the cost of productions and 'is'riln-
ton, under normal ,,:n,itio,>. %. the "rt!-
Gle in question III our own and in that
competing country where til" cost NJ pro
! duction is lowest. This WIS the rule which
was followed in the preparation of the act
of iSm.
Protective duties levied III this m,nnrr
have but one purpns" an! can i'tNe5u; t''lc
c~ilcct-that t., TO protect .,tstrir;. labor
aud to maintain the existing l@.i.s'. level Of
wages am! earrings of American workmcn.
When such duties are removed or reduced
below the protective point labor receives
the full force of TN" blow.
This rule for fixing rates shGull only APP
ply, however, to articles in the production
of which The United States has equal nat
ural ADVANTAGES with other countries. AS
n pro'rctioni-t ! believe that the United
States cannot afford, havin" in view tho
most rapid development al l!cr .:reat re-
sources, to lrTy duties upon articles in the
production of which other countries have
permanent natural advantages. Such arti-
clcs should Ike admitted free.
From this point of view much valuable
time has been wasted in the collection and
discussion of statistics in regard toSo called
total labor cost of production. Most of
these statistics leave ont Of the comprt;l-
ton sums paid for clerical service, for SIT
p~rrintcndcncc, for taxes and insurance, for
labor in repairs and materials and all the
great mass of incidental EXPENSES which go
to make up the cost Of doing business and
the ultimate " # of production. These all
represent labor or services. The sums col.
lrcted for ,HNrs, for instance. go to pay
school teachers, fircmcn, policemen. tax
nssrssors, collectors and various either en-
ployecs in tie public service. All the es-
sential elements in the cost of prGjE",icn
can be reduced To an expenditure for labor
or services in some form, and labor cost Of
production and total cost of product are
equal terms.
Among the many remarkable statements
made by the senator from Missouri in his
speech of Jane -. / find the following:
81 am prepared to show by i,rrfutalle
testimony that never in the history Of this
country has there been such disturbance
of labor, never such hostil" and i~ninlical
relations between employer and employee,
never such prostration of agricultural in
tcrests. never such IL limiting and narrow
ing of foreign markets. never such disaster
brought about in SO short Il time as Icy this
infamous legislation"
ITO support this lie presents Il list Of al
legged strikes. lockoutsl and wage reductions
compiled by lion. John De Witt for the
New York World, covering the time from
Dec. 4, 1850, to June Is, 1892. He says
sevcnty-scvcn ST rikcs occurred in that time.
Here is II list furnished by the commits
sioncr of labor for each year of lSsp-90, in
clusivc]: