Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-08-12

That fulfilment is left to the most i'm
mediate benefciaries of the protective
system, the manufacturers. There
may be manufacturers who run their
establishments as benevolent institu-
tions, and who think first of their
working-m and last of themselves;
but it is not in human nature that
they should be many Of this kind.
Most manufacturers will manage their
business on ordinary business principles
They will have keen eye to their own
profits. If managers of stock COM
panies, they will consider it matter
of justice as we'll as of pride to secure
large dividends to the shareholders.
They will ordinarily pay the working
man not as much as they might, but
as much as they must; or, to express it
less harshly, although profits might
allow it, they are not likely in the pay
ment of wages to go much beyond the
market rate. And whenever profits
are endangered by unfavorable circum-
stances, they will resort to whatever
may serve to prevent a deficiency-a
reduction of wages among other
things.
The working-man, VINO is not an I'M
reasonable being, will submit to re-
duction of his wages when he sees the
necessity Of it. But he will be the
more unwilling to admit such a
necessity under any circumstances, the
more reason he has been given to look
upon himself as at least one of the
intended benefciaries of the laws which
have done so much to make his en-
ployer rich. He will be rather inclined
to argue that under these laws he had
hardly had the full share of the benefit
that was promised to him, and that
somebody else has unlawfully made
off with large portion Of what was
the working mans due. And if. upon
this view of the case, the laboring man
works out for himself theory Of
rights far beyond this, we must not be
altogether astonished to find that the
tariff, with all those promises with
which it has been commended to the
favor Of the working men, has become
one of the most effective propagators
of socialistic ideas.
The working man will gradually
open their eyes to the fact that those
fair speeches have most cruelty deceived
them. They have only to look at the
rate Of wages in the different countries
of the world to satisfy themselves that
high wages are not caused by high
protective tariff, and that low wages
are not caused by the absence of
high tariff. We are constantly told,
when comparing American wages
with English wages, that wages in the
United States are much higher than
wages in England because we are
blessed with protective system while
England is not. But it is a notorious
fact that wages in free trade England
range much higher than wages in
Germany and in other European coun-
tries blessed with a protective tariff.
Now if in one high-tariff country
wages are higher than in one free trade
country, and if at the same time wages
in that free trade country are higher
than in several high-tar countries,
then it cannot possibly be that the
tariff makes a high rate of wages and
the absence of the tariff a low one.
If the Working-man pursues his in
quiries further, he will find that during
that famous period when the United |
States had low tariff, from 1916 to
1861, wages here were as much higher |
as those in any European country as |
they are now, and that during that |
low-tariff period they were steadily |
raising. He will find that wages in |
this country have always been higher
than European wages, not on account |
of any tariff, but on account of the |
surrounding us the |
large quantity of cheap, fertile, and |
easily accessible land; the almost mex
haustible abundance and variety of |
natural resources inviting enterprise;
the numberless opportunities for fruit |
full activity; the exceptional energy |
and productiveness of labor in this
country; and SO on. He will find that |
the wages of persons engaged in such
labor as is not protected by any tariff |
at all, such as employers of transport
alton companies, house servants, brick
layers, carpenters, bakers, longshore-
men, plasterers, and many others, are
the highest, compared with
corresponding wages in Europe. Final
ly, he will find that employment and
wages are as dependent on the labor
market and the state of business in
America as in free trade
and no less; that organiza-
atoms have as much influence upon
such things here as in England, and
no more: and that the promises with
which the protective policy is COM
mended to the favor Of the laboring-
men cannot possibly be fulfilled by |
any tariff law, and are therefore a
delusion and snare.