Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-06-29

advised dealers to import sanitary ware
from England until workmen would ac-
cept a reduction. In April. 1891. the
combine raised the prices Of its wares.
Some of the finest mansions in Trenton
are owned by the manufacturers Of pot
terry who have grown wealthy in few
years.
Can't Mr.. Murray see that the reduc-
ton proposed would reduce the prices Of
pottery: That much more would be de-
manded at the lowerpricesl Thatwhile
we might make less of some kinds we
would make much more of other kinds
than at present? That this would cause
a demand for potters and probable in
crease in wages1 That the reduced du-
ties, prices and profits would probably
break the combine which now has the
potters at its mercyl That there is no
connection between tariffs and wagesl
That duties are on goods-what work
ingmen must buy, and not On labor-all
they have to SELF The same kind of rea-
soning applies to the glass, woolen, iron
and steel and silk industries, which Mr..
Murray mentions.
He breads to return to ''the terrible
poverty and starvation Of the last free
trade period which Immediately preced-
ed the civil war;" just as if statistics did
not show, what Blaine is compelled to
admit in his Twenty Years Of Con-
gress," that the IA years previous to 1851
were, as regards farming, manufactures
and wages, the most prosperous in our
history.
Mr.. Murray's ideas ON wages appear to
be slightly muddled.
He says "that labor organizations
make the price at which labor may be
sold, and in that way benefit all by keep
ing rates far above anything in Europe"
He says:
''Nature in her generosity has placed
in her storehouse (the earth) all that man
requires for his comfort, and in no place
has she been SO generous as in America" !"
He says:
with the spirit of equality implant-
ed in the heart of every American work
ingman it is easy to account for the high
plane to which he aspires, being far In
advance of anything hoped for in any
foreign country. This has not been
reached without contention and loss
of wages to the workingmen. For the
past 80 years the annual strike and lock-
out occurs in some trades or callings,
and in order to protect themselves from
the pauper labor of foreigners the
knights Of Labor succeeded in having
passed the contract labor law, He says:
"The government would protect the
| product of its peoples labor in the same
way as the trades unions protect their
members-viz, the government, by plac-
ing protective tariff on competing i'm
ports, says to the importer. You shall
! not sell this or that article below a fair
price, The trades union says to the un.
fair employer, You shall not pay this
man less than the minimum rate of wa
ges.'"
Here are four or five different causes
for the high wages in this country. The
| first three may be real causes, but we
are unable to see how tariff on the
products of labor, when these products
are not in the hands of labor, can pro
tect the laborer. It looks as if it woult
lower his wages by compelling him Il
pay more for what he has to purchase
perhaps the very articles he has pro
4 duced. If he could put duty of 81 ,00
or more on each immigrant who land
to compete with him, his labor woult
then be protected. II would also be pro
tected to some extent If the contract la
Dor law which he mentions was not con
stantly. violated by the. protected manu-
facturers. Iflaborers would object to tn
duty on goods half as strongly as tn
manufacturers object to the contract Ia
Dor law or to duty on labor, ther
would soon be as little obstruction to tn
importation of goods as there is to til
importation of labor.
Mr.. Murray says that in no case "ar
the duties proposed equal to the differ
ence in wages between this and foreig
countries" The duties proposed averag
25 per cent. According to the census c
1880, the average total labor cost in a,
manufactures was about % per cent.
is expected that the new census wi
show it to be less than 20 per cen
hence, if there were no labor cost at a
in European goods, this duty would sti
more than cover the difference. AS
matter Of fact, there is very little di
ference in wages between this and othe
countries when the amount and qualit
of the product are considered. This ws
the opinion of William NJ. Evarts and {
James G.. Blaine as expressed in their r
ports when secretary of state and is IL
opinion Of many Republican author
ties. If our 90 a day labor were nj
! cheaper than Europe's 81 labor, "
could not, as we do. sell nearly 81, 900
! 000, 900 worth Of our products in comp
: tition with the products Of foreign chea
labor.
: We hope Mr.. Murray will begin ane
:. and go over all Of the arguments for an
: against protection. We think he wi
reach different conclusions.
BYRON W. Holt.
y PROTECTION TO LABOR A FARCE
q The Contract Labor Law Is Constantly wi