The Portland daily press., 1893-12-22

Continued from First Page
world it furnishes in the future new
crop of enemies-the men who dig III the
mines, and the farmers who raise the
sheep-for it really creates what its
enemies bave falsely charged against
Republican protection, privileged class,
against which the mines and the fields
will both array themselves. And the
privileged class does not desire to be
thus privileged. All it asks, or has ever
asked, is to be protected, not alone but
with all other citizens from the destruc-
tive competition with lower grade of
social life.
The M oral and social well-being of a
nation does not depend SO much upon it's
absolute wealth as upon the yearly dis
tribution of the yearly gain. Whatever
can be said of the people of the United
States. nothing can be more truly said
than that the distribution of the pro-
ceeds of united labor and capital has
been among them more even aud fair
than anywhere else on earth. There has
been great Accommodations Of capital
necessary for the worlds development
all over the universe, but in the United
States allthis has been accompanied blythe
nearest approach to general distri button
that the world has ever seen. This has
not been all owing to the tariff, but
Labor organizations have played a
great and useful part in this distribu-
tlon. Men in general who employ labor
are no more naturally disposed to pay
high wages under tariff than those who
exploit the labo-ing man under free
trade, but the tariff, by giving steady
employment under the influence of p sure
market, by esta blishing the organization
of Industry under the factory system,
has given to organized labor the material
to W ork upon, the fund of which is has
demanded distributions fund SO great
that IL could never have been equaled or
even been approached in the compare
lively isolated life which the uhpro-
tected industries, taken alone, would
have given us as people.
Take one example from this very bill.
Bituminous coal is one of the great
industries which is developing the State
of West Virginia; upon it the welfare Of
that state largely dope nds, so its
Democratic Governor Testifies
and many of it's most respectable citi-
zens, including an ex-senator of honored
name. Is that development confined to
that state alone? By no means. With
the addition of the coal fields of old
Virginia, the Norfolk and Western, the
Chesapeak and Ohio obtain from these
mines very valuable freight in trans
porting coal to the seaboard. From other
bituminous coal fields the Baltimore and
Ohio and even the Great Pennsylvania
road obtain no inconsiderable part of
their freight.
If the coal be made free there will be
fierce competition with the coal of Nova
Scotia, and not only will the mines of
West Viringia, Of Old Virginia and
Pennsylvania suffer, but the great rail-
roads will suffer severely also. To be
sure these are corporations without
souls, but the stocks and bonds are
owned by people with souls, unless
modern political infidelity should deter
mine otherwise.
Whether Nova,Scotia-. coal would afford
any real relief to New England manu-
facturers if it were separate measure
is matter much in dispute, but that it
would give them any relief adequate to
in dispute at all. The figures of one
esta blishment in New England, which
will have stricken off the value OF its
product by this bill the sum of $103, 500,
where the wages amount to S42D, QUO, Will
gain in the article of coal as raw
material, supposing the whole rs cents
per ton comes to the pocket Of the manu-
IaCburer, WOulQ Do III, 0UU
Free raw materials to these people
would bessa sweet boon indeed!
What exact effect the proposed change
of rates would have on the general rate
of wages in the country can only be
determined by actual test, but it is not
difficult to see that it will be very de-
pressing Upon persons engaged in the
Industries directly affected the result to
be anticipated seems to be very clear.
kk<xen 80 10 halt
tion it seems beyond dispute that the
an knowledged rise 10 wages in this coun-
try has been caused by protection as the
great stimulator of invention and pro.
gress.
1t may be fattering to our national
vanity to bs told that our workmen, be-
ing Americans, are SO much ADLER than
others beyond seas that they can there
fore dosso much more work that the
higher wages will continue as mark of
their superiority. But much as we would
like to believe this there are no manu-
featuring figures which justify the asser-
tion. In addition the tendency in
America is toward fewer hours Of labor,
a tendency unmistakable and which
mu st be recognized not only as an exist
ing fact but as directly contrary to the
tenets of the Manchester school, which
seem now to preside over our politics.
There is also constant demand for
lowe. prices, which demand has to be
listened to in country always striving
toward higher plane of civilization.
We have, therefore, before us
Always Three Problems
wages to be maintained, hours of labor
to be lessened, and prices to be lowered.
Not one, but all.
But while this bill in its principle, il
it has any, is not unprotective, it will be
absolutely SO in practice not only in its
direct reductions but also in it's indirect
reduttin sure to come from the change
from specific duties to ad valorem,
whiti, is a marked feature Of the bill.
An ad valorem duty, as the name i'm
plies, is one which varies according to
the price. If prices could be exactly de-
tarp,ipa d nothincr yyonId seem to he fa ir.