Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-04-28
TIE NEW YORK PRESS PREDICTS
DISASTER MOST DIRE.

If Reform Than the Out of Power Re
pubIicans-How the Protectionists Are
Striving to Hoodwink the People.
Since the Reform club has made pub
lie its proposed tariff bill, with duties Of
% per cent or the great bulk of imported
dutiable articles, the protectionists have
been predicting direful things if such
bill should become law. The New
York Press sets up howl about the pro-
posed % per cent duty on gloves. 1t
says: "This would be deathblow to
one of the most prosperous industries of
this state. In Fulton county alone fully
10000 persons depend for a livelihood
either entirely or in part on glovemak-
ing. The IS per cent tariff would drive
the industry out of existence. The labor
cost of glovemaking is something like
$50 per cent more in this country than
in Europe. The reformers propose to
meet this by % per cent duty, or one
sixth of the difference between the for
eign and American wage rates. Under
this schedule the foreign manufacturers
would take complete possession of the
American markets and close every glove
making establishment in the country"
AS this is a sample of the thousands Of
bowls started by the out of power Re
publicans, it may be well to analyze it
to see what truth, if any, it contains.
We will let the manufacturers speak for
themselves.
Lucien Littauer, the largest manufac-
turer Of gloves III Fulton county and the
United States, said in 1888: 1--WE can do
just as well, pay our employees just as
high wages and conduct just as prosper
Gus a business under 40 per cent Mills
bill as under so per cent tariff. All
this is demonstrable if man will sit
down and think it out for himself"
Mr.. D. B. Judson of Fulton county,
the oldest and greatest and until within
few years the largest manufacturer of
gloves in this country, said in 1888: Gun
der 40 per cent tariff we shall still have
an advantage over foreign manufacture
ers of from so to Is cents per dozen.
That is to say, we will continue to pay
about double the wages paid in England
and turn out gloves and mittens at from
60 to rs cents dozen cheaper than the
English manufacturers. AS a matter of
fact, the tariff does not affect the manu-
facture of heavy gloves-the gloves for
the million, | mean. On the very finest
qualities it does have an effect, but there
are only one or two firms in this vicinity
that make that class of goods"
Another manufacturer, also of Glovers-
vile, Fulton county, and one of the larg-
est five manufacturers there, said in 1891:
"There is no real foreign competition On
more than 10 per cent of the goods sold
here. Fully two-thirds of the heavy
goods made in the United States are of a
class of goods neither produced nor con-
sumed anywhere else in the world.
Gloves to protect the hands Of common
laborers are unknown outside Of this
country. More than 80 per cent of the
ladies' gloves imported are Of class of
goods not made here, nor will they be
made here in your and my time"
There seems to be a slight difference
of opinion between The Press and these
manufacturers. What The Press may
have meant, and what it should have
said, was that wages are $50 per cent
higher here than in Europe. But wages
differ from labor cost as much as steam
differs from a steam engine. A highly
effective modern steam engine, under
high pressure, produces greater effects
and uses less steam than an old style, in
effective engine under low pressure
Highly skilled labor, with high wages,
produces greater results than unskilled
labor at low wages. Hence the highly
skilled labor Is cheaper. This is evident
from the fact that the high wage labor
of England has for generations been
more than able to compete with low
wage labor of the rest of Europe and of
Asia. Englands manufactured prod
ucts sell all over the world.
But 1t so happens in the case of gloves
that nearly half of the $16,0O0,O00 worth
annually consumed and fully two-thirds
Of those made here are mems heavy
gloves, neither made nor worn in any
other country. That this part of the in
dustry would not be driven out of exist
ence by IS per cent, or by any other
duty, is clear from what Mr.. Judson and
many others say. Heavy gloves are, in
spite Of high wages, like boots and shoes,
actually made cheaper in this than in
any other country. But then this is the
year for The Press and other good Repub-
ican papers to close up factories, extin-
guish industries and lower wages, and if
they sometimes become overzealous and
make leaky statements we should re
member that calamity bowling is at
present their only occupation, as future
calamity is their only salvation, and not
criticise them too severely. The coun-
try must go to the dogs under free trade
or the protectionists are lost.-Byron
w. Holt.
WHY CANADIANS EMlGRAfE.