Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-12-27


the universe, but in the United States all of this
has been accompanied by the neare,t approach
to general distribution that the world has ever
seen. This has not been all owing to the
tariff. but the tariff has been the
foundation of it. Labor organizations have
played great and useful part in this
are no more naturally disposed to pay high
wages under tariff than those who exploit the
lab0ring man under free trade; but the tariff, by
giving steady Employment under the influence
# q snre market, by establishing the Organi2a-
ton of industry under the ia Glory system, has
given to organized labor the material to WOrk
upon, the fund of which it has demanded dis
tTlDutlOn-a fund so great that it could never
nave been cqualed or even approached in the
comparatively isolated life which the unpro-
tected industries taken alone, would have civ en-
Us as Il people.
WHAT PROTECTION HAS DONE.
protection has established the clusters Of great
manufacturing and working centers, when
have given railroads the possibility Of existence,
which no scattered population could ever have
created. The railroads which these great manu-
featuring towns and their need of transportation
OF freight have built are sources of enjoyable
wealth which are not confined to the protected
industries but are spread through all the bust
ness ness OF the United States, and 1nure to the com
tort and happiness OF all the people.
Take one example from this very
bill. The mining of bituminous coal
is one of the great industries which is develop
ing the state of West Virginia: upon it the well
fare of that state largely depends so its Demo
cratic governor testies as do many of its most
honored name. Is that development confined
to that state alone? BY means. With the
addition of the coal fields Of Old Virginia the
Norfolk Il Western and the Chesapeake Ohio
obtain from those mines very valuable freight
in transporting coal to the seabOard. From other
bituminOus coal fields the Baltimore IL Ohio and
even the great Pennsylvania road obtain no IN
considerable part of their freight. If coal be
made free there will be fierce competition with
the coal of Nova Scotia, and not only will the
mines of West Virginia, of Old Virginia and
PpnnSVIY1nla the
suffer severely also. To be sure, these are cor
poratons without souls, but the stock and bonds
are owned by people with souls, unless modern
political intidelity should determine otherwise.
Free raw materials to these people would be u
sweet boon indeed
LOW TARIFF AND WAGES.
What exact effect the proposed change of tariff
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
depressing. Upon persons engaged in the in
dustries directly affected the result to be antici
pated seems to be very clea". TO those OF US
who believe i'll protection it seems beyond dis
pute that the acknowledged rise in wages in
this country has been caused by protection as
the great stimuatOr of invention and progress.
The committee. however, probably believe the
contrary That higher wages exist, however, or
did exist before this bill threatened the coun-
try, cannot be disputed. That these wages
are maintained by protection against lower
wages of foreign countries can hardly
be successfully questioned No doubt other
causes, like the low grade of civilization check
ing enterprise and substituting the content
which prevails in the East for daily increas-
ing demand for new luXurles soon to become
necessities, may contribute to prevent the full
effect Of foreign wages upon our markets, yet as
against foreign factories, which have all our
capacity for obtaining new, machinery and
which have Accommodations of capital far great
er than our own, the tariff is the greater maln-
tainer of wages Without being guilty of that
attempt to press the question into Il nutshell,
which is the bone of economic discussion,
it may be briefly said that every
product WHICH goes to market must meet
every other like product equal terms. If in
the United States there are higher wages and
higher cost of capital, there must be such bar
riers against goods from abroad as win equalize
these higher costs or the products of the United
States cannot be sod except at loss. Sales alta
loss cannot last long. There is also constant
demand for lower prices, which demand has to
be listened to in country always striving to-
ward a higher plane of civilization We have
therefore, before always three problems
wages to be maintained, hours Of labor to be
iessened, and prizes to be lowered. Not one, but
all.
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
1t is true that invention at once keeps pace
with and regulates the demand for higher
wages and lower prices and Jew hours which
are the conditions OF our higher plane of civil
ization, but it cannot do more. 1t cannot meet
in addition the lower prices of Il lower level of
civilization. Our inventions are TOO quickly alb
sOrDed by foreign countries to permit this.
Hence the result OF refusal to protect
labor at its present rates must result III lower
wages This seems capable of rough demon
straton. Our goods are now met by for
price made up of materials.
plus labor and plus the present rate of
element be lowered then something must be
lowered on our side, and i'll the last analysis it
will be labor and capital in the long run. for
loss to capital i also loss to labor, for ca pital
EMPLOYS labor and lost ca pital sets no machinery
in motion We must, then meet the reduction
of prices of foreign goods which are our com
petitorS, by reduction of the price of labor
Time was when lower prices and higher wages
were secuted as incompatible and absurd and as
things that could not exist together but to-day
both are recognized as reason demands when
reasonably limited. Lower prices will take care
of themselves, and so will higher
wages ii they are not interiered with by compe-
tition from regions where the different social
status causes laborerS to be content with lesser
results. The consumer will take care of him
self ii You look after the producer, for he is one
and the same Individual. But while this bill in
It's principle if ii has any. is not unpr0tectiye it
vii! be absolutely so in practice not only in its
direct reductions but also in its indirect reduc-
tons sure to come from the change from specific
duties to ad vaiOrem, which is Il marked feature
OF the bill.
THE AID vALoREM SYSTEM.
An al yalOrem duty, the name implies, is
one which varies according To the price. Ii
prices could be exactly determined nothing
would seem to be fairer than an ad Nalorem
matters or opinion which honest men may
differ much and rO9ueS much more. Inasmuch
the duty depends on the price cheat on
the price is q cheat on the duty. If piece
of goods is worth St YARD and the duty is % per
cent, the correct duty Is Sl.30 II the price be
inyOiCcd at s. yard and the fraud be not
detected, the duty collected becomes $.25 and
the al YalCfem, which seems to be - per cent,
becomes about per cent, and not only is
the government cheated ont of quarter of
dollar. but the manufacturer IS cheated out
of one-tifth of the protection his government has
promised him. his, therefore, is not theory.
It is within the experience of every merchant
that goods which cannot be purchased a all in
Europe can be purchased, duty paid, in New
York at lower prices than like goods can be
purchased by the honest merchant who values
them at their true market value and pays the
duty demanded by the government. And yet
these ad yalorem duties thus objectionable have
increased in number everywhere, being substi-
tuted in nearly all the schedules for specific
duties.
NELSON BILL AS A REVENUE RAISER.
How the bill Will act as revenue raiser, and
how it can act an injury to the government
and the producer both together, is we'll eXem-
plifed in the changes made in the pottery
schedule. Only an amount equal to two fiiths
Of the amount OF the imnNrtS ,,l1lo kArn Nal-