Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-05-03
FALSE PROMISES.

Senator Mills and his fellow dema-
gogues tell the farmers, the manu-
| facturers. and the wage-wOrkerS that
the passage of the Wilson bill will
be a ~ sing for them. since it will
| give them markets for their products
4 which they do not find at home The
senator says that the home market
/ does not absorb the home products the
! value of which he places at five bill
ions a year 1t would require, he at
/ leges, a population of III millions 10
consume them Therefore he tells the
| producers that they should pay no
attention to Il home market which con
Sumes in the aggregate 80 per cent
of the products of the workshops and
the farms and reach out for foreign
markets in which to dispose Of their
! commodities.
| 1t is all right to secure foreign mar
kets provided the home market is not
| sacrificed in So doing To iniure ones
best customer who takes 90 per cent
of ones product in the hope Of gain
ing a new customer who may AXE 10
! per cent is not buSncSS-likn.
Senator Mills say that if the Wilson
| bill is passed the farmers ami stock
raiscrS Of the country will sell more
| breadstuffS and meat The mere fact
of its passage will not cause the
J Europeans to buy a pound more Of
| bread or meat than they do now
They will buy after, as before. lust
as much Of those commodities as they
/ need. and if they can buy them more
| cheaply from Russia, Australia, or Ar
gentina they will do So They will not
| ask for American wheat Sut for the
| cheapest wheat If the American
| farmers will mderSell their com
petitors they viii sell more but will
get less money for it There is not
much profit i'm that
In order to find a market abroad for
/ the alleged surplus manufactures of
/ this country it will be necessary to
| compete with and undcrScll Great
Britain, France, Germany. Italy.
Austria Belgium, and Switzerland,
and i'm order to retain the home market
/ it will be necessary to undcrsell them
/ in the I uitcd States 70 do either or
/ both of these there necessarily must
be a lowering of wages so prices may
be lowered That will diminish the
purchasing power of the workingman.
/ He will he able to buy less of the
/ pToduc Of tine farmer. His standard
Of living will tend to approach the
/ poorer standards Of other countries. If
/ he is to consume equal quantities and
qualities Of bread and meat he must
have them at cheaper prices. Then the
/ farmer must make his choice Either
/ he must reduce his prices. i'm which
| case he makes less money than before
or he will have larger SURPRISES to sell
abroad at reduced prices. The pur.
chasing power of his home market will
be so seriously hurt that he viii not be
able to make his old profit out of II.
Industrial wars are not ended with
one battle. There is 50 much at stake
that each nation puts forth all It's
/ powers and taxes itself to the utmost
to win. If the United States lowers
/ wages to defend it's own market ana
conquer the markets of other countries
they will follow suit in order t. .ro-
/ tcct themselves at home and in neutral
markets. If this is not followed by a
similar move in the United States there
/ will be no market for its manufactures
at home or abroad That condition Of
affairs could not be endured Tt would
mean the starvation Of millions There
would have to he another wage reduc-
ton, and thus the warfare between
this country and the manufacturing
nations Of Europe wolr1 90 on until
one side or the other had reached the
verge Of starvation and could 90 no
lower. The one which could command
the cheapest food would be the one to
win
Very likely the United States owing
could furnish food most cheaply, and
to its great agricultural resources.
thus its manufacturers would win the
battle. But that would be at the OK
/ penSe Of the rfood-producers. They
( could not escape their share Of the
/ burden. They would have TO take
/ lower prices for their products in order
that the wage-workerS might carry on
/ the contest
Thus the mastery Of foreign markets
which Senator Mills promises. would
mean low wages for the wOrkingmen
and very low priaas for the farmers.
This is the scantv feast to which the
Texas senator and his confederate as
spciates are inviting the people Of the
United States And to reach 1T they
will have to suffer for years from
strikes lockouts. industrial armies. .
and every other form OF industrial
wan. # is better to stick TO protection
and prosperity, high wages and good
prices
NOTES.