St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-31
WHERE ARE WAGES ATe

The plan Of campaign adopted by the
Republicans develops apace. The bus
mess interests are to be bugabooed by
1.-THE paralysis Of disquietude" caused by
the determination OF the Democrats to
keep up the war on protection. The
workingmen are to be stampeded by
wage reductions "eaused" by the Cor
man act. The old favortte role of
prophecy anu prediction is to be played
again, with new scenery and an in
crease OF brass bands.
If there is awage Garner left who
has not been taught by bitter expe-
rienee that wages are entirely indie
pendent of tariffs, we ask him to read
few good Republican protectionfst
authorities. We don't ask him to take
Democratic statements for it, but he
should surely take some stock i'll the
admissions wrung from those who have
been Stutfing him with their sophistry
to get his vote. Ii 1891 were not too
far to go back to, we would quote Nc
Kinley's admission IN his Akron speech
that protection cannot fix the price of
wages any more than it can fix the
price of any commodity"
The Minneapolis Tribune webbles so
that it can hardly be taken as authorita-
tive. but, while it was scoring Debs
last July, it lost sight of its tariff beacon
and incautiously admitted that Labor
should not ask for any special privi-
leges," those being the prerOgatives OF
the favored and protected few. Taken
to task by correspondent for this
lapse, it said: 1.-The Tribune does net
understand that Republicans who are
authorized to speak autlioritatively for
the party claim that a protective tariff
is for the special benefit of labor" The
Milwaukee Sentinel said that until
the price of labor is determined by
something beside the supply of conf
peting laborerS or until EN-
ployers acquire conscientious seruples
against buying their labor in the cheap
est market II there is bound to
be dissatisfaction, poverty and over
work"
Mr.. Wickes. vice president of the
Pullman company. was a witness be-
fore the strike commission. His chief.
Mr.. Pullman, recently expressed to the
New York Herald his intense disgust
that, after all he had done for his work
ingmen, they should have voted in 1892
against protection. He lost all interest
In them after that. Mr.. Wickes shares
his views. Mr.. Wright asked the vice
president whether employers could
not avoid strikes by voluntarily
raising wages when business was
unusually good and they were making
exceptional profits. Mr.. Wickes re-
piled: al don't know but they could.
But wages are regulated by the
demand and supply. We go into the
market to buy labor as we go into the
market to buy other things" Mr.. Ker-
nan asked him if he didn't think that
wages may sometimes become matter
of arbitration. II do not" replied Mr..
Wiekes, ''unless they are a matter of
contract, and the question is as to the
meaning of the terms of the contract.
The law Of supply and demand regu-
latss wages"
This is in entire harmony with the
views of the sinsmanufaeturers
HhOoS iCooSSN WuSCo
because of "the Democratic hard times"
but. when their yearly statement
showed sales and collections as good as
in the previous year, maintained the
cut, and. to the suggestion that. in
morals, they were bound to restore
wages to the rate before the cut. CURLY
answered.: eve want it understood
that this company. like all others, gets
its labor just as cheaply as it cam"
The strike now On III Fall River and
New Bedford is another illustration.
The Mckinley schedule on cotton goods
was made to suit the mill owners under
the pretense that it would enable them
to pay higher wages. Secretary Hart,
of the weavers' union, says ''sfnce 1890
we have been cut down repeatedly by a
change in the styles of cloth and the
payment of less wages for the same
cloth under another name" But what
is the use of adding testimony to what is
the actual experience of every working
man in any of the protected industries?
If that has not taught him that. as Nc
Kinley admits, ''protecIlon cannot fix
wages any more than it can the price
of any commodity" he is too hopeIessly
dull to learn even in that best of
schools.