St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-08-31
WAGES AND TARIFFS.
Immense Advantage OF the Wilson Las
to Worlingmen.

Immense Advantage OF the WILSON, Law
to Workingmen.
A contemporary, whose distinction
is the number of things 1t don't know,
notes the revival In the manufacture OF
pottery in this country, at East Liver
pool, in Ohio. The potteries have been
idle since the passage of the German
tariff until this week, 1t saya, when
three-fourths of them started up on
full tune, and the rest are running
part of the time. Anxious to forestall
any credit that might be claimed by
the democrats that this revival is due
TO democratic legislation, 1t informs
it's readers thatib is not, but that that
legislation gave 1t it's black eye. The
pottery men, 1t says, give as the true
reason that, in order to renew opera
tions at all, and prevent their factories
from remaining indefinitely idle, they.
were compelled to cut prices to the
level Of those of those of imported
goods under the new reduced tariff. :
This shows, says our contemporary,
how friendly the democratic revenue
reforners are to the American work
ingman. .i,. S,
We are of one opinion with our con-
temporary in its last statement The
American workingmen, who vastly ex-
ceed in numbers the manufacturers OF
pottery, will certainly not regret the
reduction of the cost of their pottery.
But the really interesting part Of this
confused. iumble of statement and de-
-duction, is the reason assigned by the
pottery men for resuming. They have
been compelled to reduce the price of
| their wares to a point where they
could compete with the foreign inn
ported ware, increased in cost by the
duty imposed The average ad valorem
tariff on their products under McKin-
1eyism was SO per cent, which was re-
duced by the present act to IS per
cent, making reduction OF little
over Al per cent. Under the present
law the cost OF every 500 worth o.
4 pottery imported Is increased $35 by
the tax, making its cost 31s5. The pot
terry men, if our contemporary is moi
giving us another piece of misinforma'
tion, admit that, for every 800 worth
Of their ware, they add this $35 OF pro
q JGCblOH SO DIS UO Df1uE tuclE pElCC Ap ~
the level of that Of their competitors
in other words, the pottery manu-
facturers thus admit that they an
taking, as they have taken, to them
selves the entire benefit Of the protec
tion afforded
Apropos of this, and illustrating tn
''paralyzing effect" Of the latest tari1
, act, we have the case of Trenton, \
: J., pottery which, on January 10, 1s9.
r three months after the passage of th
, Mckinley act, proposed to its employe
reduction of 331 per cent OF thei
: wages. The men went on a strike
) which lasted until April 30 that yeal
, rrhen reduction of % per cent, wa
{ accepted, but was followed on May
/ by . further reduceion Of per cen
under this .'bIack-eye" tariff, Increase
the wages of It's employees from 10 to
per cent. The effect, then, Of the re
! duction in the tariff Is only to reduc
, the profit Of the employers and II
crease wages, while the effect OF th
Mckinley act was to increase th
!, profits and decrease wages We agre
that the comparison does show .'ho'
!, friendly the democratic tariff reform
+ ers are to the American workingmen.
, st. Paul Globe.