The herald., 1896-10-01
IN THE NAME OF LABOR


I'VE want enough tariff in this coun-
try put upon foreign goods that com
pete with ours, to make up the differ
ence between wages paid labor in Eu-
rope and wages paid labor in the United
States" proclaimed William-of-t the
Tariff in recent lawn fete address to a
consignment of visitors from the Key
stone state. Always in the name of
''labor" What frauds are perpetrated.
what sophistries disseminated, in the
name of '1abor!" Old DIR. johnson once
said, in commenting on the ultimate
resort of the political demagogue and
charlatan of his day: Patriotism is the
last refuge Of knave." Well might it
be said of the same sort of people today,
that in the accomplishment of their
ends, labor" is their final ditch.
If Major Mckinley desires protection
for the reason quoted, wherefor this
campaign Of Canton? For we have al
ready protection to more than the de-
gree he says he wants Why ruin flower
beds, wreck lawns and wrench the or
gans of vocalization in a propaganda
for that which we have with US, and have
had. like the poor, always with us for
thirty-five times twelve months? That
is the kind of tariff which is now as
sisting to give bulk to the statutes of the
United States-a tariff which more than
makes up "the difference between
wages paid labor in Europe and wages
paid labor in the United States" in all
instances wherein it is levied on foreign
products. One of the leading Industries
of the state from which the people who
listened to the majors flow of fallacy
came most strikingly illustrates this
fact in the protection 1t enjoys, and that
is the making of steel blooms or billets.
In congressional investigation held in
consequence of those evidences of labor
contentment known as the Homestead
riots, it was ascertained that the labor
cost of this product ranged from 81. .65 to
ST. .95 per ton. The duty at that time on
steel blooms was 500 16 per ton. The duty
under the present tariff act ranges from
s6.72 to $60.4S per ton.
Another industry that both Pennsyl-
vania and Ohio are deeply interested in
is that of window glass. The Herald
recently adduced the figures to show that
the difference in the cost of melting,
counting both labor and material, be-
tween the United States and Belgium
is about 10 per cent in favor of the latter
The duty on window glass imposed by
the present tariff law is 101 per cent. The
steel rail industry is another of the bene-
ficiaries of the tariff for protection, and
it's tongue is already in action in noisy
clamor for more. Yet steel rails are be-
ing sold in the face of the worlds COM
,ot; ton, I,xrA 10 60
Japan. And they are sold for Sc per ton
less than the railroad constructors of
this country have to pay; the latter pay
the trust price, made possible by protec-
ton; the Japanese pay the natural
price, the figure fixeGby the competition
of an open market. 1t is apparent that
the difference in labor cost has been
taken care of in these lines. And it will
be equally apparent, upon an examina-
ton of the present "free trade tariff"
that this difference has been more than
taken care of in practically all manufac-
turing lines.
But it is simply idiocy to talk about a
Tariff ON commodities protecting labor.
The latter is not commodity, it is a
maker and consumer of commodities.
Labor is interested in the use and con-
sumption of commodities, for in the de-
gree that use and consumption are lib
eral, labor will be in demand and wages
have an upward tendency The use and
consumption of commodities will be
greater under conditions of trade free
dom than under the conditions of trade
restriction. With the latter the mark,
cts are narrowed, the quantity Of pro-
duct diminishes and the demand for la
Dor declines. The protective tariff is one
of the most effective methods of restrict
ing trade ever devised. In the end the
only kind of labor it stimulates is the
labor Of hunting for job.