The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-21

An unusually large gathering of
board of trade members last night
heard Hon. Freeman o. Wiley, of
| orange, N. j., discuss the tariff and
| the relations of labor and capital. Mr.,
| Wiley occupied about three-uuarters
OF an hour, during which time he treat
ed his subject in such a gifted manner
both In his language and in fund of
general information that all his hear
ers were deeply impressed and, whether
they agreed with him or not. were
anxious later to compliment him I'D
on his address.
FRANCIS b. Thurber, of New York
| city, prominent member of it's Cham
Der or Commerce and who is we'll
known to Scranton board of trade
members, accompanied Mr.. WILEY
mere, an occurrence not Anticipated by
the board officers. Mr.. Thurber was
granted the privilege of making an ad-
dress after Mr.. Wiley had concluded
and improved the opportunity by n
request that the latters book. "The
Laborer and the Capitalist" be gener-
ally read by board members, Mr.
Ihurber's suggestion that a commit
Tee be appointed to cooperate with the
publishers in wider circulation of the
book. was not acted upon.
| Mr Wiley advocated a high tariff
one that represented at least the diff
terence between the cost of domestic
and foreign labor. The most salient
| points in his addres were that n high
tariff, while artificial, was none the
less useful and expedient: that while
nome labor has to compete with for
elSn labor, home capital has to COM
pete with foreign capital: that labor
ana capital accompany each other and
what benefits the one benefits the
| other.
THEY ARE INSEPARABLE
Trade and commerce and religion.
Mr. Wiley contended, are inseparable
and God-given. A different view is
Indicated, he said, in recent utterances
OF Eugene V. Debs and Samuel Conn.,
ers' who believe they are right in their
declarations that American liberty Is
waning and that capital is arrayed
| against labor. The South fought as
honestly for wrong principle as did
the North for a right one.
one of labor's reasons for the conten-
ton that capital is unjust is assigned
10 tariff. That protection is artificial
ana interrupts the course of commerce.
Mr.. Wiley admitted, but only irf the
sense that highways are artificial and
interrupt the primitive methods of
| commerce-but they are none the less
useful. We sometimes find it neces-
| sary to dam the tide and turn the river
from it's course.
In ascertaining why prices are so
| much higher here than in the eastern
countries, SO glad to sell their goods in
our higher priced markets, it is found
that the cost of labor is higher here.
1t is unchristian for a foreigner to ash,
| free access for his goods There should
| be duty levied amounting to at least
| the difference in the price of labor.
Does protection protec. capital and not
| labor? That is a question answered
atfirmatively by labor. 1t is otherwise
answered by the truth that labor goes
where capital goes, and vice-yersa.
Think you" queried Mr.. Wiley, that
Scranton capitalists would loan their
money at the present low rate of in
terest if they could get more out of it
by investing in manufacturing enter
| prises?"
| AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE.
Price, the great English economist
refused to sign the report of the
Queens tariff investigating commits
| sion because he believed a protective
tariff gave an unfair and unreasonable
advantage to labor though the famed
economist was in the minority on the
committee Figures show that the
| products of capital are thirty per cent
less than twenty-five years ago and
the earning power of labor fifty Der
cent. more.
"A better knowledge is needed to bet
| ter understand. l want you to be well
Informed. When you understand, YOU
| will know that what 1 advocate is as
| good for the laborer as the capitalists
if anything better for the former than
the latter. I'm for the former every
time, to be frank with you. I want
wages higher; l want sweat shops
abolished The more we struggle de-
scending the dark valley, the more we
will enjoy ascending the hillside"
Preceding Mr.. Willey's address the
board held a brief business session,
| G. ". Fulton and Grant Pelton were
elected to membership.
Sol Goldsmith, the special commit
teeman, who went to Harrisburg and
with seventy-flve other business men
from commercial bodies conferred with
Governor Hastings regarding the mer-
camille tax bill, submitted a written
report. The bill was declared to be a
blow at few of the big Philadelphia
department stores, crude, impractical
and unjust, and Governor Hastings
was so advised. The result was his
veto of the bill
| The designations of l.. T. Mates and
ID. p. Replogle were accepted. Notice
was received of the coming annual
meeting of the National board of trade
at Washington, Dec. IA. The election
of delegates was deferred until a future
meeting.
An important matter was referred to