The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1902-07-31

disastrous fall. There seems t. lie
utter lack of discernment among
these foes of the nation. especially
wnen il comes to distinguish between
cause and effect. This popularity
has manifested itself to striking de-
gree in numerous editorial com uIents
.-Dun's' index number, which
showed the cost of living to be at
the highest point of the decade I'M
inediately these pretended friends Of
the downtrodden wage Garner rush
forward with the cry that prices have
been advanced by the tariff ana the
trusts until starvation threatens the
reople, for with the Use in expenses
there has been no equivalent gain in
wages
AS a matter of fact it must be
clear to any man of intelligence that
1t is due to the unprecedentedly high
wages and full employment of all Ia
Dor that prices advance Commod-
tiles would not long show high lev
Ell of values if no one purchased This
point is clearly shown whenever
corner" is attempted With the in
hated price there comes restricted
buying until the normal position is re-
gained During the years 1893 to
1897 prices fell to the lowest point on
record because there was no demand
and the articles unaffected by any
change in tariff were as badly de-
pressed as those from which the duty
had been removed, since the buying
power weakened by idle workmen.
The flood of imports that came in at
that time has just been absorbed.
Wool is conspicuous in this class. for
it is only within a month that re-
| vival from low prices has appeared
To quote the non-partisan stDun's
Review its own index number:
| "The cost of living has now reached
| the highest point Of the decade,
vii n ia ,di inc no f>hO ninS Of ma
| manufactured goods through i'm
! proved processes. and the absence of
| undue imitation in various classes Of
| steel products which was conspicuous
| in the spring of 1900 and brought
about the subsequent severe reaction
| No artificial stimulus is responsible
for the present high level of manu-
| featured products, and. aside from
| some rise in food products due to
short crops, the present position OF
| the index number may be attributed
! to sound business conditions and full
| employment of labor at high wages.
| In attaining the highest point for
| over ten years, the index number
| truly gives an index of national con-
| ditions. The cost of the necessities
of life naturally tends to advance just
| in proportion to the ability of the
people to consume
Moreover, in it's detailed compari-
son of prices, the same authority
|
| at about 80 per cent of the price in
| 1888, finished products of iron and
steel at 13 per cent of the prices pre-
| vailing in 1887. wooden goods So per
| cent of the prices of 1860, and cotton
| goods 81 per cent of the level IL
| years ago. In other words, while
the active demand sustains the gen
| eral level of quotations at high
| point, the very products of industries
that have been developed by the mi
| Quitous tariff are obtained at strikin g
| concessions. The late William Nc
Kinley promised that a protected in
dustry would not only provide work
at good wages for an army of men,
but that in a few years the prices OF
the articles produced would be put
below the level prevailing before the
enactment of such helpful legislation.
Records prove that these predictions
have been most wonderfully fulfilled
and with true American energy not
only the home market, but foreign
markets are now supplied. In some
cases the development has been
slower than in others, and in the
weaker industries it would be easy
to precipitate disaster by adverse leg
is1ation this winter. But unfortun
ately the foreign sympathizers in this
| country are not taking prominent
part in the government, except from
the editorial canctum.
One point in the discussion OF
wages and prices Is OF considerable
sociological and economic Importance
yet it is generally ignored in discus
sions. Among large number OF
American people there is a certain
feeling that office work is more dig
nified than manual labor and social,
superior. This is most noticeable il
the families of artisans where the
, | children have received common
school education Their mothers ad
vocate the boys accepting positions
in banks, mercantile houses, etc.
where the opportunity for advance
ment is slow owing to the enormous
force employed Bookkeepers ant
men in similar positions work al
their lives at the same desk, never
earning more than SIS or $50 a week
whereas in the lines of productive la
, Dor they might easily secure 81 o.
SIS a day, besides the healthfui advan
tages of physical activity. Yet thi:
t matter of social position puts up al
obstacle which is becoming more Sc
rious every day, tending to overcrows
! oil