Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-11-07
TIE TURN OF THE TIDE
Trust Prosperity Induced by
Protection at an End.
INEVITABLE DECLINE IN WAGES.

|
tries Adjust Their Tariffs For the
Purpose of Excluding American
Products.
In these days of retrenchment and
sagging exports. which are the natural
results of high protective tariff, our
| manufacturers have been looking for
markets abroad that were not walled
in by a protective tariff against them.
| The British colonies in South Africa
| seemed the best field for exploiting,
| and quite nice business was spring
| ing up ia that direction. The depart
ment of commerce., which now includes
| the bureaus of statistics was quick to
! call attention to our increased trade
with South Africa, and the protection
| list organs pointed to it as an example
of foreign trade that had not been re-
duced by our own protection wall.
But, alas, those wicked Brltishers, who
| are free traders at home, where they
cannot raise enough necessities to sup
bly, themselves, when transplanted to
new country. with infant industries,
which they are trying to build up, have
determined on protection.
forms US that all British territory in
South Africa has put in operation a
preferential tariff system in favor of
Great Britain of % per cent. This
will soon wipe out the trade that our
exporters have built up with so much
expense and care. The business thus
lost with South Africa amounted to
$50, 100000, or about one-fOurth of
what the same territory bought from
England, and the amount was increas-
ed with surprising rapidity. In 1898
our trade there amounted to only one
tenth of that of the British, which
shows the great increase since that
date
Our trade with Canada is being cut
off in exactly the same manner. and ali
the European governments are also
raising their tariff walls higher and
higher against us. Thy principal suf-
ferers by this system of protection
adopted by other countries will be the
American wOrkingmGn and farmer.
Both will be cut off from markets for
the surplus they produce and above
what the people of the United States
can consume The workingmen will
suffer by the decreased demand for
what they manufacture and the farm
ers by the decreased markets for their
surplus. As the demand decreases
prices for goods or produce fall and
wages decline. which is the immediate
result that may be looked for in this
country. In fact. the process has al
ready begun. and some of the greater
manufacturers, the trusts. have already
ton must be made The steel trust has
posted notices that on Jan. new
agreement with its employees will be
necessary. The Dover (N. j. Index of
Oct . says
''SOme of the employees of the mines
in this section have received notice
that their wages will be cut II cents
per day. and it is said that the same
rule is to prevail in all of the mines in
the country in the course of few
days. This is Occasioned by the big
slump in steel and a consequent reduc-
ton in the price of pig iron"
That is from local newspaper pub
lished in the iron mine region. and the
information, therefore, comes at first
hand.
a Chicago special correspondent of
the New York Evening Post of Sept so |
says:
THE railroads and machine shops
are not using as many men as recently. |
The night shifts have in a number of |
instances been dispensed with owing |
to falling off in business"
Thus we have the natural result of |
protection brought home to us by the |
efforts of other countries to preserve |
their markets for their own goods. AS |
the foreign demand for our surplus |
productions decreases we must reduce |
our output. To reduce means men out |
of work and lower wages.
During the height of the trust boom |
that has now run it's course wages !
have been increasing. They will now
begin to fall, and only the best skilled |
The protectionists would have us be- |
lieve that the Dingley bill, if untouch- |
ed, will continue prosperity, but the |
facts show that it has bred trusts and |
monopolies. raised the price of living |
far beyond the increase of wages, |
forced countries to increase their tariff |
wall against American products and |
produced a panic in the stock market |
which seems destined to extend to all |
branches of trade.
That the tariff has been the mother
of trusts was sworn statement of one |
of the great trust magnates and that |
the trusts have been selling their prod
ucts cheaper to foreigners than to our
own people has been proved, vet with
all this evidence of the harm that the
protective tariff has done and is doing
the Republican leaders have determin-
ed not to reduce or reform it and are
already engaged in packing the COM
mittees of the coming congress so that
the subject cannot even be considered.
The Best LIniment.
chamberlain Pain Balm is con-
sidered the best liniment on the mar
ket." write Post d Bliss of GeorUia |