Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-02-20
Hill is Talking Again.


possimistic forebodings. 1t is this time
labor that is to precipitate results which
will ruin industry. He oracularly de-
clares that CAS- labor unions killed
Industrial England, so are we destined
to bring about grave financial reverses
in the United States, by a like cause,
and we are swiftly approaching that
crisis. 1t may" he declares, come in
a year, it may be deferred till tie Pres
idential year, but it is bound to come"
Despite his attempt to cite prece-
dent, labor unions per sc have never
been conducted abroad with the intel
ligence and unanimity OF action, as in
this country at the present day, and it
is unfair to dignity the sullen protest
OF class reduced to the condition of
serfs with the free and intelligents acts
OF the American citizen.
About az untenable is his assump.
ton that "this country is losing
ground in a manufacturing way"
There was a decrease in the value OF
manufactured exports in 1891, due
mainly to the maintenance in this
country of high prices on copper and
an unusual demand here for iron and
steel manufactures. The manufac-
tured exports increased SIS, 900, 900 for
the nine months ending in September,
1902, as compared with the same
months OF the previous year, and there
is reason to believe that like ratio of
increase will be maintained the present
year. A late bulletin from the Treas
ury Bureau of Statistics, at Washing
ton, is authority for this belief, as it
declares that the exports of manufac.
lures reported for 1902 are larger than
for corresponding period of any other
year in the history OF our country.
Mr.. Hill gives as reason for his
assumption that Germany leads in
manufactures, and is making swifter
progress, in increase Of products
that the German laborer tolls &C hours
a week in the factories, and the Amer
lean workman but A, a difference be-
tween IL hours per day and not quite
eight hours. Then he maintains, the
Germans excel as craftsmen, which
would be, indeed, impossible by this
strain upon body and mind, if there
were no other reason. But we have
merely to refer to the great strides
that have been made in manufactured
appliances to show that industrial art
has kept step here with the mighty and
rapid progress of demand and supply.
Mr.. Hill maintains that "our com.
petitors are sweeping us aside, because
of the high cost of production, due to
the rapid growth of labor unionism."
He seems to loose sight of the fact,
however, that the costs of production
have been quite effectively kept down
by the development OF labor, saving
machinery in nearly all industrial pur.
suits. On this fallacy he bases . plea
for tariff protection, the panacea Of
monopolists for all ills, under all con.
ditions and circumstances.
1t might be we'll for Mr.. Hill to put
a staple on his tongue. A few weeks
ago he was numerically f1ayed by his
millionaire friends for predicting hard
times and disaster ~ an attendant OF
the portentious outlook of national
conditions. and he now will displease
the laboring classes quite as much by
placing on their shoulders responsible
ity for loss of trade that had been
but temporary and from which the
country has fully recovered.