The Teton peak., 1904-09-08
THE PAY OF LABOR.
Republican Policy Tends to . Osool9
Increase Of Waxes.

Republican Policy Tends to . oeooAp
Increase Of Waxes.
The question of wages Is q vital susa
tion in this country, and the late Thsnas
B. Reed. in 1888. said: ITO insure -
growth in civilization and wealth N
must not only have wages a. high Z
they are now but constantly and stsadi1
Increasing
1t was then thought by some ef NJ
Reeds friends that he had gone tee fat
toward a promise as to the meaning q
the Republican policy Of protection, aat
that his prediction would lead workine
men to look to this policy for bsaslt
that could not always come.
1t is now sixteen years since Mr.. Hsst
made his speech defending the vital cues
ton in our economic policy, and tAsrt
have been three tariff laws since thai
time. The Bureau Of Labor, directed b
Prof. Carroll d. Wright. who was aD
pointed to the position by PresidsnA
Cleveland, has for three years been cen
ducting an investigation to determine tA&
effect Of tariff legislation on wagss, aA(
the result was made public in the july
bulletin of the department. The !avss
tigation covered the period from 1899 u
1903, and it shows an increase in wa0a
and work under the Mckinley and Dino
ley tariff laws and a decrease n bstl
under the Wilson German tari0 hW
From 1890 to 1898 the increase n 81
ployes was from $40 to 90.2; from 1oo(
to 1894 the decrease was 94.1, and tres
1897 to 1903 under the Dingley law ths
increase was from 100 to 1894. TAsrt
was a like increase Of wages under tA&
! MoI< <irlo nd <o~ 81 No A.
crease under the Wilson German tari9
The significant comparisons are Of seA
ditions in 1894 under the Democrats
tariff and 1903 after six years sf tAl
Dingley tariff. There was an incrsast
of 34.3 per cent, or more than ons-thiRA
in the number Of employees, a decrease 4
81 per cent in the hours Of labor, aA(
an increase Of 1873 per cent in waS~
per hour. These are striking figures -
cause they show that under Republican
tariff legislation more than ons-tAir(
more men had employment than snAs,
the Democratic tariff Legislation. AMI
that they received nearly one-6ftk nss(
wages per hour. The average sarniA q
Of labor was more than "a per esa(
greater in 1903 than in 1894 ~ DeS
than half as much again.
Prof. Wright's investigation went ~
ther and showed that notwithstanaiA(
the increase in the cost of food product
the principal increase in the last "
years has been in wages, or the prtS
of labor. That great commodity ef TIL
country in which Thomas b. Reed sav
the development and progress Of Ansrl
cun civilization has increased n vale
more than has the cost of living; - tAa
the bene6ts of labor have been constant
ly increased by protective tariff lsgisll
ton and embarrassed by Democratic w
iG legislation.
President Harrison said years age tAa
a cheap coat had the tendency - nah
cheap men because it tended to degra1
the labor used in the manufacture. n
Republican policy has been to snAans
the price of labor, and that has increase
the cost of living because all eus Ds(
ducts entering into the living ID ~
country represent labor.
But the protection and he idsal :
Thomas B. Reed has been realized unds
the Dingley tariff law. The valus Z
labor, the rate of wages has constantl
and steadily advanced to lift the civilisl
tion of America. where labor 10 the lsve
by which all mankind advances, fssl
drudgery to independence.