Courier Democrat., 1904-01-28

While the Republican leaders in con-
gress declare that wages were never 10
good and certain for every man that
wants work, thanks to the benign infiu-
ence Of the Dingley law, the evidence
shows they are buffers of the stand
pat' order. The last employer in the
United States to lower wages il Uncle
eam, and it may be judged that times
were getting tight and that 1.-The man
was seeking the job" when wages at
HE Charlestown navy yard, Boston.
were cut s per cent beginning Jan. 2.
This information is given in the Boston
Transcript Dec. 81, which says:
Indignation runs high among the
workmen employed at the Charlestown
navy yard today, as it has been made
public this noon that the men employed
at the workshops in the yard will have
their pay reduced from 81 to $1.84 per
day. This includes all the lower grades
of workmen. The other employees,
working for larger pay, will also be in
cluded in this cut. This comes as Al
great blow to the several hundred men
employed at the yard, who are consid-
cred to be more experienced and of Il
better grade of mechanics than are gen
orally found in cities or other govern
ment departments. This announcement
was made by circulars posted in the
different shops and is the outcome of
the report of the board of wages, which
includes the various heads of depart
ments in the yard and which decides
as to the grade of wages paid every
six months"
The board of wages decides the per
diem that shall be paid by the going
rate for the same class of work in 9th
er establishments and only reduces
wages when they have clear evidence
that for some time similar reduction
has been universally adopted The
statement by the Republican leaders
that "wages We're never so good'' is Ell
ther therefore an effort to deceive the
people as to the true state of affairs or
shows dense ignorance of economic
conditions. If the board of wages
could be given the job of also decid-
ing what would be fair price for the
trusts and combines to charge for the
necessaries of life, there might be a
reasonable hope of the cost of living
being made to agree with wages paid
Unfortunately they have no such pow
er, and the Dingley law relentlessly
gives most Of the trusts such enormous
protection that it amounts to monop-
oily in much that is consumed and pre-
vents competition from reducing the
price Of nearly everything else.
If the tariff was reduced to a reve-
nue. basis, so that it would produce
enough money to run the government,
with the postoffice grating and other
grating eliminated and with trust
productions that are sold cheaper
abroad than here on the free list, the
cost of living and the wages of labor
would soon find reasonable level.
The old excuse for protection that it
would foster and build up infant in
dustries cannot now be claimed as nee
essary for the gigantic trusts, for some
Of the largest Of the combines are max
ing profits so great that they pay large
dividends on watered stocks, ten times
greater than their plants could be re-
produced for. The consumers of the
United States are therefore taxed not
only to support the government, but
also the much greater tax imposed by
the trusts, and that is what the Re-
publican leaders call the benign influ-
ence of the Dingley law.