The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1905-07-01
POWER MEANS PROTECTION
II We Should Decide to Abandon the
One We Should Certainly De-
stroy the Other.


For the year 1900 the United States.
England, Germany, France. Austria
Hungary, Russia and Italy produced
$31, 734, 100000 worth of manufactured
merchandise. or this the United
States produced $4,000. 100000, or
over 40 per cent. of all the goods made
by seven leading manufacturing ma
tions.
OF the 41,108.406 employees, $685.
600, or less than Is per cent. were
Americans. Our less than ten per cent.
of workers producing over 40 per cent.
Of all goods made Is a remarkable
showing for American skill and en-
terprise.
While the average product of an
American worker was $2,450 year,
the foreigners average was only $507,
making the products of one American
nearly equal to that of five foreigners.
or the s7,340 900. 900 paid to the Al
100000 workers so employed, the less
than 13 per cent. of Americans re-
ceived over one-third of the money
paid, so that in the aggregate and av-
erage one American workman gets
three times the pay and does Ave
times the work of foreigner.
We have people among us, not real
Americans, who refuse to believe
that our labor is any better or does
more than foreign labor, while others,
no more American, believe that our
labor does not need tariff protection.
for the reason that it is better and can
do more than foreign labor. There is
apparent logic in this last claim, but
1t is blind logic.
We find 21,550,000 horsepower used
in manufacturing by the nations
named, of which the United States
used 100000, being over SO per
cent. of all power used. The American
manufacturer uses IL horsepower
for every hand employed, while for
eigners use three hands for every
horsepower, showing that our people
use six and one-half times as much
power to hands employed as the for
eign manufacturer, while our product
per hand Is nearly five times as
much.
II we shut our eyes at this point we
would see the blind free-trader's para
disc; for II power enables our labor
to produce FIVE times as much as for
eign labor and only get three times
as much pay thus, apparently, giving
our manufacturers two-fifths Of the
advantage, why talk about protection
for American labor? This appears so
logical that many would go no further,
but at once set up the howl for tariff
reduction and trust destruction. II we
should carry out the idea of the mod
ern republican tariff reformer along
with the old democratic declaration
for tariff law with due allowance
for the difference between American
and foreign labor" upon which Cleve-
land ran for president in 1888, and
which is now indoise by A. B. Cum
minis as a new Iowa idea," our gov
eminent would not only have to put
all foreign made goods on the free
list, but in addition give a liberal
premium or bounty on all such i'm
ports.
But this great advantage in power
and skill by which the American man
uiacturer produces at less cost per
hand vastly increases other expenses,
SO that his apparent two-fifths gain
with labor falls short of meeting the
extra costs Of operating the business.
Power and skill cannot be monopo-
lized, and II used to the same extent
by foreign manufacturers as with ours
they would be able to add $67,000,0 00,-
900 to their annual products without
additional cost for labor. This in
crease of products without increased
consumption would food our markets
and sweep our manufacturing indus
tries out of existence, in spite of a
so per cent. tariff. But IL foreign la
Dor was paid the same as our labor
producing and consuming accordingly,
the result would be to furnish home
market for all but three per cent Of
their vast productions; for, although
our wage earners get but three times
the average of the foreign labor I'M
der consideration, our consumption OF
manufactured products is four and one
half times as much, and this difference
originates and grows out of our SUI
perior wage rates, that enables~our
working people to- be- liberal
of each others products.-J. w. A.