Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-03-27
AMERICAN LABOR
WILL BENEFIT MOST

Whole sum would percolate throughout
me country, alternating between EN-
ployer ana employe, back and TORN
oven anu over again.
from tne trees standing in the for
est, until they We're felled, logged {,
mills, sawn into timbers, turned inta
manufactures and shapes. and t,ted
mo ships, American labor, skilled an,
u~nskhied, would benefit. From the
iron ore In the mine, and the coal in
the mine, TO the finished steel product
manufactured into the different shapes
required for shipbuilding, beams. an.
giles, tees, frames, plates, bolts, nuts,
rivets American labor would benefit.
The question is almost wholly one of
American labor; the benefits would &C.
G. le almost wholly to American labor.
Tine losses due to existing conditions
fall almost wholly upon American
labor,
II the government subsidies the
ships under the American nag, the
money will first go to the owner, TO be
sure, but, by him, 1t will be paid out
TO American labor in increased wages
in the s~hipyards and on board the
ships. The capitalist receives The sub.
sidy only to pay IL over to the work.
men whose higher wages necessitate
The subsidy being paid. The subsidy
is not granted to give owners a profit,
but TO maintain, unimpaired, the Anne.
rican standard Of wages and Of living.
Were American ships today able TO
compete with foreign ships without
government aid. there would be no
need Of a subsidy, and our ships would
be doing the larger part Of u foreign
carrying. but Ans"h an ships. una.n-
ed by our government. cannot conI.
pete.
The pending shipping bill fxes as the
amount of the aid the difference Ia
the UNI that the American owner has
to pay out for his shin, when having 1t
built in an American shipyard. as CON-
pared with It's cost in a foreign ship
yard; and the further amount Of dif.
ference in the wages paid those en-
ployed on board American ships, as
compared with the wages paid on com,
peting foreign ships; and the differ
ence in the cost of the food supplied
to American as compared with the
cost of food supplied to foreign crews.
Still again, there is the difference in
the subsidies and bounttes and other
forms of aid foreign ships receive from
their governments, to the d%isadvan-
tage Of the American snip. The meas.
use of all of these, and only the meas
ure. is the sum fixed in the subsidy.
So that, when the Amrican owner of
the A~merican-built ship, which is COM
manded, Differed and manned by
Americans, has received the subsidy
from our government, he has merely
received back the excess he has ex.
pended in wages for the building Of
his ship In competition with foreign
ships His profits are about the same
as those enjoyed by his foreign com
petitors.
American labor is denied employ
ment in our s~hipyards and on board
of our ships. and foreign labor is en-
ployed in the building and running Of
ships for our foreign trade, only be-
cause the former is well paid and the
latter is ill-paid. If our imports and
exports could only be carried in Anne
rican built ships, Differed and
manned by Americans, then they
would be built in this country and u
by our citizens. But such is not the
case. The foreigner steps in and does
the work because the American work.
employed in the shipyards and on
board the ships will not accept the
foreign rate of wages.
Every claim in which the demand
for subsidies is based Is because Of the
exactions Of high-priced, well-paid,
American labor. The American work
does not lower the American
wage-standard; he will not consent
to accept the foreign standard of