Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-10-03
U,rlHOD in SCHEME
JACOB scHiFF, FINANciER, "a.
voRs TARIFF REDUCTION.
This Would Stop the suildine Up Of
Great Monopolies and the Accumu.
iatIon Of Vast Fortunes, and Make
Mr.. sehiH's Money Worth More.

Money talks, but not always reason.
ably or intelligently. For example, Mr..
Jacob ii. Schiff, member Of one OF the
worlds largest banking houses and di.
rector in a dozen or SO Of lesser bank.
ing and loan concerns. has lately
broken into print with the following:
Nothing will so thoroughly prevent
the building up of great monopolies
and the accumulation of the vast for.
tunes. the existence Of which Is at the
bottom Of the prevailing social unrest,
as a sound and sensible revision OF
the tariff. II is right that Amer
lean industry and the American work
ingman be protected against undue
foreign competition, but II cannot be
right to compel the American consum.
er to pay a vast profit to the manufac-
turer where the latter under a much
lower tariff would be able to maintain
himself. Herein lies the principal rem.
edy which needs to be applied II the
causes which have brought about pres.
ent conditions are to be permanently
~eradicated."
II will be noticed that Banker
Schin's sole concern Is for the con.
sumer. Most consumers are also pro.
ducers. but we are not aware that
Banker Schir IL a producer. Breed
er, perhaps, but not producer. He
marries coin and currency together
and takes the increase. He profits
by the merger Or corporate properties,
but we have lot heard hat by s O
much as a dollars worth he has ever
advanced raw or partly finished mate
rial In value by a manufacturing proc.
ess. Mr.. Schif Is said to control a
larger quantity OF spot cash than any
other n person in the United States.
Naturally he is interested In e~nlarging
to the utmost extent the purchasing
power OF his cash. Not being the pro-
Queer of any commodity advanced In
value by human labor. he would like
to buy more OF the products OF labor
with his dollars. A dear dollar and a
cheap man would suit Mr.. Schiff bet.
ter than a cheap dollar and a dear
man.
An able fnancier may not be an
able industrialist. The man who
knows how to make two coins grow
where one coin grew before is not
necessarily a high authority on any.
thing but his finance. 1t is more than
possible that he knows very little OF
the relation of labor cost to production
cost in manufacturing and the relation
of tarif to both. Quite certain it Is
that Mr.. Schiff does not sneak where
of he PERSONALLY knows when he as.
serts that American manufacturers.
paying double the European rate of
wages and ten times the oriental rate.
could maintain themselves under A
much lower tariff" Ninety-iye per
cent. of the business men engaged in
manufacturing. to say nothing of the
10. 600 900 men who work for wages do
not agree with Banker Schif in this
matter. They do not think that Amer.
| lean labor and production would under
n much lower tariff remain "a pros.
porous as they now are. To o
this they have an argument that even
money lenders should be able IN see
the force of. They point to the fact
that this ountry Is now importing
each wear more than $500. 00O, 600
worth of competitive products. Gen.
orally speaking. this does not indicate
that the tariff is much too high.
II Mr.. Schiff could spare a moment
from his tariff ripping lu~cubrations he
might discover something of direct
fiscal Significance in the latest trade