Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1907-07-03
BIGGEST QUESTION
Is THAT OF EMPLOYMENT AND
WAGE EARNING.
a Political Party Takes Upon Itself
Grave Responsibility When II
Encourages Foreign Com
petition.

The question OF employment and
wages is the chief issue involved in
the new departure Of the administra
loh In the matter of granting special
tarln concessions to foreign countries
which raise their tariff rates against
American exports as club wherewith
to compel reduction OF the American
tarin. 1t is the one big question, big.
ger than all other questions combined
III is Il question SO big as to seriously
menace any political party that makes
mistake in the treatment of II. That
party Will go down to swift defeat
"hlch perpetrates the colossal blunder
OF inJuring our domestic trade rela.
ions In attempting to enlarge our for.
eign trade relations.
Nihety-fve per cent. OF our manu-
featuring trade is in our own country
anu between the people of our own
country. Eighty-fve millions of people
10 100000 voters among them-are
vitality concerned in this 90 per cent
of trade
Iaking liberties with the 90 per
cent. oil domestic trade and irving ex-
perlments for the benefit OF the beg.
carly hve per cent of foreign trade
nave SO often proved disastrous to the
political party concerned in them that
what not to do would seem perfectly
obvious by this time.
Long before election day in zoos
COMES round the practical effects of
the new policy of surrender to foreign
tarin threats will have become visible
Either the new policy will greatly in
crease the inflow of competitive com.
modities, or it will not. If it does NOT
we shall have simply handed the for.
eigners some gold bricks. That. how
ever, is not of overwhelming consa-
quence. They hand us gold bricks
when they first mark IN their tariffs
against us and then consent to mark
them down again to where they were
before in return for net tariff reduc.
lions on our part
BUT, II the new policy of tariff SIR
render shall work out as the foreign.
ers expect 1t to work; if largely in
creased importations of competitive
goods come into our market and dis
place equivalent quantities of domestic
iapor products. thereby diminishing
pace equivalent quantities of domestic
total OF employment and the domestic
wage, what then?
ne answer to this question is SIG
sested In letter addressed TO the
president OF the United States by q
prominent American manufactured and
large employer of American labor
ohuer GATE OF May G, 1907. Mr.. Rich
ara Campion. of Philadelphia. wrote
PRESIDENT Roosevelt urging that the
proposed commercial agreement he.
tween the United States and the Cor.
man empire be not contaminated In
thls letter Mr.. Campion brings 70 view
'hat biggest of all questions Ameri.
can employment and wages az fol.
lows: % ioi-
WIN the present high cost OF nrod,,o-
t,on In this country. caused cbina,, -
vac nhsh rates of wages now prevoiIing
>, nj" ileh wages, Ii can be safely said
All manufacturers are glad To have nre,
Is diihcult for our manufacturers
10 compete with imported goods n,,en
with all the existing safepuards -.
uhuerVaiuation. but If these safepuards
oe removed In accordance with rho mr.
po9eu agreement our markets will ne
Hooded with German goods at nrico.
"Ihch our manufacturers cannot meet
our markets taken from us. our factnricS
closed and our workmen thrown out az
employment, unless our rates OF WAGES
DC reduced to cover the difference: and
surely Mr.. President, IL is ONLY fair IN
presume that you are no more Willing To
nave reduced the wages of American
"orkmen than are we manufacturers
Herein is the whole question dis.
unctly and powerfully presented.
VIII the new policy of tariff surren.
der when 1t shall have been extended
10 all the producing nations of Europe.
as in time it must be If extended IN
any one of those nations. close Ameri.
can mills and factories. throw Ameri-
can "orkmen out of employment, and
reduce American wage rates?
1t is serious question. much tho
most serious question which the pres.
ent administration has ever had to
deal with.