The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-01-09

Money talks. but not always reason
ably or intelligently. For example, N
Jacob H. Schiff. member of one of L
world 5 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 thu
bottom of the prevailing social unrest.
as sound and sensible revision OF
the tariff. 1t is right that Amer
lean industry and the American work.
in9man be protected against undue
foreign competition, but it cannot be
/ right TO compel the American consum-
er to pay vast profit to the manufac-
turer where the latter under much
lower tariff would be able to maintain
himself. Herein lies the principal rem
edy which needs to be applied if the
causes which have brought about pres
ent conditions are to be permanently
eradicated"
1t will be noticed that Banker
Schiff's sole concern is for the COLI
sumner. Most consumers are also pro-
| ducers, but we are not aware that
Banker Schiff is a producer Breed
or, 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 not heard that by so
much as dollars worth he has ever
advanced raw or partly finished mate
rial in value by manufacturing proc
ess. Mr.. Schiff is said to control a
larger quantity of spot cash than any
other one person in the United States
| Naturally he is interested in charging
! 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. \ dear dollar and a
! cheap man would suit Mr.. Schiff bet
! ter than a cheap dollar and a dear,
man.
An able financier 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 tariff to both. Quite certain it is
| that Mr. Schitf does not speak where
! OF he personally knows when he z
! serta that American manufacturer
| paying double the European rate OF
wages and ten times the oriental rate
| could maintain themselves under
| much lower tariff" Ninety-five per
| cent OF the business men engaged in
manufacturing, to say nothing of the
| 100000 men who work for wages, dc
not aerec with Banker Schiff in this
matter. They do not think that Amer.
| lean labor and production would under
a much lower tariff remain as pros
| porous as they now are. To prove
this they have an argument that even
money lenders should be able to see
| ~! oi' iHSE polII 10 tHe TACT
that thiS country is now importing
each year more than 100000, 900
! 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 lucubrations he
ni@I' discover something OF direct
Asc'i slgnlhcance in the latest trade
returns me Official statistics for the
seNeh months ending with July, 1907
$40" tIl"' our imports had increased,
Owe me same period in 1906, 1885,
i'N'5'0 "hlIe our exports show an
increase OF $59,ib96o3. The net in
crease Oh imports Tor the seven
months has been 36,6S5, 1856, or at
| the showing for the month of Tulv
1907 is still more significant. I'm.