The Detroit times., 1909-12-29

Chief among the promises Is that
" ne will vote for their parliamentary
candidates and give them q majority
In the house OF commons they will
raise his wages.
II Is the old bait OF despotism. II
the worker will produce something
and hand IL over TO the idler, the idler
will give part OF IL back to the work
err Simple and palpable as II Is, IL
has caught the worker ten Thousand
times. VIII il. catch him this ten
thousand and first time?
What these benevolent lords in this
instance say is that they will Increase
his wages by reforming laws. Reform
ing what laws? Why, thelaws relat-
ing to commerce; or rather the Gus
toms laws that bear upon only few
things In the country now. but which.
they say. ought TO be made TO bear
upon many things. so as to discourage
or stop inportatlons from outside the
kingdom, and make an increased de-
mand for the production of those
things inside the kingdom. That will
mean more employment for British
workmen, they argue; and more en-
ployment will mean more wages.
But look at the utter hollowness OF
this. What are the things that Great
Britain chiefly imports?
Not manufactures. She exports far
more of these than she imports.
Well, say the raw materials for
manufacturing into finished products.
Yet, look at this. Take raw cotton.
used so largely In her Lancashire
mills When that cotton is turned In
to manufactures, Il supplies not alone
the British market but II is sent all
over the world So that the cotton
manufacturing industry is not small
one. IL Is q gigantic one already. Do
the lords actually think they can make
British workmen believe they can
build up that industry still more by
taxing the raw cotton that goes over
there from the United States, for in
stance?
What would taxing American raw
cotton mean to the Lancashire cotton
factory? II would mean dearer cot
ton. Do the Lancashire cotton manu-
facturers think that that would be a
good thing? If they do think so, why
do they shut down their mills for a
season every time there is an attempt
I'm America TO corner cotton and force
the price very high? When the mills
shut down, do the workmen who are
fnrOWn Out OF WOTK DTOSD~f OT 0OL I.
Certainly wages do not increase.
Then how can the lords raise wages
IN the cotton and similar manufacture
Ing fields in Great Britain by putting
n tax upon cotton and other raw ma
terials used there?
The proposal Is humbug, pure and
simple.
And while they fool the workman,
they intend to rob him.
For the things they are absolutely
certain to put taxes upon II they get
the chance. are food stuffs-grains
chiefly. Great Britain raises only a
small portion Of the grain II con-
sumes. Most of Il Is imported. A
considerable share goes from the
United States. A penalty. In the form
OF a tax. will be placed upon this i'm
ported grain. The price OF grain in
Great Britain will 60 up. rood will
cost more VIII that he blessing
10 the British workman?
Oh. but IL the importation of grain
Is discouraged. the growing OF grain
AT home will be encouraged, the lords
say. The farmers will be encouraged.
There will he an increased use for
their land. The price OF farming land
will. go up.
Well, but who owns that farming
land? Not the workman. Not the
small farmer, either; for there are few
small farmers other than truck farm
ers In Great Britain. The kind Of
farming land that would be benefited
In this way Is owned In large part by
tho lords and the rest OF the privileg-
ed class.
So that really what the lords offer
10 the British workman Is stone In
exchange for dearer food. Will the
workman be fool and vote for IL
HENRY GEORGE, JR.