The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-12-29

Chief among the promises is that
u no will vote for their parliamentary
candidates and give them majority
n the house Of commons they will
raise hia wages.
TITS the old bait of despotism. 10
the worker will produce something
and hand II over to tho idlex, the idler
VIII kiye a part OF 1t back to the work.
or. Simple and palpable as 1t Is, II
has caught the worker ten thousand
times. VIII It catch him this ten
thousand and first time?
What those benevolent lords In this
instance say Is that they will increase
his wages by reforming laws. Reform
Ing whit laws? Why. thelaws relat-
Ing to commerce.; or rather the Gus
toms laws that bear upon only a few
things In the country now. but which.
they say. ought TO be made 10 bear
upon many things. SO. as to discourage
Or stop importations 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 holiowness 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, II supplies not alone
the British market. but 1t is sent all
over the world. So that the cotton
manufacturing industry Is not small
one. IL Is a 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
thrown out OF work prosper or not?
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 n they get
the chance, are food stuffs-grains
chiefly. Great Britain raises only a
small portion OF the grain IL con-
sumes. Most OF II Is imported. A
considerable share goes from the
United States. A penalty, In the form
of tax. will be placed upon this Inn
ported grain. The price OF grain in
Great Britain will go up. rood will
cost more. VIII that be a blessing
TO 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 no an increased use for
their land. The price of farming land
will 90 up.
Well. but who owns that farminp
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 ls owned In large part by
the lords and the rest of the privileg
ed class.
SO that really what the lords Offer
to the British workman is a stone In
v.<kman be fool and vote for IL