The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-01-05
CAN THE NOBLE LORDS FOOL
BRITISH WORMNGMEN AGAIN
Henry George, Jr., Economist and
Student, Tells What is the Mean
ing of the Fight on the Budget i'm
England.

EDITORS NOTE: Henry George,
Jr., the political economist, is in Eng
land observing the momentous cam
paign in progress there. George has
written two articles for this newspa-
per on the election situation as he sees
it.
LONDON, Jan. An a recent in
terview Henry George Jr., son of the
great advocate of the single tax. asked
the question, Can the British work
ing man be gulled?"
"That is the underlying question in
the great electoral struggle now going
on in the United Kingdom. He has
been fooled so many times that the
princes of privilege think they can
fool him again. At any rate they are
trying to do it, and are promising him
all manner of things" said he.
Chief among the promises is that if
he will vote for their parliamentary
candidates and give them a majority
in the house of commons they will
raise his wages.
1t is the old bait of despotism. If
the worker will produce something
and hand ii over to the idler. the idler
will give Il part of il back to the
worker. Simple and paIpabIe as it is,
it has caught the worker ten thousand
times. Will it catch him this ten
thousand and first time?
What these benevolent lords in this
instance say is that they will increase
wages by reforming laws. Reform
ing what laws? Why, the laws relat-
ing to commerce.; or rather the GUS
toms laws that bear upon only a few
things in that country now, but
which, they say, ought to be made to
bear upon many things, so as to dis
courage or stop importations from
outside the kingdom, and make an in
creased demand for the production Of
those things inside the kingdom.
That will mean more employment for
British workmen, they argue; and
more employment 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
into manufactures it supplies not
alone the British market, but it is sent
all over the world. So that cotton
manufacturing industry is not a small
one. 1t is gigantic one already. Do
the lords actually think they can
make British workmen believe they
can build up that industry still more
by taking the raw cotton that goes
over from the United States, for in
stancs1 'ilaSsl ~
What would taxing American NV
cotton mean to the Lancashire cot, m
factory? 1t would mean dearer cot
ton. Do the Lancashire cotton man
ufacturers 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 attem pit
in 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?
Then how can the lords raise wages
in the cotton and similar manufacture
ing fields in Great Britain by putting
a 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 if they get
the chance are food stuffs-grains
chiefly. Great Britain raises only a
small portion of the grain it consumes.
Most Of it is imported. A considerab BILE
share goes from the United States. A
penalty, in the form of tax, will be
placed upon this imported grain. The
price of grain in Great Britain will
go up. Food will cost more. Will
that be a blessing to the British
workman?
is discouraged, the growing of grain
at home will be encouraged, the lords
say. The farmers will be encouraged.
There will be an increased use Of their
land. The price of farming land will
go up.
Well, but who owns the farming
land? Not the workman. Not the
small farmer, either; for there are
few small farmers other than truck
farmers in Great Britain. The kind
of farming land that would be bene-
flied in this way is owned in large part
by the lords and the rest Of the priv
ileged class.
So that really what the lords offer
to the British workman is a stone in
exchange for dearer food. Will the