The Washington times., 1910-10-22

The farmer is not only directly benefited in the
possession of this market the result of protection,
but reaps another very large benefit in the increase
in the value of his land. Land increases OF de-
creases in value its earning capacity is increased
or decreased The prosperity Of the farmer within
the last few years. and particularly of the Western
farmer, who does things in a big way, is of the
most extraordinary recent developments.
The farmer everywhere. with the present high
cost Of living, is in a better position than he
before. He is in better position, for the most
pa than those who flock to the cities and I'LL
factories and other places of industry. The latter,
to be sure, are more directly the benehciaries Of
tariff, but in the final analysis it strikes me
that the farmer comes in ahead
This discussion has for the most part taken on
the form of tariff argument which it seems to
me is necessary in determining the true cause of
the higher cost OF living which is charged to the
tariff.
If the enemies OF the tariff are right in holding
it chiefly responsible for the advance in the price
of the things eat, the things we wear, and the
houses in which live, how can they explain this
advance-Iogically explain it, mean-in view Of
the fact that the present tariff averages lower than
the Dingley tariff of thirteen years ago. under which
We had the greatest prosperity the history Of the
country. and under which the cost of living was
relatively much less than it is today?
If the present tariff had been largely increased,
or increased ever so little over the Dingley tariff,
could see a foundation on which TO build an argu-
ment, but with slightly lower tariff, or, to avoid
discussion, with tariff averaging approximately
the same. justify ourselves in concluding
that the tariff is responsible for the present higher
cost Of living? I can see no ground whatever for
such conclusion, and don't believe there is any
ground for it.
I will go further I don't believe the tariff is
having, has had, any bearing the present cost
of living whatever other than the Dngley tariff
had and our whole tariff scheme Of government
has had.
I repeat that I am in absolute accord with the
Democratic party in its claim mat the tariff has
made the of living greater in this country than
it is in Europe and it has made it greater in this
country than in Europe for the reason that it is
responsible for the better wages Of this country
over those Of Europe.
All labor is interdepender We cannot raise
the wages Of one class Of workers without the ef-
feet being felt throughout the entire fabric Of our
Institutions and without its having a direct effect
on our cost of living.
ting, will say. 81 day. and all labor was paid
relatively. normal and equable condition of things
prevailed But the bricklayers concluded that they
should have more wages and in combination, or as
a union, they demanded SO day and secured the
advance
At the new scale of So a day, with all other
trades and classes of labor paid on the old SCALE
the bricklayers had good thing Their cost of liv-
fDp no more anC IN advaoca mt than
in position where they could indulge in comforts
and some luxuries that we're formerly beyond them.
Up to this point it was very well for the brick
layer but hard the plasterer. and so he and his
fellow-craftsmen got together and advanced their
wages proportionatey. And in turn this advance
swept through the building trades, covering every
phase of human effort that was expressed in the
construction of a building, from the cellar to the
roof, resulting in an increase, for labor and for
materials, Of perhaps 90 per cent in the cost of
house in which these same mechanics lived
But the advance did not stop with the building
trades. It spread to the cloth-mll the furniture
factory, the shoe-shop the farm and so on from
one industry to another until the circle was com
pleted And when the circle was completed when
this advance, started by the bricklayer, had come
TO every employee Of IRE country in every phase Of
endeavor, awoke 70 the fact that we were on
more expensive plane OF living, and the brick
layers who in this illustration started the ball
rolling found themselves no better of with their
SO day than they were the original 50 a day.
SO they concluded that they should have 81, which
they obtained.
And in time the circle was traversed again.
with the result that everything that is expressed
in our living marked up another notch. And
then third time around the circle, and a fourth,
and hans a with he fbaTO
expenses have been keeping pace in increase with
the increase of the wage of the country.
With higher wages in the cities and towns the
farmer has been compelled to increase the wages
of his employees. Il he does his own work. he is
entitled to an equal return for his services, and
apparently he has been getting it
Moreover. the value of the land on which our
foodstuffs are grown, and the value Of the land