The Alaska citizen., 1911-09-25


 93) that 44.452 youths and men. 24.- J52 girls and women, and 3.743 chil- dren under 16 employed in the manu- fracture of woolen goods receive a yearly average of s396 and weekly average of s761.
 The same bulletin shows that 29.- >S3 youths and men, 32,130 girls and women. and 7.23S children under 16 employed in the manufacture of wOrsted goods receive a yearly av- craze of S319, and weekly average of S7.30.
 According to social workers who have made study of family budgets. the minimum requirement in the United States for a decent living for a family consisting of father. mother and three small children. is 500 a year. believe that estimate is much to low, and that estimate the gentlemen in this house would want 10 live on ii. However the average wages in these two highly protected industries are but little more than half this sum.
 It iS true that this average takes in the wages of children and youths But, on the other hand. it also takes ill the wages of the highly skilled mechanics and of foremen. IL is. there fore, q fair average; and il shows a wage entirely inadequate 10 support decent standard of liv ing.
 Against Tariffs Generally.
 As for me. l am against all tar ifs high tariffs or low tariffs-and against low tariff as q proposition to raise revenue.
 Every tariff high or low. means that it hits the poor man worst. So long as a tax is placed on the ne Cessties of life. it will fall upon the poor man much mere heavily than upon the rich man.
 To begin with, il is the poor people who, as a rule. have many children. i The ia Xon shoes will strike q poor sewer digger who has six children six times as hard as it will the over. the digger can afford il 1000 times less. (ApplauseD Every tariff means that the wealthy people are not willing to i pay their share of taxes. and that ! they want the poor people to pay ] t for them. It means that these taxes go to the manufacturer. l This is all the tariff means. ] It is in all cases an inheritance l of the Middle Ages-the Dark Ages when the privileged classes did not pay any taxes and the common people had to pay them all.
 The only just tax is an income lax tapplause), which is graduated to such a degree that it will estab- ! fish some fairness as to the inten- l sity with which it is felt by the poor people as compared with the ! rich.
 Free Trade In Itself No Remedy. | l do not want to be understood to imply that the working class is bene- i fited by free trade of itself. Free trade would mean that a great deal of our manufacturing would be done across the sea-particularly all of the manufacturing that has not yet reached the trust stage Applause on the Republican side)
 Moreover. the working class can not endure any sudden lowering of 1 tariffs. It is helpless to protect it. self from the consequences. | Especially in our country. after many years of the highest kind of a l high tariff. any sudden change would be disastrous. and that is where l the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. l Underwood was wise. Applause on l the Democratic side))
 A Sudden Change Would Be Disas- trous.
 | There are whole communities built up on tariff schedule on some manufactured commodity. A radical and sudden lowering of the tariff on i any of those products would, of course, unsettle conditions, close workshops, and deprive thousands of wage earners of their jobs. And since under our planless system of | production no provision whatever is made for the displaced workers, the result would be widespread diSaS- ter and misery. Applause on the Republican side) When society is willing to undertake the transfer of displaced workers from a dying industry to flOurishing one we can then welcome any radical change in the tariff that seems best for the nation as whole.
 Labor dCes not need the so-called protection of tariffs. It does need. however. protection against sudden changes for the worse in economic conditions. And so far as it has had any protection it has protected itself by forming trade unions. It has protected itself by strikes and hOVcOttS which have baen declared by the Supreme Court of the United States to be illegal.
 But, illegal or not. l hope labor will continue to use them in order to resist the forcing down of the standard of the bulk of our popula- tion to a Chinese level. (Applause.) For in many respect We have been coming down continually. (Applause.)
 Before this. the capitalist era, common workingmen in England could live a whole week on the earn ings of four days.
 Now. in Pennsylvania and else where, common laborers can scarce ly live week on the earnings of seven days of excessive toll.
 MT. Stanley-Mr. Chairman. will the gentleman yield?
 Mir. Berger-Mr. Chairman, this is the first time that the Socialists view on the tariff has ever been heard in this house, and if the gen tleman will kindly give me chance to get through with my statement, l shall be very glad to answer any questions that he may wish to ask, and have no doubt that he will be