The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1912-11-01
THE WANAMAkER
PROSPERITY PLEA
fa|Iacles Of Ills Argument Dis
sected IN Counter lp
peal TO Merchants.
FREE TRADE hot PROPOSED.
psnies Occur without Regard TO Tariff
Revisien--eusiness Men Directing
tho Wilson Campaign.

sV~V SVVSSsss0
tho Wilson Campaign.
To the Merchants AID Business Men
Of the United States:
Mr. John wanamakey has issued .
mote Of warning" against the 'destruc.
tion Of industries" which be says will
follow the election of Woodrow Wilson.
TO bark back twenty years In Amer
can Industry II 10 deal with ancient
history. During this score Of yeaD
American industries have advanced 20
far in competing power that q com
parison even with 1891 n ridiculous.
In that year our exports Of mapufac-
turcs were iess than two hundred mil.
lions in annual value: today they are
at the rate Of twelve hundred millions.
. gain Of 600 per cent.
How II disaster to como from the
competition on our ground Of those
manufacturers with whom We are sue.
cessfully competing on their grOundf
1t IL = poor time to cry distress when
We arc exporting steel manufactures
at ths rate OF million dollars daily.
During Mr.. Clevelands first admin.
istration, 1896 to 1850. there was no
panIc-there was only prosperity. But
Mr.. Wanamaker f0rRets this. MP. Har.
rison, q Republican, succeeded In 1900.
serving Till 1903. During this time Mr..
Wanamaker himself was In Presl-
dent HarrisOn's cabinet, and Il was
then the conditions matured which re-
suited in the panic Of 1893, four months
after Mr.. Cleveland took office the sec.
0nd time.
Mr.. Wanamaker quotes from various
sources certain records Of distress. but
neglects To say that every one Of them
bears O date not less than six months
before the tariff bill Of 1894 became .
law and. rs matter Of fact. before
It's terms were known.
The truth is that neither . Repub-
iican administration nor = high tariff
II any protection against panics. and
they occur. as every body knows. ex.
cept Mr.. Wnnamaker. quito without
regard tO tariff changes. Our very
worst panics have occurred under Re-
publican administrations.
In 1908 tho Republican party in itS
platform declared 'uneQuivOcally for
the revision of the tariff" but this
prdrnise. soon 80 recklessly broken,
had no deterrent effect upon improve.
ment In business conditions. 1t can
not therefore l,e said that the mere
threat Of tariff revision causes dis
tress. for there was no doubt In 1908
not only that the tarin was to be re-
vised. hut that II was to be revised
downward
| ignoring the Present.
Most Important. however. In MIR.
refer to existing conditions. He prom
Ises all sorts OF disaster In very
general way. hut has nothing to say
about current facts of industry. For
example, It has been we'll known since
1910 that the public demanded the
downward revision Of the tariff which
MIR. Taft promised aud later denied
A Democratic house OF representa-
uves was elected In 1910 on that spe
cial issue That house passed u series
OF tnrifr measures. some of them over
the presidents veto. On each OF these
measures u number Of Progressive re-
publicans voted with the Democrats
One Of these bills reduced the duty on
steel. Yet. although revision Of ths
steel schedule was and II pending. tn,
steel industry hns revived. prices are
advancing and, strangest Of all. from
Mr.. Wanamnker's poiut Of view. large
Investments are now being made IL
new steel plants.
If the danger that MIR. wanamakel
foresees In real how 10 It that these In
vestments proceed? How In II tina,
manufacturers ail over the country ar,
Increasing their pianta2
Mr.. W0cRmaker seems ignorant ais,
Of thu actual tabor conditions. Higl
wages are not necessarily a sign o.
prosperity. Az Professor Fisher point,
out, "A century aud u half ago labOrerl
In Rhode Island received a wage o
$40 daily, but II took four days wOrl
TO buy a pair Of shoes. Nor arc higl
wages \ result OF the protective tariff
The Lawrence strike brought out thi
fact vividly. There the textile manu-
facturers have very high protective
tariK TO favor them. but the wages o
their employees were shown 10 bs In
defensibly low. A fair comps sineu I
that between Eugland and 0erIneny
both thickiy populated. one having u,
protection and the other high protec
tion. How do wages stand In thcs
countries today2 Those In German.
ere II per cent lower than Enslis
wages. and not only 80. but the cos
Of living In Germany is II per ce,i
higher, 80 that the protected QermHl
workman earns the smaller wage an
pays the higher cost
Free Trade eo0y.
In II not truly ridiculous for MI
WaDanAker to raise the bogy OF IRE
trader No party advocates that MI
WNnamaker must know that the Den
scratic cotton and woolsn bi'H ays nc
fnee trade measures IN any ssnss.
No. eaMA e. haas - ~ s.lu