The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-10-17
Notes From Democratic National Headquarters

interests try to make the workman
believe that he--the workman is
the man who is protected.
The argument that protection
dams up wages sprang from the
protected interests themselves. Eno-
naturally do not want the workman
to complain of the higher prices
which he has to pay, and they have
tried to make him believe that they
are raising his wages. The only proof
they offer is that wages are higher
in the United States where we have
protection than in England where
there is free trade. But this is
no argument at all, for wages We're
always higher in the United States
than in England, even before we had
protective tariff and even before
England had free trade. Wages are
always higher in new and unde-
veloped country than in an old and
crowded country.
"A much fairer comparison is that
between Germany and England, both
of which are old and densely popu-
lated, but one of which has the sys-
TEN of free trade and the other pro-
lection. From recent official statis-
tics which have been carefully pre-
pared, it is found that German
wages are II per cent lower than
English wages. We find still more con-
trast between England and France,
which not only has so-called protec-
ton for the nation as a whole, but
in which each little village has a
tariff against other villages. We find
that wages in France are 25 per
cent below wages in England. Thus
we find, when we compare coun-
tries alike in other respects, that
the less the tariff, the higher the
wages and the more the tariff, the |
lower the wages.
But in order to find out exactly |
how the laboring man fares we need
to take account not only Of his |
wages but of the cost of living as
well. Real wages are not money, |
but what money will buy. Real
wages mean food and shelter and |
clothing, and all the other necessl-
ties, comforts and amusements OF
life. For instance, a century and a
half ago laborers in Rhode Island |
received wages of $40 a day, from
which we might think that they were
better off than the laborers of to-
day. AS a matter of fact, however,
they were much worse off, for sugar
cost $3.50 a pound corn $40 bush
ell, and shoes $40 pair. A days
wages would buy less than three
pounds of sugar, or half-bushel of
corn, and it would require four days
work to buy pair of shoes Those
who claim that the tariff dams up
wages must show that it does not
dam up prices as much The truth
is, however, that 1t dams UP prices
more. We see this clearly in max
ing comparisons between Germany
and England. The German tariff has
damned up prices, but has not
damned up wages. The cost of liv-
ing in Germany is 1? per cent high
er than in England, but the wages
in Germany are, as | have said III
per cent lower than in England
Thus the laborer is protected. Ger
many loses, as compared with the
laborer in free trade England, in
both ways-his wages are lower and
his cost of living is higher He gets
less money for his work and has to
pay more for his living. This makes
an actual advantage of about 40 per
cent to the English laborer as COM
pared with the German. This is
about the same advantage for the
British laborer as compared with the
French. These are the facts, and