The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1912-10-24
Franklin Pierce Shows That La
Dor Is Not Benefited by
Unjust Tax
MANUFACTURER KEEPS PROFIT
Proof Of Democratic Platforms Sound
ness Cited In Reports Of Wage In
vestigations.
BY FRANKLIN PIERCE.

HOr nunuTeQ years OF OUT history
the manufacturers, believing that they
received benefit from the protective
tariffs. have ingeniously devised plausi-
BILE pretexts for imposing increased
prices upon the necessaries Of life. At
first they said that industry In our
country was in Its infancy and needed
protection. When those Industries had
become strong and needed no aid the
manufacturers invented the theory
that the foreigner paid the duty. This
theory was exploded, and they declar-
ed that cheap clothing meant cheap
men and was not blessing.
Driven from every one Of these indie
feasible positions, their final and only
argument left today is that the tariff
is imposed upon foreign imports to en-
able the manufacturer to increase his
profits and pay higher wages.
The Democratic platform declares
that:
I'm the most highly protected indus
tries, such as cotton and wool, steel
and iron, the wages Of the laborers are
the lowest paid in any Of our indus
tries
Wages In Cotton Industry.
Under the existing Payne-Aldrich
tariff law actual imports Of cotton
cloth paid in 1910 average duties Of
56.4 per cent.
/ In 1905. when work and wage condi-
tions in the cotton industry were ex-
ceptionally good, the wages of 202,211
cotton mill operatives In the United
Statesmen, women and children-av-
eraged only SCAT a week. The average
wage for men was but $7.71 week.
As to the profits, seventeen leading
cotton mills. with total capitalization
of 25.11O,OO0 and total surplus of $21.-
363,501, paid in nine years dividends
averaging % per cent
The cotton manufacturers turned out
in 1905 $442. 451, 218 worth of goods and
paid in wages therefor $94, 1877 ,69J, or
q per cent OF the value Of the finished
product.
! Extortion Of Wool Tariff.
] Outside of the duties ON two or three
commodities of comparatively little i'm
portance. the duties on WOODEN cloth
are the highest of any In the tariff
schedules. According to Senator Reed
Smoot owner OF a wooden mill at Pre-
vost, Utah. and chairman Of the finance
committee In charge Of tariff legisla
tion in the senate. wearing apparel val
ued at 80 cents pound now pays
2O6 2-3 per cent duty.
f This and other CORRESPONDENCE high
duties on the manufactures Of wool
are made to enable the manufacturer
to pay his labor an increased wage
over those Of foreign countries. But
the duty on wooden goods is nearly FIVE
times the entire labor cost, while the
American manufacturers In 1905 paid
In wages only IS per cent Of the total
value of their production.
At Lawrence In this most highly pro-
tected industry the laborers were oblig-
ed to strike even for living wage.
Thousands OF adult males were receiv
inly only from SO to 50 a week and
many only S. to So week. As a re-
suit of the strike the American Wooden
company gave It's employees slight in
creases In wages.
/ The wool tariff bill vetoed by Presi
dent Taft reduced the duties on "a
wool from 1920 to 20 per cent and on
manufactures OF wool from 87.65 to
1896 per cent Mr.. Taft said he We
toed It because the proposed rates did
not comply with the findings Of the
tariff board. Senator La Toilette con
tradicted the president, saying that the
proposed rates varied from per cent
lower to 11.8 higher than the tariff
boards findings justified.
Low Wages In Steel.
Manufacturers OF iron and steel in
1905 paid In wages only 15 per cent
of the total value OF their production.
while the duty then would average
about As to AZ per cent, and on all
metals it now averages 84.51 per cent.
American io0ges are really the cheapest
cages In the ,oorId soAen you take into Gc-
count the amount of productions per man
An illustration of this appears In the
Stanley report. investigating the steel
trust. as follows:
1.-THE labor cost Of producing pig iron
In Pennsylvania fell from &1.2h ton
In 1902 to ~ cents ton in 1909, yet
the realized value Of the pig iron out
put was $15.64 In 1902, whereas 1t was
91I.44 In 1902 In other words. wage
workers in 1902 got 81. % for producing
only $15.64 worth Of pig iron and in
1909 only 81 cents for producing STA
worth"
While thus treating labor the indus
trial combinations that haxe grown n.
under the protection Of the tariff hay
fixed the prices Of commodities Mt III,
highest point ehe home market won't
stand.
When will the laboring men Of ths
country cast on this delusion that h'
/ tariff IL for their benefit and with theil
votes strike down this monstr0us inJus
t1ce1
!