New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-08
TORY PROJECTS
Tariff Reform and Labor Unrest
AN IrrepressibIe Conflict.

w nat Will lhc 4oA iSo Wv "HNA N@@SJ .
into power? That is one Of the stock
questions discussed from comfortable
armchairs in club lounges, and there
arc various answers. The commonest
solution offered by Unionists Is that the
House Of Lords will be reformed and the
balance Of power in the constitutional
system be restored; and, secondly, that
labor unrest will he removed by the In
PRODUCTION of tariff reform. Choleric old
Tories, after inveighing against the in
iquities Of Radicalism and the reckless
ness Of social revolution, graVely discuss
these remedies without apparent sus-
picton that they may be pills against
Without doubt the consti-
tuition has been strained and thrown out
of gear by the passage Of the Parliament
act, and the reconstruction of the second
chamber Is one of the most urgent duties
of creative craftsmanship; but Tory
government that should re-estaolish the
House of Lords as a stronghold or priv
ilege and capital would not last long. IL
may be an exaggeration to say that
civil war is impending and yet 1t is EVIL
dent that the kingdom is seething with
abor unrest and that whichever party
is in power its first obligation will be to
protect the main body Of workers and
consumers against the most destructive
and methods OF warfare
ever known in an industrial state.
Tariff Reform is the foremost issue Of
Toryism. Its advocates are constantly
asserting that there will be more work
fer British wage earners when the home
market is protected against American
and German dumping and when there
are closer trade relations with the colo
MES. Certainly the Chamberlain fiscal
has always seemed reasonable
to Americans, especially as 1t offers
practical method Of readjusting the re-
Of direct and indirect taxation,
which have been transformed since Cob
denis agitation in the hungry ps.'
More wsrk when there Is so much I'M
employment throughout the year would
appear to be the most desirable OF all
remedies, and when there is SO much
with current rates OF
wages and the increased cost Of living
A change Of tariff system offering prom
!se Of more remunerative labor ought TO
mako a plausible appeal to wage earn
ers. Tariff Reformers are confident that
their policy will command the support of
the working people in England, If 1t be
once fairly tried. I am too strongly IN
sympathy with them to suggest that
their electoral prospects with this para
mount issue will be hopeless. Yet 1t
would be futile to deny that organized
labor in the kingdom is obsessed with
the idea that less work rather than
more Of 1t is really needed, and that the
resources Of wealth now monopolized by
private ownership should be distributed
among the hordes Of dsinherited work
ers.
As the Free Trade faddist is contin-
lally reminded by the Socialist leaders
Of trade unionism that the prosperity Of
he nation Is completely under the con-
fOl Oh h "cdltNy pOphictdiy SAoSS anu
S not available for the welfare OF the |
working masses. so the Tariff Reformers |
will be warned that they cannot restore
he inheritance by readjusting imposts, |
'avoring home industries, increasing the |
-ange Of employment and giving fllip |
@ wages. The Tories may carry out all |
heir promises and there Will be as much |
iiscontent as ever among trade unionists, |
because they will complain that tribute |
8 exacted from the working hives and
hat industries are not nationalized for
he benefit Of the whole community.
Tariff Reform may diminish the burdens
II direct taxation and relieve the middle
classes, but the working people, in1u-
.nced by their socialist mentors, are not
concerned In these matters. They con-
,ider Il lust that the HAYES should be
veil bled for the benefit Of the have
lots. What they arc hoping for is
lew social and economic system framed
Without reference to the capitalist class
md designed to- convert the whole body
u workers into cooperative owners.
Neither Free Traders nor Tariff Reform
RS can give them this. yet their leaders
ire convinced that they can get 1t by
nassing their resources Of organization,
W sending out miners. railway men and
workers in general strike
md by forcing legislative action for a
minimum wage for every worker In the
lingdom.
What is apparently needed is what Mr.
4. G. Wells calls a national plan OF
,ocial development. Bismarck devised
he quadruple system Of emergency in
,urance for Germany, and while It may
lave increased malingering to a con-
siderable degree, II has not impaired the
obligation Of the individual to work and
20 thrifty, and It has certainly brought
he employers and the employed into
moro sympathetic relations. The Lib
,ral government has made belated at
empts TO initiate this national plan Of
social reorganization; but how crude,
'eckless and unscientiic have been its
legislative acts! The Tories have not
,entured to oppose these social reforms.
md the Lords have deliberately neg
ected the duty Of revising the measures
Ind sending them back to the Com
mons for more thorough construction.
IN this way they have divided response
oility with the Radicals for the insur-
lnce act against which the country is in
.evolt. What will they do with It if
hey return to power? They cannot re-
peal It without revealing their hostility
% social reform. and they cannot allow
A ~ nd l,id wi ha