The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1915-06-10

eiGn metal and metal products In lieu
of an equal amount OF American pro-
ducts. Metal products are at least Is
per cent labor. Iron ore is valued in
the neighbodhood Of s1.00 per ton in
the ground, and coal at from 1OC to
25c per ton. All else except interest
on capital, including transportation,
Is labor Thus MIR. Underwood pro-
posed in this one amendment to take
from American labor $2l,000,000 per
annum.
A similar computation based on his
report of q bill to revise the cotton
schedule, assuming cotton manufac.
lures to be so per cent labor. would
rob factory employees Of about $9,-
100000.
No one doubts the sincerity of Mr..
Underwood. He is a splendid man,
good scholar, a fair speaker, and is
really strong in everything except
enough to believe that he could ride
into popularity on the strength OF
these two bills, the enactment Of
which he himself estimated as above,
would cost American labor @0,00O,000
in wages per annum. Is it not strange
that he should have one such loose
gear?
As Secretary Shaw was wont to say
in his wonderfully lucid tariff
speeches, The children in the eighth
grades know If we import next year
what dad made last year, that dad will
be looking for work, and they will be
looking for bread"
Comparatively few people, public
speakers, or writer's, appreciate what
the loss of a days productive labor
means to a country like ours in a
single twelvemonth. Suppose man
works today at some productive en-
ployment and receives $500 therefor.
He eXpends this for foOr and clothing.
The merchant pays this out to the pro-
ducer Of food and clothing, VINO in
turn pays 1t again to labor. Twenty
years ago Mr. Mckinley estimated
that this wage completed the circuit
and reached labor ten times in twelve
months Having improved business
facilities since then il probably
reaches labor once month or twelve
times per annum. Thus every $500
man who is idle this year, when he
was productivity employed last year
takes from the aggregate Of commerce
$2i.OO for every day thus unemployed.
A million $500 men out cf work two
hundred days spells the loss Of ST..
800,o00,0o0 in domestic commerce.
A year ago the papers published n
report of a luncheon given by Judge
Gary to a noted irOnmaster Of En-.
land, and quoted the guest as having
said, to the effect, Some years ago
a man came to me and said, I think |
should be able to support my family
on three days work per week. and
when work six days in the week
recognize that am robbing some poor
fellow of three DAYS work." To this
the ironmaster replied, Passing over
the question whether your culture.
your happiness or your worth as a
citizen would be enhanced by three
idle days per week, ! want to suggest
that if you could support your family
witI tbrnp Iur. nI
you did work six days, you would have
sufficient money to employ some other
man for three days. Do not suppose
therefore, that by remaining idle
three days you are giving some one
else employment. BY remaining idle
three days you are robbing some poor
fellow of three days work, which you
could otherwise afford to employ him
to do" Neither Mr.. Lincoln nor MIR.
Mckinley could have stated this loei-
cal and unanswerable deduction with
greater elearness. We are told that
Mr.. Lincoln, when questioned about
the tariff, at one time said in sub
stance, Il don't claim to know much
about the tariff, but as | understand
it, If we buy ton of iron in England,
we get the iron and England gets the
money, but If We buy ton OF iron pro
duced in the United States, we get
the iron and we also keep the money"
Presumably the Underwood tariff
bill was enacted to increase Imports
If 1t has failed as you indicate, and as
al previous tariffs for revenue failed
then of course. it will not yield reve
nue. and we will have to again submit
to bond issue, which has been one
of the incidents of each and every
Democratic administration, when both
houses Of congress have been OF the
same complexion. Now do not sug.
gest that the treasury was depleted
when Mr.. Cleveland was inaugurated
II was depleted, and naturally de.
pleted.
Following election day in 1892,
the country recognized that a low
tariff was inevitable; business pre-
pared for it, and no merchant import.
ed dollars worth of goods that he
could defer This, of course, has been
explained again and again, and yet
many speakers and writer's persist in
charging to the Harrison administra.
zion the effect Of anticipated misdcods
of forthcoming Democratic admins.
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