Omaha daily bee., 1916-10-18
Contest of WITS and Wages


When the war is over and the American pro-
ducer whets his wits by contest with the wits Of
the rest of the world, as President Wilson would
have it, he will learn, if we are still under the
operation Of the present tariff law, that he will
not only find severe contest in our home mar
kets, but in the markets of the world.
1t must be remembered that the markets Of
the world are to the American producer about 5
per cent of the value of the home market, and it
will be impossible for us to capture foreign
markets if we cannot retain large hold upon
our own-and the reason is this: In time of peace,
we do not primarily manufacture goods for ex-
port-our export sales are in large part surplus
after we have supplied the home market. No
American mill could be kept running orr foreign
orders alone. 1t is only when the domestic sup
ply is such as to run the machinery and employ
labor at full time that we are able to proftably
make surplus for the export trade. We shall,
therefore, when the war is over-if we continue
under the present tariff law-lose both going and
coming.
We shall lose our home market, because we
cannot compete with other producing nations
which, pay only small part of what we pay
for labor, which is often at least 90 per cent Of
the cost Of production. Having lost even large
part of our home market, we will not be able to
produce in sufficient quantities to compete in
foreign markets where we must pay the freight
and pay considerable duty in order to enter those
markets.
This means one Of two things-either idle
ness for our own laborers, or reduction Of
wages to the foreign level It matters not who
pays the so-caed tariff tax, whether the'exporter
pays it all; whether the importer pays it all, or
whether it is shared by both. 1t is not by any
means competition of wit. 1t is competition
of wages, and the sooner the American workmen
that will equal at least the cost of production here
at home as compared with that of producing ma
tons abroad This has been clearly shown under
previous low tariffs. 1t was proven beyond ques-
ton from l846 to 1860 1t was proven again more
recently from 1894 to 1897, and it was proven con-
clusivey during ten months operation of the
Underwood tariff before the war broke out.
The winter of l9l3-l4 is too recent in our
minds for US to forget or disregard it. Wherever
the present tariff has stood alone without ad-
ventitious aid, it has brought to US disaster in
every way, and even with the aid of the war,
it is also failure from every standpoint
We can lose the revenue and make it up by
direct taxation, but we cannot lose the oppor-
tunity to do our own work and make it up in any
way whatever, and it must be remembered that
il MIR. Wilson is reelected, we cannot change the
present tariff law for at least nve years, and un-
doubtedly the war will come to an end long beIore
that time and we shall have to endureNthe same
conditions which we did before the war broke
out, and those were disastrous in the extreme.
Mr.. Wilson may theorize all he may upon
American ingenuity and American wit but in
genuity and wit at $500 day cannot compete
with the Chinese coolie or the Japanese or the
Asiatc or African who only gets 20 cents day
for doing the same kind Of work. That is the
whole thing in nutshell, and it would be we'll
for the American laborer and voter to study the
truth between now and the 9TH of November.
1t must be remembered that, with only one
exception, every large producing nation on earth
has a protective tariff So the competition Is
not a question of wit but question of tariff
and that means further question of cost Of pro-
duction in wages.
We are even now, with 100000 engaged in
war and war preparation, importing wares that
dsplace homemade wares TO the value of hun
dreds of millions annually. This will be largely
change our tariff, and the only way to bring that
about is the election of Hughes and a protection
congress.