The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-04-06

in despair. That situation is not ! to be saved by labor men rushing with legal doors to stem the now i that insists upon entering. That si- l tuation is to be saved only by or ganization offering them the right hand of fellowship as brothers in toll and exploitation, with common interests and common aims.
 It's wofully shortsighted too to imagine that by closing the door to these immigrant workers they are thereby saving themselves from coming into competition herewith
 That's only an economic fallacy The men in Europe or in Asia arc employed in international industries fer international markets, in indus tries which will meet the industries of America in those morkets and with which American trade is to be forced to compete.
 If American trade Is to progress in China, American trade will come in direct competition with Chinese labor. That's inevitable and all the immigration restriction in the WI rid will not prevent that condition. If we turn to the articles ill papers and magazines and journals devoted 1 to trades, we see significant re- marks about the increased cCmpeti- tion which American industry and commerce will face after the war
 because of the intensified eXploita-
 tion to which European laoor will
 be subject Does any reasonable l person affect to believe that with American industry seeking fresh fields always and spreading out with an imperialist ambition. that Am erican labor will not ba called upon to feel the effect of any such an in- tensified exploitation in Europe, also.
 We cannot close our eyes to the international nature of capital and the natural tendency of eXploitative rates to find a level Iii all countries so that profits will eQualize. It is a common experience that in, any in- dustry in any country where the profits are great, capital goes there fcr investment from all lands and competition becomes so keen in the business that the pfohts ultimately reach the level of other where's
 Now it is practically the same in ihe labor world. Even right now v'hlle Americans have higher standard of living ard get higher wages, factors continually arise which depreci&te the actual advant- age to a considerable degree. One factor is that during his period or labor the Antrican worker is speed ed up so that his outGu1 is greater than that of the European lahorer. another factor is tha. the general cost of necessities in Europe is less | that the actual advantage is much less than it apparently is in favor of the American workers. And that is reasonable enough
 Take another striking example of this point of view The Klondike is discovered and wages are extreme ly high. Men leave those occupa- tions in the states and subject them selves to all kinds of hardships to get the higher wages of the Dawson camp. The result is that the labor market finally adjusts itself ana wages decline although living con ditions improve and prices decline
 also.
 | Considering all things, the costs of living, the discomforrs and the in- tensity of labor demanded of work CTS in the early days the advantages of the Dawson camp were not very correctly represented by compari- son between say the three dollar and half day of Butte miner ana the ten dollar day of the gold dig ger on Fl Dorado. The rate of wages is always a relative standara. The immigration bill errs in the fundamental principle that 1t is d. rected against the exploited seeking better conditions, and not against the exploiters who oppose better conditions.
 It may be poor nationalism and poorer patriotism but it is an eco homie fact that the coal digger of