The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-02-20
HOW FAR THEY GO TO SIDESTEP
PROTECTION

York World credits Chairman Edw. Hur-
ley of the shipping board and Samuel
Gompers of the American Federation of
Labor, with having worked out Demo-
cratic substitute for the Republican pol.
icy of protection as means of prevent
ing the flooding of -Ameriman market
with the product of cheap foreign labor.
It's brilliant scheme; one characters
tically, even ludicrously, Democratic.
The first step is to get the peace con-
ference to legislate on the subject of
standards of labor. In view of the fact
that the peace conference has no juris-
dictiOn over domestic legislation essen
tial to the establishment of labor stand
ards in various countries, the distance
this scheme is destined to travel beyond
the stage of grandiloquent phrase max
ing is really apparent. Japan, India and
China, with half the population of the
world, will have to be done over in very
thorough going fashion in order to create
the labor standards prevalent in the I'm
tied States. Is Asia nothing is so cheap
as humanity because of the over popula-
ton, and the very life of the industries
Of these oriental countries is dependent
upon underselling the rest of the world
through cheap wage scale. No common
sense person expects that anything will
come of this scheme except lot of press
agency dope in the newspapers.
Chairman Hurley and Mr.. Gompers
profess to believe that they can secure by
agreement Standardization of the sea-
mems scale of wages. Ships in the past
have taken the scale of wages prevailing
in home ports, and there is, of course, no
reason for expecting any change in this
regard. But listen to this part of the
arrangement:
while this method might equalize
costs of sea transportation, it is recogniz-
ed that it would not equalize the costs of
labor in the various countries, and it is
to meet this situation that another
scheme is being worked out. This scheme
to which it is understood the American
delegates are pledged, provides by inter-
national understanding that in the ev-
ent one country can produce goods at
cheaper labor cost than another country,
these cheaply made goods viii not be
shipped to that other country without
first adding to the cost Of labor produc-
ing it in the country of origin and the
country of destination. According to this
program, Japan will be free to ship her
goods manufactured with cheap oriental
labor here, but must first add to the cost
of the article the added cost of labor for
the same article in this country"
1t will be seen just how far Democrats
like Mr.. Hurley and Mr.. Gompers are
willing to go in order to avoid confessing
the virtue of the protective system. The
result they would secure by this arrange
Nment in so far as it affects the cost of the
article to the American consumer would
he exactly the same as that of tariff
equal to the cost of production at home
and abroad. But the further result would
be that the alien manufacturer, rather
than the United States treasury, would
pocket the difference between American
and foreign production costs. In addi-
ton the alien manufacturer would have
this advantage; the domestic manufac-
turer must load upon his business the
burden of domestic taxation, local, state
and national, which will be abnormal dur
ing the next few years. The alien man.
ufacturer need not charge these items
against his cost of production. The Am
erican manufacturer is penalized for liv-
ing and producing in the United States
which is of course the chief objective to
all Democratic tariff legislation.
Why not drop all this foolishness and
get back to the American principle of pro-
lection, as preached and practiced by
Washington, Lincoln and McKinlay? The
scheme said to have been outlined by