Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 October 1882 — Wages and Tariff. [ARTICLE]

Wages and Tariff.

The local organ of the Protectionists has been comparing the wages in Germany with the wages in this country and argues that our protective tariff is the cause of the high wages bere and free trade is the cause of the low wages in Germany. We are willing to make due allowance for the ignorance of the organ, but even the. editors of the. Post and Trilmne must’know that Germany has a high protective tariff and that the low wages paid in Germany cannot be caused by free trade. If the organ

really desired to make a fair comparison of ihe effects of tariff and free trade on wages in countries where the other conditions of population, soil and climate are comparatively alike, it would have selected high-tariff Germany and free-trade England. The following talde is taken from the consular reports made with a view to sustaining the tariff under the Hayes administrati n in 1879: COMPARATIVE RATES OF WEEKLY WAGES PAH) IN GERMANY AND GREAT BRITAIN IN 1879. German it- Great Britain. Bakers $3.50 $6.50 to $6.60 Blacksmiths 3.55 7.04 to *.U Bookbinders 3.81 6.50 to 7.83 Bricklayers 3.60 7.58 to 9.0il Cabinetmakers 3.97 7.70 to 8.48 Carpenters 4.00 733 to 8.15 Fi.rm laborers 2.87 3.40 to 4.25 I laborers, porters, etc 2.92 4.50 to 5.00 Painters 3.92 7.25 to 8.10 Plasterers 3.80 7.08 to 10.13 Plumbers 3.60 7.13 to 8.46 Printers 4.80 7.52 to 7.75 Shoemakers 3.12 7.33 Tailors 3.53 5.00 to 7.30 •Tinsmiths. 3.65 6.00 to 730 COMPARATIVE RETAIL PRICE 0 OF THE NECESSARIES OF LIFE IN GERMAN! AND OREAT BRITAIN IN 1878. Germany. Great Britain. Gent*. Cents. Beef, roast, per 1b.... .22 .22 Beef, corned, tb .13 .18 to .20 Beans, qt 10 .09 Bread, lb 3to .07 .03)4 to .04>4 Batter, lb 22 .29 to .88 Coal, ton $4.25 $1.65 to $4.10 Codfish tb .08 to .03 Coffee, lb 35 .8 to .50 Errs, doz 20 .14 to .30 Flour, lb 05 4 .03!-j to .04>4 Lard, tb 21 .12 to .18 Milk, qt 04 .05 to .09 Mutton, fore qr. 1b... .14?4 .18 to .17 Oatmeal, lb .08 .0314 to .0414 Pork, fresh, lb 17 .10 to .18 Pork salted, lb .17 .10 to .11 Pork, baoon, lb .20 .12 to .18 Pork, sausage, tb 19 .18 Potatoes, bu .50 .88 tos’.oo Bice, tb v 9 .as <4 to .08 Soap, lb 1> .0 14 to ."9 Sugar, lb U -OSHs to .10 Tea, lb 75 .43 to .88 These figures show that in free-trade England mechanics’ wages are just about twice as high as in protected Germany, and the cost of coal and most articles of food is greater in Germany than iu England. England is the only free trade country in Europe, and the English workingmen are the best paid in Europe- The English mechanics receive from 50 to 100 per cent, higher wages than are paid in any other European country. We want no better illustration of the benefits of free trade than the condition of the working classes of England, and no better illustration of the injurious effect of protection can be found titan the miserable condition of the working c' asses in Germany. Comparisons between European countries and the United States are unfair and deceptive, for there are a thousand obvious causes liei-e which have always made wages higher than in Europe, regardless of the tariff. These are visible on every side to any intelligent observer, and are ignored only by very dishonest or ignorant writers. Among them are our cheap and fertile land and our sparse population. These sustain our labor prices at a high figure in spite of the influence of tho tariff. In Germany land is cheaper, population is sparser, and, in spite of the big army, taxes are lower than in Great Britain; and, as a consequence, wages should be higher. But, in spite of the better conditions, the influence of tariff' depresses labor to half the prices it commands in freetrade England. —Detroit News.