Wages And The Tariff

The commissoner of labor in a recent report makes some very interesting comparisons as to the average income and expenditure per family, in a number of thé leading industries, such as the pig-iron bar-iron, steel, cotton, and woolen industries, in the United States and England, France, Germany, Belgium an-d Switzerland. In all of these comparisons the workmen of the United States head the list in income and expenditure, but strangely enough England approximates most nearly to these conditions. These figures prove, if they prove anything, that the protective tariff is absolutely worthless as a means of raising wages. If protection does for wagesvvhat is claimed for it, we should find higher wages in all of the continental countries named than in England, but in no case is this true. On the other hand in each and every one, wages are very much lower, there being about as great a difference between the wages of free trade England and the other countries of Europe, as between theUnited States and England. This should convince anyone, who will be convinced, that wages do not depend upon the tariff and that it might be entirely removed without menace to the income earned by workmen. Wages are higher in this country because of the greatcr relative scarcity of laborers, coupled with the fact tliat the country is new and rich in all natural resources naking the returns for a given exjenditure of energy far greater than n an old country. Then again, American laborers as a rule are inore ntelligent than other laborers, hüy work fasler, produce more and consequently earn more. When we shall have reached the density of jopulation of Europe, and allof our natural resources have been fullv developed, we shall undoubtedly ind labor conditions here approximating European conditions. ín :act this is already seen to a considerable extent in the more thickly settled portions of the Kast. But that a reduction or entire removal of the tariff would result in any necessary looming of wages we do not believe. On the other hand, on account of the larger opportunities for business, the tendency would be to increase wages.