In Answer To The Courier

Editor Akgus:- It is said that you can judge how badly a mau is hurt by his yell. Certamly the Courier made enough noise last week to indícate considerable pain. He devotos over a colunni to auswering(V) my article. It is divided between;quotations, throwing mud and figures. The quotations are all right only it would be better not to stop in the middle of a sentence and run away trom the main pomt. The mud throwing mightas well be stopped for I have not called his ability in that line into question; and the figures -well, if they were not so much exaggerated they would prove what I said in the flrst place, viz., that the American worker gets more wages per week than the European. One instance of the inaccuracy oE the figures is enough. The figures are taken from the Philadelphia Kecord which has a correspondent on the spot whose figures cannot be gainsaid. The Courier's figures were takeu from an oíd almanac. _ , Courier. Taken oa spot. Kuiers per week $8.00 3 .60 to 4.50 Spoolers per week S.OO 4.50 Spinners per day l.no :n t0 78 Twisten per day 85 .80 What 1 stated, a,nú what the Courier cannot controvert, is, that European wages for a given amount of work done 'not a certain number of hours put iu,) are higher thau American. As the Couner wants figures, we have to satisfy him a little. Corsul Schoenhof in a report to his department finds that weavers of cotton cloth receive in Germany 48 cents per day, in France 53 to 58 cents, both working twelve hours ?er day, England. 65 cents and America 85 cents, both working ten hours. But the labor cost of weaving 100 yards of cloth is, in Germany 60 cents, England 55 cents and in America 40 cents. The figures are reliable and the conclusión s appareut- the American laborer needs no "protection"for he does much more work and jets a little more wages. The only attempt made to prove that here was any commission between the ariff and American prosperity, ras a table putting the increase of wages compared vith ante-war times at 52 per cent. Mr. Atkinson, a high authority, )ut it at about 50 per cent, and cnticism ha3 reduced it to between 35 and 40 per cent., but Mr. Gnffin, an undoubted authority, shows an average increase of wages compared with ante-free trade times in England of 72 per cent, anua very material reduction (from 10 to 25 per cent.) in the cost of living, notwithstanding that rents and fresh meat grow dearer. The Courierman asks some questionfl - first, show us a monopoly or "trust" in this country that is the direct or indirect result of the tariff? I can't quite crowd out the news items and advertisements this week in order to give a catalogue of the "trusts" that are "the direct or indirect result of the tariff," but ril do better, I'll name the only one that is not, that is, thecopper trust, and the latest news about it is, that because it is not backed up by a taniï it is going to burst. He wants to know "how long Germany aas had a tariff and what effect it has iad upon the industries it protects?" If Carlyle is to be relied upon, ever since the time of Frederick the Great, ts eöect- beggarly low wages to the worker and big fortwies to the mpnorpo ists. As to the question regarding the ilouse's action on the sugar tax, surely the Courier could not fiud fault with the demócrata for doing in part what it advocates out aud out. But all this is aside from the main point and the Couner has carefully avoided it, viz., the real reason why a week's wages are higher here than iu Eu rope I tried to bring the matter down to. 'undamental principies which uulike igures and facts can't be misplaced nto lying positions. Land is the basis of all production. Labor 'sometimes aided by capital is the means. Taking the community throughout land plenty and cheap, means high wages. Land dear means low wages, But how in either case is raising the cost of the laborer's necessities of life by taxing them, going to benefit the laborer. If the Courier does not want to learn, Ido, and I will be glad if it or any other journal will solve that problem for me, of taking twobeans away from five and having six, as the protectionists claim. All we claim for free trade is that it leaves the üve beans when none are taken away.