Speech #470165470

Iron and steel nails. spikes cut and w rought .................. Iron and steel pipes Cutlery and edged tooLs ........................ .9.144.100 4.157.163 43.614.419 2 52.077 5D. 995.144 0C. 701.475 55.476.785 1.951.300 1.329.151 1. 255.171 1. 783. 258 4.447.319 $21.154.571 43.60 55.99 13.39 38.173.658 10.88 a5.00 24.12 210.050.383 21.62 39.80 18.18 94.097.339 21.62 53.A6 32.24 t9N.920.481 25.909 35.00 9.01 29.167.227 22.00 00.78 43.88 29G.557.685 18.70 49.57 31.81 10.073.330 19.72 30. 45. 6.492.028 20.47 57.12 30.53 5 629 240 20.58 13.292.162 13.45 61.18 59. 63 11.682.370 38.10 42.80 4.70 2. 832.598 a. 207. SM 38) 262. 924 30.359 982 17.742. 5 12. 708. 570 93.43. 99 A slight inspection of this table will serve to show with what moderation the protectionists temper their demands upon Congress for a retention of high rates of duty in all cases. while in many instances they are pleading for an increase. so that these struggling industries may not languish and die out. and the plea always comes sugarcoated with the assertion that it is in the interest of American labor. which is so much higher here than the pauper labor of other countries. and for which laboring class these people have such a wonderful sympathy andregard that they could not think of reducing wages or closing down their factories or machineshops. unless they found that by overproduction they were likely to stagnate the market or would be unable to declare the usual dividend. Why. Mr. President. the wages paid to all the laborers in all the manuthcturing industries in the United States in 1880 was only 17.65 per cent. of the value of the output or finished production. and the industries that were working in competition with the manufacturers of foreign countries. the product of pauper labor. enjoyed an average protection of more than 42 per cent. under our present tariff laws. or nearly 25 per cent. more protection than the equivalent of the entire cost of the labor employed by them. By reference to the table just now referred to it will be seen that the wages paid to the laborers in the glass manufactories in 1880 was 43.6 per cent. of the value of their product. and it is the highest ratio of any industry given. but the glass manufactures had a protection against foreign competition of 56.99 per cent. or 13.39 per cent. more than the ratio of all the wages paid to their laborers bore to the value of their production. The manufacturers of drugs and chemicals paid in wages to their laborers at the rate of only 10.80 per cent. of the value of their product. while they had 35 per cent. protection or 24.12 per cent. more protection than was equivalent to their entire expenditures for labor. and still they want more protection for labor. Cotton goods paid in wages to labor employed in their manufacture 21.62per cent. of the value of its productions. and had 39.8 per cent. of protection against the pauper labor of Europe. or 18.18 per cent. more protection than enough to put these manufacturers on ih level with their competitors if the pauper laborers of their rivals worked for nothing and paid their own board. Hosiefy and knitgoods manufacturers paid wages to their labor amounting to 22.9 per cent. of the value of their productions. and enjoyed an average protection of 66.78 per cent. protection against the cheap labor of other countries. or an equivalent of advantage equal to $3 for every dollar they paid out in wages. and it is one of those starving. struggling industries thathas made more plaintive appeals to Congress within the last few months than almost any other. they have been just on their last legs. and all because they were compelled to compete with the pauper labor of other countries. The iron and steel industries paid in wages to labor 18.76 per cent. of the value of their manufactured product and was secured in the possession of the home market by protective duties averaging 49.57 per cent.. an equivalent in money value of $2.50 to every dollar paid out for wages and yet the ironmongers are not happy. pauper labor is pressing them on all sides. Pigiron. after almost an hundred years of protection is so much of an infant yet that it can not go alone and is liable to die any day of pauper labor. Why. Mr.