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Show Oil Labor Laws , andFree Trade Together-They Create a Condition Which Demands a Protective Tariff There has been somo gossip nbout tho udmlnlstratlon be'ng willing to raise rates of somo of the Tariff schedules, sche-dules, or that tho Freo Trado clauso In tho sugar schedule may bo suspended. sus-pended. Just how that can be done without n cbnfasslon of error of Its ontlro arlff policy Is beyond tho ken of the sharpest economic mind. Tho Administration con never retreat from its prosent position without suffering a complete rout. Thoro will bo no dlecusslon of tho Tariff by the next Dcmotratlc Congress, If it can help it, but that will not prevent tho advocates of Protection from getting get-ting the true character of the situation situa-tion beforo the country. The Democratic Demo-cratic party naturally will want to ovade the Tariff Issue, but It will be forced to assume tho defensive. While the Free Trado administration administra-tion has ben Instating that American manufacturers should compete on an equal basis with tho cheap labor ot foreign countries, It has, perhaps, overlooked tho fact that the position of the Protectionists has been materially mater-ially strengthened by the Increased losts added to American manufacturers manufactur-ers through the child labor laws that hnvo recently been passed. Secretary Wilson of tlie Department ot Labor, In a recent statement pointed out what legislative bodies in the Untied Statos accomplished In the way ot Increasing In-creasing the cost ot labor In the year 1914. According to Mr. Wilson 1914 was an "oft year" for the majority ot State legislatures, and yet many laws wero passed relating to tho employment em-ployment of women and children or the hours of labor, nil of which increased in-creased the cost ot labor to American manufacturers. Theso laws also In-reused In-reused tho need of a return to a Protective Tariff which will safeguard the effect of theso reforms from tho cheap labor of Europe. The Tariff will bo very much of an Issue In the next campaign. Wheeling, (W. V.) Intell'gencer. |