all times have been higher than in England, it was first argued (in the time of Henry Clay) that because of the greater cost of production, due to high wages, the tariff was needed to start certain industries; but after the tariff had long been established and the old argument had been forgotten (ever since 1865), it has been urged that the tariff, being the cause of high wages, must be maintained to protect against the “pauper” labor of the older countries.  The higher wages in new countries where a tariff exists are always claimed to be the fruits of a protective policy.  The true cause of the high general scale of wages in America is the greater efficiency of industry under existing conditions.[8] Labor is surrounded here with advantages in the forms of rich natural resources and of mechanical appliances such as never before were combined.  Because of the scarcity of workers in particular protected industries, wages may be temporarily higher in them than in some other industries; but such workers form a small fraction of the population, and it is impossible to show that the general scale of wages in all occupations is raised by the tariff protecting this fraction.

There is, of course, no question that every tariff change affects certain enterprises and classes of workmen.  Enterprisers already acquainted with and engaged in a business always may hope to gain by the higher prices immediately following a rise in the tariff rates on their particular products.  Though they are granted no enduring monopoly by the protection, they for a time enjoy the advantage of being on the ground, and may reap the first fruits of the favoring conditions.  The enterpriser usually profits when the price of his product suddenly rises.  Usually skilled workmen are affected slowly by competition when there is any considerable increase of prices in their special industries.  The important question is, Who bears the burden of the higher prices that result from a tariff?  The burden is very soon distributed.  A part of it may be for a short time borne by the retail merchants, but ultimately nearly the whole of it must be borne by their customers, the unfortunate, less favored citizens.  The weight falling on each is usually small, often unsuspected, always hard to measure.  The increased benefit is concentrated in a few industries and accrues to a comparatively few producers.  Here is a recipe for riches:  get everybody to give you a penny; it’s so little that no one will miss it, and it will mean a great deal to you.  Something like this happens in the case of many protected industries; every consumer of the article pays a few cents more, a small group of wage-earners temporarily gains, and a few enterprises wax wealthy.