Wages and Tariffs Last Saturday Mr. A. V. Alexander, First
Lord of the Admiralty, made a speech which has got him into trouble. He said that the Economic Council had been advising the Government to put a tariff on the goods which the workers consume as a means of reducing wages. As the pro- ceedings of the Economic Council are secret Mr. Alexander was naturally hauled over the coals and he afterwards explained that he had been misunderstood. His inference about the advice of some members of the Economic Council, however, cannot be wrong. It is well known that certain members accept the doctrine that the only quick and practical way of adjusting wages to the cost of production is to put on a tariff which will raise prices. Sir Josiah Stamp has argued the case for this more clearly than anybody else. In his view the collapse of prices is the cause of our trouble. Therefore raise prices. This, he says, is a legitimate use for a tariff in our present dis- tress. We think so, too. 'Sir. Josiah speaks as a Free Trader who believes that tariffs do increase prices.
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