The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1843-09-21

UgnGgD C8CU@Uo


Sard compares lie prlee Of cotton IN 1918.
lsg5, and u present. and sndeasors 10
sumbug MS readers into The belirf slai lie
decreasing ana present low price &C Thar
article, a. wen a. Of tobacco. Is IN conse.
ouenee Of our tariff. a1he nations Of
Europe" he says. " ognnOfg6ord 70 pay
~ high prices. when their own articles
xhich ihey desire 10 sell 10 u are shut
sal from our ports BY cur present high
nrifi;"-fnrgeiiing The fact that our pre-
sent tariff has been in operation only
since lie first day Of September last. and
forgetting also Tie more important fact
thai The nations Of Enrope" place .
much heavier rae % duties upon our ar
iieles ofexp. rl-our tobacco, for instance.
$50 per cent, or D. sterling per pound ;
or IL manufactured, 1900 per cent, or o..
sterling per pound.
n The edilo.sf The Standard honesty
enieriains The epinion he has set forth in
his article. he has profled lii Ie BY Obser-
Walton. In 1890 Mr.. M.Dufie advanced
The fancilul and somewhat plausible tho
ory, that in consequence Of the tariff The
cotton planter losl fosiy OuI Of every hun.
drcd bales Of eoiGon, or in other words.
that The price Of his eoI,Dn was reduced
slai amount in consequence Of tie opera
ton Of our tariH. But that theory did no,
stand The test Of experience; very few
years sufiiced 10 show its utter fallasy.
Under The operation Of the compromise
act Of 1892 the tariff was gradually re-
duced len per cent. every two years. I'M
Ill 1892, when il was reduced ~ 90 per
cent, with numerous articles entirely du.
" free. But inslsad Of the prise Of cot
ton advancing, as il would If Mr. M.Duf-
fe's theory had been correct, The price
continued siill Grther 10 decline. II was
evidently, therefore, not the tariff that ei.
fecied the price. but much more natural
end tfi;ci'nt cause. The editor Of the
Standard himself himself has stated il.
In 1918. lie says, the quantity of cotton
exported was 02.47l,I73 lbs. in 1927 il
was increased To 29I,3l0,Il5 lbs and
nOr he says, the annual average ef The
cotton crop may be estimated At one hunl
red lone thousand We presume he mcans)
million Of pounds--an increase much be-
yond the actual increased consumption.
Every person al all conversanl with con
mercial affairs, is perfectly familiar with
the fact tina, the prize Of all articles is re-
gulaied BY the proportion Of The supply
10 the demand. II The demand is large
and the supply small, the price advan-
sss; il the supply exceeds die demand,
The price GalIs The price of cotton will
not obey any other rule. The tariff does
not lessen the quantity consumed. I'm.
der The operation of a very low tariff a
larger quantity doubtless would be con-
sumed abroad, but so much the less would
be consumed a, home; and under high
er tariff a much larger quantity would
be manufactured a. hame, with possibly
somewhat diminished consumption
abroad; but still the total amount consum-
cd would be rs great. In the one case
the profits of manufacturing the cotton
woald 60 into =" the pockets Of the rich
manufacturers" of Europe; in the other
they would be divided among our own
eitizens. II is false position TO suppose.
tina, if we buy largely Of the manufactu-
rers they will give higher prices for the
raw material. Ii they go INTO a glutted
marke, TO buy. they will buy at the low
est prices. This was fully tested during
,he last ten years. We bought freely of
European goods; so freely that notwiIa-
standing the large expor,aiions If cotton,
the country fell in debt TO the capitalists
OF Europe more than two hundred mil
lions Of dollars; yet the price Of our great
southern staple could not be Kept up
The reason is obvious TO any one VIII"
has eyes to see. The great rush oil emi'
grafton 10 Alabama and Mississippi, and
other portions of The southwest, all OF
whom are engaged in raising cotton has
produced supply greatly exceeding the
demand. The natural consequence is,
that the markets arc overstocked, aud tic
price Frustrated