Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1844-05-23

said the lady-sho was a kind old soul the poor goose
what a cruel thing TO- IL The man Of ropes aud brushes
was posed for a moment, hut true genius l. never without
resource Z" Madam, SAID he. unconscio"sly adopting
the very words Of a celebrated ancient Philosopher, under
similar circumstances. al have found il VIII
said the lady. "If your Iadyshi thinks It would be
cruel 10 drag a goose down the chimney couple Of
ducks might do Just Is WE'LL
THE protection ct a taufT seems to M Of a piece with
the humanity Of the chrmucy-sweep The landed pro-
pretor IN England, the manufacturing capitalist in
America, complain 10 their respective governments, that
their rents and profits viii suffer grieveusly by a reduc-
ton If duties That - the case 81 the goose. Parlia-
ment and Congress, at the instance ut THIS small class Of
sellers, decree, by way Of relieving them, that The hume
rous class of buyers shall suffer ia their stead. That is,
very clearly. the ease Of the ducks.
Now, let our sympaihlcs be enlisted on one side or the
other. It must at least be confessed, that this J. rather
singular mode of profeonHg rights. When a man seeks
10 pick my pocket Of twenty dollars, very properly de-
mand that the law should protect my pooket. But when
l ask a legislative body to take twenty dollars oui If my
%ncighbors pocket and put It INTO mine, 1t would be "a
somewhat unmteliisible mode OF phrasing my request To
say, that l desired to hav" The twenty dollars protected
into my pOokt Protected IN my pocket, that one can
understand hut protected INTo IT The very grammar
Il our language rises up IN Judgment against Z doctrine
like that.
To this. Of cou.se, there is a reply. When did privil-
eye ever lack spccious argument 10 back her pretcnsiuns
Tue reply Is, that a protective tariff picks %nobodys
pocket; nobodv's al least in this country The doctrine
Of the advocates of protecton-lhe stereoyped doctrine
the great tortoise upon which the entire world Of their
theory reposes-is. that "a tauF tax does no, raise, To
the consumer. the price of the article taxed And by
way Ct explaining an assertion which somewhat shocks
the sense Of plain men, they add, 10 use the words of
one q Their most eloquent advocates) that by shutting
Ot .oreign competition, the home manufactures, having
"A larger and more secure market, can afford to produce
cheaper, and viii do so. 80 can The English corn law
protected wheat grower. having the market To himself,
Gford To sell clleaper Than IT foreign competition were
freely permitted. But II Is contrary 10 all experience,
that 10 restrict competition Is an efircinal method of
causing those who are privileged hy the restriction, To
lower their prices. Three hundred years ago. Queen
Elizabeth granted to certain corporations IN England. the
exclusive right To manufacture salt and history tells Us,
that they raised the price ot that Indispensable article
from I6 hence To II ar H. shrllings: upwards of ten fold,
one of the most striking facts recorded IN the commercial
history of The world, Vet these patencPs. having a whole
nation To- supply. had n market large and secure enough
To- !r a cheap one; if that be the CONDITION of c%heapness.
\ clas- Of men privileged by n protective tariff obtain a
sort Of chartered monopoly on a very extended scale,
indeed. and for that reason. with less power Of mischief;
lu~f as a dose of arsenic, IN a hngshcad "i water. loses lis
deadly effect hy dilntlon. But as each cuptul Of that
water still retains a portion Of the poisonous quality
50 does monopoly, however diluted. remain IN prlnciple
though wnh lcssencd effect. monopoly still II l. no, the
price Il monopoiiSi can afford to sell at. 1t is the price he
can get, that regulates an exclusive market.
To hftv other similar s~ophisms. The good sense Of the
pcoule NAV safely he trusted To suggest reply. When
the manufacturing capitalist. seeking 10 increase hs pro-
fits, reiicraie>, in speech, and tract, aud periodical, this
fa,orlte ahsurdiiv, that n tariff tax imposed on an article
causes no increase IN the price, what answer will that
good sense commonly suggest y very SIMPLE and
straightforward one; a. thus:
But a. that tax j. actually paid, some one must pay IT.
II i've cents 20 into the treasury ior every yard oi foreign
calico sold To US. that five cents must come ont If some
hody'S p"cket. Our of the English cniico-printer :, per
hap>2 Bc IT so. Then II brcomes To him. IN our mark
-. nari of the p'ime cost Of his cnlico II he cannot .f
ford To- pa, that five cents. and if. for that reason, he cen~e
Ia sell us. dli revenue from that source * DESTROYED. But
# he continue 10 sell 10 uS. then II J. clear. that II" gels ilom
~ h~ own first cost of production, his own profit, and
Ire tGr.f TER bcSidcS.
Thus will plain men reason and most logically reason,
too. The condition upon which alone permanent com
merce can exist. IS that the seller shall obtain from The
bu,e or some profit. over and above the entire cost oi the
article sold. including oil expenses, be they freight, III
snrance: exchange. n tariff tax. or any other outlay OF
capital. IT a law be passed which raises any "ne class OF
these expenses, the direct aud inevitable eject Is, rs a
general rule, 10 raise prices To deny this, 1 to deny
that the buyer pays expenses on the article he iuys- 1t
l. an outrage on common sense.
II is easy To throw dust in some mems eyes and TO
pur>uade shallow thinkers of any ah~urdIty- (Nofe 81
The wonderful Improvements IN modern m~achinery cause
the prices Of manufactured articles rerpetualiy and rapidly
TO decline. hen an increased tanfi justs arrests this iall
II prices. & e fact is taken To prove. that to raise the tamil
Is not 10 increase the price. Or. perhaps some caprice OF
the markei-and a spoit child is not more full "t whlrns
ihaut the market is-may be brought up TO show that at the
very time TIE tariff on a particular article was raised. the
puce Of that article remained stationary or tell. All gen.
eraI ru'es have their exceptions hut the rule in this case
is as clear, as that a man cannot make a living Ivy selling
goods under frs, cost.
To evade these home truths. some assert that an m
creased tariff TAX us paid solely out of the profits OF the
merchsui.' TO lie consist, Mt. they should assert aisa,
tina. it iicghts were to become dnua'e what they are. or
domestic exchanges were to ron M To 10 or ID per cent.
as in 1889. nay If manufacturers were TO put thirty or for
~ Per cent. additional on every article they manufactured,
all this would not raise The price Ia the customer who
bought the goods. hut only cut down The profits Of the mer-
chant who sold them. Bur that Gt will he said)ls grossly ab-
suri. contrary TO daily experience. and no man of common
sagaciiy viii believe it. Very well. Then why believe
the assertion, no whit more absurd. that the particular
item Of cost paid TO the government and called a tariff tax,
does not add to the price Of the article faxed !
And then. If this hare-ficel piece of solhlstTy were ac-
rualiv true. what would become Of the theory Of proiec-
ton ; Ii tariff dcts not raise prices, or as some Don
Qaixoies # The pr protective ihs DRY will have II. II 1t lower
prices. by what icgerdemain. | pray you. does II favor
home Industry What is the complaint OF the manu-
faetuIer ; Is IL hat men insist upon pa, ing him too high
prices for h- goods and does his conscience compel him
, 10 ask for a high tariff IN order 10 reduce them Has he
, been moving Heaven and Earth. appsa-Irg 20 HE public
, through a thousand periodicals, tesiegIng the halls Of Con
; eress with ten thousand petitions. oil TO cut down his own
prices. or. al best, TO leave them just vncre they were
, neither higher nor lower DO men-ciasses Of men
| whose avowed business il is to buy cheap aud sell dear
do such men toll dav and night. rise early aud St ia'e
f ransa. k their brains for schemes Of commercial! restriction,
!, at the prompting OF motives Ike hat
roIaurh were went OF goodness ard Of grace;
a But 10 lie grave exceeds all power OF ace.
; Apart from such consid, rsionS. however, the fimsy a''
/, surdiiv If this doctnne-ioo childish fr serious re'uia
, ton. but that names Of repuic are amorg lis adsocatts-
is cicaflv apparent in an extreme case. Tobacc" l. worth
u in the New Or cans market. some five cents a pound; o
h fifty dollars per hocshead If a thousand pounds. The
n duty on thai, article ~ the presen; British tariff IS seventy
J. Two cents a pound. or seven hundred and twenty doll r
u h~og-head. AccOrdit 10 The theory OF The pro'ee'''is'
this ,autr tax on tobacco imported into Engl I'd Is Pi'
c either hy the foreign producrr-in this case the American
u tobacco raissr-or II comes ou, Of the profits OF the I'm
c nortinr merchant, n l. not paid by the British consume