Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1844-04-12

are "robbed and oppressed" !" in the Ian,
euage OF the gentleman, by protective
policy this is the way this gentIemsn's
constituents are feeced OF "half their
nard earnings BY Eastern msnufsctu
rers Now he deGed he gentleman TO
put his finger on a single article 10 the
whole tariff on which high protective
duties had been levied, that had not in
time been rsduced and very greatly re
dUced in price by domestic competition
and yet, n The face OF these facts. The
geotIeman standsup and grsVeIy repeats
this stale and thread bare theory. "ihat
protective duties increase the price Of
every thing tho farmer has TO buv, and
reduce The price olevery thing he has TO
sell. Z"
The duty added 20 the prjce-not true.
Next the gentleman tells US. that the
duty is always added TO The price and
paid by the consumer, on both foreign
and domestic goods; Ior the domestic
manufacturer, he says. always raises
his goods by the amoUut Of the duty
and this theory is also advanced hv Mr..
Van Buren, in his letter TO the Indiana
convention before referred 10. Now let
US see how this theory will bear ths
test Of a practical examination. The
consumer has to pay the duty 10 the
manufacturer; this is the universal the
ory. Now, if the gentleman would torn
to the tariff, he would find that the dIty
on the lowest priced cotton goods. was
upwards Of s cents per square yard
these goods were sole TO the gentleman 5
onsttuents in Missouri, for 6 cents, and
often less than cents per yards. Now
il the gentleman would go home, and
undealake to convince the simplest old
woman in his disrict, that she was OBJ
u ged TO pay the Eastern manufacturer
s cents yard duty on yard Of coarse
cotton which she bought for six, he
would undertake task. in which, with
IaII his eIoquencs and ingenuity, he
would utterly fail. the duty on glass
was So per box. duty imposed when
foreign glass was imported and sold OF
10 and Sl2 per box; now 1t was selling
in this country for So so per box; the
duty on nails had been 5 cents per
pound imposed when the price mad been
10 or l2 cents, now they are made and
sold for 4 cents; such were the fruits oI
the protective policy by which the prices
OF glass had been reduced from 10 10
So SO and nails from l2 10 d cents per
pound, and the same was true Of paper
TYPE, hardware, and an infinite variety
OF articles. Now, il the gentleman
would go home, tell his constituents thu
honest, plain, common sense farmers o
Missouri, that they had TO pay So duI!
on box Of glass, which they could pur
chase for So so, and cents q pouOt
duty on nails, which they purchased 70
4, they would laugh in his face. Ye
he has just graVeIy asserted, that the
duty is always added TO the price by the
manufacturer, and is paid by the con-
sumer.' Now, with such facts before
him. he thought it might puzzle even
Van Buren, man 10 believe Mr. Van
Buren, himself, who had asserted this
Same thing in his Indiana letter, wher
perhaps the gentleman had got Ihi
idea.
The gentleman next says, that thr
protective policy creates and cherishe
mouopoIles. Nov, il 10 increase com
petition (lhe admitted effect of this poll
cyl was TO creete and cherish monopoly
then the gentleman was right; but if II
promote competition was 10 destroy mo
nopoIy, then the gentleman was wrong
10 this. as in all other cases, the reVers
of the gsntleman's proposition was true
Protection promoted competition, an
thereby destroyed monopoly This wa
too clear TO admit Of illustration or ar
gument.
His time was nearly out, and in cor
clusion he would sey, that he advocate
the protective policy, not as a polio
calculated or intended TO advance th
interest Of the manufacturers at The eX
pense OF any other class; on the contrt
ry, he regarded it as policy eminenlI
calculated 10 advance the welfare an
prosperity ofdgriculiure.
Agriculture ras the great object Of h
protective policy.
II reduced tbs price OF manufactured
goods by promoting competition, Will
on the other hand, 1t enhanced The pric
of agricultural produce, by increasin
the demand and diminishing the supply
by Withdrawing portion OF labor from
this great department Of industry, an
employing it in The consumption insea
of the production Of agricultural sup
plies. 1t was, therefore, for the beneli
of the farmers, and not the manufacluF
hn n1unantaA 1hio noItou