Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1844-03-28

the honorable senator, as to the effect Of
high duties upon low prices. / propose
to examine very briefly his facts, for T,
these he takes refuge, when every othe
resource fails him. | understood. til,
senator 10 say that the tariff of ! $40 ba,
diminished the price of Manufactures
and increased the price of cotton. 7
IN tbs mlstook him, | beg that he vii
put the matter right.
air Evans said the first effect of tn,
tariff OF lS42 waste lower the prices o
manufacturer; but that now these price:
were eafanced. from the beneficial eff
lects OF fiat measure.
Mr.. Nc Dufiie. I now understand thf
gentleman; and | must be permitted t.
say he has furnished us with most char
acterlstic specimen Of his matter.of fact
system OF reasoning. From the very
commencement of this protective system.
the manufacturers and their advocates
have habitually endeayored to disparage
the great and well-established principles
OF political economy. from an instructive
perception that false system cannot be
defended by those weapons of truth
which sound philosophy alone can fur
nish. They well know that, if their sys-
TEN of injustice and plumber is brought
to the test of lnductiye principles, it will
be inevitably exposed TO general execra-
ton. WAile. therefore, they are them
selves attempting to palm upon the coun-
try the yllest set of theories that ever dis
sraceI the philosophy of an enlightened
age, they profess to rely entirely upon
jacfs. The senator from Maine has CIV
en- most beautiful specimen of this new
mode of phiiosophiziug. He afiirms thas
the tariff Of 1912, instead of depressing.
has greatly enhanced the price Of cotton;
and with great gravity, holds up price
current, showing that the price is now
actually higher than it was when the act
of 1912 was passed. Why, sir. you
might as well ascribe the present rise Of
cotton to icebergs floating in the ocean,
or meteors falling from the heavens, as
to the Tariff of 1912. The inductive
philosophy teaches US that events which
precede. and follow each other do not
necessarily stand in relation of cause
and effect; but that we must look at all
the concomitant circumstances, aided by
7re-establsheu principles. to ascertain
the causes OF any given phenomena
The night follows The day, and the day
follows the night; but no one supposes
the one to be the cause Of the other
And must say to the senator that there
is not a merchants clerk or an overseer
in the country who cannot read him a
lesson of political economy on this sub
ject.
Sir, it is known that the cotton crop
of 1912 was about a.40O, 600 bales. and
nobody estimates that Of 1S4S at more
than 1890, 600. My own opinion is,
that it will not much exceed 1000, 600.
Cotemporaneous with this unexampled
falling off in the supply, the opening Of
the trade to China, upon liberal terms,
has produced a great increase in the de-
mand for cotton. Now Sir, If the sena-
tor will estimate the influence Of these
combined causes, by the law of supply
and demand, he will perceive that they
are sufficient to raise the price Of cotton
from eight to twelve dollars hundred
at the least ifnot counteracted by other
causes. The just conclusion, there
fore is, not that the act of 1912 has
raised the price Of cotton from eight
totem dollars hundred, but thatit has
prevented it from going up to twelve. =
Such sir, is a fair sample Of those thread.
bare sophisms which the manufacturers
put off upon their followers as facts
Yes sir. facts; and these are the only ar.
ticles that the manufacturers can pro-
duce without protection, bidding defiance
to all competition.
Vow sir, as to the FALL in the price o.
manufacturers produced by the tariff o.
l842. | hold in my hand ,lelaile,
statement, made out by merchants 81
high character, showing that the price.
of various manufactures have risen on az
average twenty-five per cent. since the
passage of this act, aud some of them as
much as sixty per cent.
How then, does this rise in the price Of
manufactures correspond with the sena-
tors fact that prices have falIeni II
is true that he has explained his mean
ing to have been that prices fell at first.
and have since risen froui the general
prosperity produced by The tariff Of 1S42.
This totally overthrows, the fact and the
theory that high duties reduce prices
And let me tell you sir, how that momen-
tarv fall of prices, which took place i'm
medately after the passage of the act
of 1912, was produced. will give you
a little secret history on this subject
That measure, sir. was concocted, as
have been informed by good authority.b by
a set of specializing manufacturers who
infested the Iobbies and committee-ruoms
OF Congress, each having his separate
scheme for making Congress legislate
him into fortune.
These disnterestee patriots managed
to have themselves called before the
committee to enlighten the wisdom Of
Congress OH the great questions of f.
nance and political economy Each ma