New-York daily tribune., 1844-11-05
THE. TRIBUNE.
Address Of Prof. J. J. lIapes,
In Defence of the Protective Policy,


shall net annoy you, said Professor Mapes,
\, g long returning cf thanks for the honor your
Committee have done me, nor must you expect a
set political speech, for am no politician. My
,ersrks will be confined entirely TO the Tariff and
ia effects upon our National prosperity, the opn.
iops of the two great parties relative to which are
towel known to require any comment from me.
Ii Mr.. Polk and his adherents pass into power,
ycumay bid adeu to your present National pros
parity, for he and his advocates are pledged to a
vsr with the Tariff to the very knife. If Mr..
CLAY be elected you will have chosen the father
Of the American System as your President, and
he will be supported by party which have
steadily and uniformly been the friends and pro.
sc.ors OF American Industry.
Being unaccustomed to address public meet
nss, must beg of you to excuse any want Ct
arrangement in the facts shall place before you,
,r at ten O'Clock this morning my memoranda
we're not commenced.
One of the first objects Of Tariff, it is well
understood, is to furnish the necessary means Of
supporting the expenses ofthc Government. Our
opponents say this i, the only ono. Now there
,sl Tariff, Protective Tariff and Diacrimi
,ono Tariff A Horizontal Tariff is Of this
kind suppose it should be necessary to raise for
,bo wants of the Government $20,000,000, and
;mpous supposed to be Sl00,O00,00 this sys-
TEN of revenue supposes an equal duty TO be laid
upon all imports. Let US suppose that 20 per
cent. should be the rate fixed upon as necessary
n raise this. / shall show in an instant that it
would not only be possible to effect this at such
an imposition but at no conceivable one. Sup
pose the amount required to delray the expenses
of the Government to be 500, 100000, and The
Secretary reports the probable imports at $780,
100000; then a Horizontal Tariff would mean
,dn,y Of 90 per cent on all articles, whether we
could create them or not.
This would protect those which row pay fl
teen pc, cent or less, and consequently wouio
be manufactured at home ann not lrnporled.-
The imports would fall TO $75,000,000, and 10
fetray lhe expenses Of the Government duty OF
80 per cent, would become necessary, which Ia
iis turn wnuld protect the articles paying 25 per
cnt or less, aud tnerehy reduce the iNp,ris tU
fitv miiiuus and III consequence the duty woulo
be raised u icrty per cent which would protect
TIE hirty five pr cent articles, uGt'l by dminu-
ton of import and consequent increase OF duty,
We should raise our oranges In hot houscs and
lea upon the tops of stoves From these facts
il must be evidsnI that no horizontal rate oi duty
from one to thousand per cent. would pro
duce $l0,000,000 OF revenue
Thsre are many other objections II would
diaorganjze many of those portions oi home indus
try, IN which large capitals had previously been
invested under the guarantee OF former legisia-
ton. An an instance We will quote Frnt Glass.
This article is composed principally OF Oxyde OF
Lead and Slick, or common sea sand. Under
our present Tariff Lead paid duty of five per
cent and Flint Glass forty per cent. witha horl.
zontal Tariff, the duty on Lead would be raised
to twenty per cent. and that on glass lowered to
the same amount. During the last year OF the
laie Compromise Act in anticipation of tho pas
sage of Horizontal Tariff, every glass house
in the country had ceased To work. Under the
Tariff of 1912, they have not only resumed oper-
aticns, but by home competition the prlce has
been reduced below the foreign cost at the time
of the passage OF the Tariff Bill and those speci
mems exhibited at the late Fair of the American
Institute possessed higher refractive force, and
greater whiteness than the foreign article.
The Brush makers, in common with many
other manufacturers, would also be sufferers by a
Horizontal Tariff. Bristles, which are free, and
Brushes which pay high duty, would then be
taxed alike, and this branch of industry thereby
be annihilaed
DISCRIMINATING TARIrE-Such Tariff, the
one now in operation, was intended by IFS Trainer
to be. II is understood to levy high duties en-
those articles which we can er0w or nanujdc-
ture, and low duties ON those which we cannot !;
but the same amount Of revenue to be collected
as proposed by a Horizontal Tariff. 1t can be
Of no consequence TO the consumer, provided he
uses an equal amount of Shoes and Coffee,
whether he pay forty per cent. duty on
shoes and nothing on coffee, or whether he
paw twenty per cent. on each; but to the
country at large it would make a difference
equal to the PARTING with the precious metals to
The total value of the shoes, instead of retaining 1t
in the country as part of our circulating me
dun.
To bring Wheat from Michigan to this market
costs at the least twenty FIVE cents bushsi for
mere transportation and expenses. Previous to
the present discriminating fariff, it cost much
less to b7ing it f;om GermeDy- say from Bremen.
What was the consequence That we were
thereby furnishing with market and protecting
the German Farmer, to the injury OF our own
esanuymen; and the Distilleries OF this city Il
can speak fone in particularly were busy dlstilng
ioseign grain.
tis Iue that our present Tariff has some inc;
qualities, but they are Of too insignificant KIND
towarant any friend of his country being wlibpg
to disturb the whole subject, under the present
excited state Of politics, for such trlfiss.
PROTECTIVE TAnFr-This form of Tariff has
many advocates; and instead of levying duties
iof revenue with incidental protection. as with a
Dlscnminative Tariff, it would levy duties for
rfotec,ion, leaving the Revenue as an Incidental
result. Its enemies argue tina, i, is calculated to
nfate anfate the Treasury Of the coua,ry, and that the
Protective duty acts as direct tag upon the con-
saner Tor the support OF the manufacturer.
Neither of these positions is true, as shall
Dc able clearly to illustrate. Since the formation
81 our Government, 934 articles in our Tariff
nave received protection. at different dates !;
dnl In er,ru homo cornrptlIl0n alone.