Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1845-04-07
The zpmch bmro JirDtmiam.
.Mo.rDaY. .dPRH 7, ls45.
"FACrs FOR TIE PEOPLE"

sgemaen posilinn has been very extensively cireula
led in this iion Of the State under the (nk II the
late menlber fom his district The writer j. unques.
l9ably we'll skilled in arithmetic. but he has vet To
learn the elements Of political economy and The rudi
nfnis # ,gc. Never, venure To say. in any docu
mehi intended hr tie instruction # The people, were
such grossly erroneous assumptions dednced from
"acis,o The CORRECTNESS of which We are willing TO ad
nit
The design # the writer is to produce the impression,
/ (and from his skill in arranging his figures he may he
successful III stme persons who may not take the
trouble In ana,2e his satements) that the price abroad
Of our great agricultural exports Cotton tobacco and
fanr,) is mainly dependent not upon the law Ct de-
niand and SUPPLY 10 Which oher great political econo-
nss. with voice have htetofre referred it, but up-
ON the duties imposed hy own government upon
British cloths and cutlery German tufaps and diapers
aud French wines aud silks Nay in the estimation of
this sagucnus and profound statesman no sets himself
up "ieacher in ISRAEL" the duties imposed by for
elen governments uron pr ducts affect the prices Of
these products less Than duties upon their fabrics, 10
Other words, he intends thai only do ou duties in.
crease the price 10 Ike Of the articles upon
which They imp sed, bat at the sane time diminish
The price Of the products which exchange for ,lem-
ing tabular statements exhibiting The quantity ocotton
tobacco and fur, exported annually from 1921 to 1914
inclusive. and asceranine the value of e,ch annually,
which he Afterwards Averages in unequal series OF
years. Now sLaIl APPEAL to III, Sc very tables to
show the alsi'y Of This genlIeuans teorynay he de-
monsiraics this himself by his figures If arithmetic,
which almost invariably at with his figures of
rhetoric.
Let US rerea, the position Of this modern Ricardo. II
49, that The prices Of staples have been high under
low tariff, and the contrary, that the prices have
been low under high Tariff And the obect Of this as.
sumption to convince the farmer and planter that he
ought therefore TO in favor Of low lad-as he GER
family won Id ae bl,cklead ifhe were not if this new
discovery in the science Of political economy could be
sn stained by the "acs" which have teen cited tc sup
port it, and upon which shall rely to conlu,e it.
II will be conceded. we presume that, iflle variations
in the prices Of on staples materially dependent up
on the rates Of duty imposed by government upon
foreign fabrics asserted by"a M,mter of the 2Sth
Cone"ss," this result must be Of uniform occurrence,
and mnd affect each 9fMose staples a,he Now lie, us.
= brIe anal ss Of the tabular statements upon which
he relies. apply this his farccal assum plon LIE,
first take the article Of Flour, which, according to The
statement embodied in he pamphlet, yielded The follow
ing prices ass.
IN 1921, period If the forrest duties, a. O6
In 1899 a period VI the highest duties, 81
Or again:
10 1887, Comparatively hqh) Q so
In 1871, Cover than ever) .r s 10
II cannot be objected that We select particular years.
which constitute exceptions 10 The general ruleor
as we before remarked, fthe assumption Of "a Member
OF the 2sh Congress- be no, uniformly trne it is
true al all-n other words, if the low prices Of our ag
ncntural produce be the effect of high tariff then we
must expect low prices as long that tariff las,s-and
rice rersa Vel we find that in 1899 one year after
the famous monster tariff sos passed. flour was
90 per cent. higher than it in 1891 under one of
our lowest 'anfs;-and that, while in 1887 under
comparatively high laf, flour was upwards of 50
barrel, under the low 90 per duties of ls4l it was
only about So We might select other years with sim
liar results; but let take series of wears and we
Will select three periods relied upon by the writer him
self Thus:
The annual average value Of Flour ex-
ported IN iVnr YEARS from 1891 to
1924, period Of low duties, he
states, 10 be a. "a
In eah, years, from 1926 10 1882, a
period Of high duties ii vas SO
In four years. from lS33 To 1872 . Pc
Rod OF partly high and partly low
dnes. under the descending scale
provided by the Compromise Act,
IL f. ~
The tariff, il is known, vbra,ed from extremely
high to extremely low duties from 1921 to 1912
and how happens il, then. that Il ere is s, little
change in The price OF -four in all that time, by the
showing OF this pamphlet Itself. ii lbs theory be
true thai the value Of that staple regulated by our
lart II the fact were indeed, how happens that
in 1921 the price of flour only 81 Co. aud that in
1898 it Sc So, although the ,arf was the same in
both yearsl How happens that in 1928 it was 81 o.
and in 1899. under greatly increased tariff, it was
Sc Oh?
The Thing is true Of tobacco In 1891 its av,
erage value, rer hogshead, SS4n 1929 under the
same tanf 1t had fniien 10 $i2-in 1896 under an in,
creased Tariff il again $50 in 1928 il fell 10 S54
In 1889 it to l2; bu in 1910, under lower Ia
riT than in 1882 it fell TO $S3 Every body knows why
il rose in 1889 beyond all rrecedent-it was ewing to
the short cruponly 10 COO hhds having been export,
ed that yea when for the three years preceding. the
export had exceeded lO0CG0 bids. per annum. 1, has
fallen since in The average value ror hid. 10 $50 in
1910, when the expor, ran up higher Than ever before
reaching llo,iSl hhds.; to $50 nlSil when the ex-
por, sill further swelcd to l47 S2e hhds To sol. il
/ ls42, when it rose still higher to l5S,7l0 hhds. II
1913, the market gutled with the unprecedente,
crops OF the two preceding years, with which all the
hregn markets were oversize ked-ard the price fell /,
SO FER hid. (al cur best tobacco being KEEP, at home
L.