The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-06

|
land more than counierbalsnces all the advantages
| that may emanate from the tariff on foreign mus
! Inns You should remember the many scores Of
! thousands now employed Ia domestic manufa fracture
Were il not for the tariff on foreign niusns, all oui
factories mist stop, ana oil the operatives in them
| be destitute OF emplo tmentl ... /.
Dem. Sir. Il nv memory does not fail me, h !.
not many months ago that our home manufactured
not only boosted Ina, they could manufacture mus
In cheaper than The Rngishj but they actuaiy SEN
| a cargo OF il 10 Uosto1, and undcrsoid those o.
England. To illustrate my meaning more fully
| and bring plain facts, which viii overthrow al
your fine, spun reasoning, need only appeal tc
clear evidence, which you cannot controyer
Our New York and Philadelphia publishers i'm
port books published in Eondon, Jsputlish then
| here and send them TO London, and un6ersen Inc
London publishers hundred per cent Thu,
our home publishers, with all the component parts
Of their books, and oil the things made use Of In
their publication, Manufactured here, and eonse-
quendy at the high rates Of wages that you talk Of
paid for manufacturing thcrpi can send their books
TO London, and ruin Che business Of the English
publishers.
Wiz What have books 70 do with the manu-.
faeture OF muslin ! Nothing "a
Dem. | beg your pardon, SIR! These PLAIN fscts
viii demonstrate what will soon prove, namely
that our home manufacturers could anderscll those
Of England twenty or thirty per cent. in our home
market IL there was no tariff, and that our govern
ent puts three dollar ino the pockets OF manufac-
tursr5 for every sDgle-a~nr wlish hey collect IN
the shape Of taxes. II this n not fAct, how could
they cope sith the English IN the markets Of China
and Russia Sir, you cannot repel the force Of my
reasonings. win bring few raore Pia1r faets %
your noGee, SIR THERE'S nothing like plain truth.
Truth is my two-edged sword, and my panoply.
With this sword can cut down every argument
brought forward In eeferce Of tariff and with this
panoply can shield myself from al The assaults OF
wing logic which they can bring against my reason-
ings.
The next evidence which I will adduce is our
Yankee clocks. These clocks have almost ruined
the business Of the coek-makers in England already,
and promise fair to do Il effectually With all the
faneied high wages here and low wages in England,
our publishers and cloch-makers undeTsell the
English in the London market, Notwithstanding the
chance is in favor Of the English.
Whg. | did not expect, sir, that you would
bring forward such strong proofs in favor OF free
trade; but you should remember that the cost Of
building factories is far greater here than in Eng
land well as the price Of manual labor per.
formed in them.
Drm. Sir | am not convinced Of either Timber
Is about ten times dearer in England than Il is
here bricks are full as dear; and mechanical labor
is full as de&r in Old England as Il is in New Eng
land. | have good reason 10 telieIe that a house
that would cost ten thousand dollars n building
here, would cost equally much there. The la
Dor Of good artists and mechanics will command as
high price in England ss here. Sir, l will now
demonstrate clearly that the manufacture Of muslin
is decidedly in favor Of the manufacturer here
Only picture out TO yourself the difficulties which
manufacturer in America would have TO encounter,
il the cotton manufactured by him were grown in
England, the same tin comes from the mines in
Wales. In that case the difficulties Of a manufac-
turer would be much the same as those Of tin
smith, were he TO undertake TO supply the markets
in Wales with tin kettles, cups, &c In that case,
the tinsmith in addition to all the expense attending
the freightage and importation Of his tin from Eng
land, would have to pay for the transportation Of
his manufactured goods from his workshop in New
York-the expense of xportation--freightage to
Wales-the importation Of his goods there-and the
transportation Of them to Welsh market before he
could effect sale. Whilst he would have all these
difficulties TO encounter, the Welsh tinsmith could
purchase his tin, manufacture his goods, and sell
them within mile Of the tin mines. The circum-
stances of tnsmth in Wales, and manufactures 10
Georgia. or Sosth Carolina, are much the same---t
being easy for both to manufacture their goods and
sell them within five miles from the mines and lands
where the former is yielded, and the latter grown
Wing. know that our manufacturing Of muslin
would be attended with far greater expense, were
our cotton to be imported from England or France,
and in that case the chance must be greatly in the
favor of those nations; but we care for none
Of these things all we want is to large divi-
dends, and to accumulate large fortunes. l am
sensible that if cotton was grown in England, an
American manufacturer would have to contend with
many difficulties if he were to undertake to furnish
the English market with musliDs; but what care ]
for that A high tariff andIarge dividends is my
creed. Manufacturers want 10 make money. On
the most mature consideration, | see clearly
that an American manufacturer could undersell one
of England in our own market, if there was no
tariff on muslin; and that our chance in an English
market is about the same as that of theirs in their
own-admitting the tariffs of both nations to be the
same.
Dem was in New England in 1928, when the
then high tariff act was passed and went into opera
ton. Like great many short-sighted people,
greatly rejoced at the thought Of having constan,
work and good wages; and falling in with a more
knowing friend, | congratulated him on our good
and pleasing prospects. Plenty Of work and good
on foreign goods, said |, we cannot fail to have
very good prospect before US.
My knowing friend, answering, said: You are
greatly deceived! You will find by painful expe
rence that all your reioicings are premature. This
bancful act Of Congress will produce results quite
contrary to your fond calculations. | have beer
here longer than you, and have had more expert
ence. will tell you in a few words some Of the
results which will emanate from that measure
This cursed high tariff will consolidate manufac-
turing and put the whole of the business into the
hands Of few overbearing capitalists, who will
| have nIne-tenths OF the manufacturing done by
machinery, and will not fail to deal out oppression
to those whom they reluctantly employ with an un.
sparng hand; say reluctantly, because il will b
very painful to them to lie forced to employ any
poor operatives at all Factories as large as Eng.
lish calhedras, will their lofty heads in every
quarter, and girls by thousands will be congregated
together in them. Being fascinated with tn,
charms of constant work and high wngcs, young
women will flock from all parts Of the nation tc
work under those great capitalists. Factories like
banks, will be sold in shares, and be managed by
experimenting agents, who will go to any lengths
in oppression to please the capitalists who can b
moved by nothing but large dividends Girls SC
employed will be crammed up forty or fifty togeth
in boardng-houses will be forced to rise befor,
o'clock in the morning, breakfast, and be at the
work by FIVE; and with the exception Of respit,
for about half an hour, he forced to continue work
ing till seven eight o'clock in the evening, A,
they become more and more expert and dexterous
in their work, their wages will be reduced by ltd,
and little, ill their condition will be far worse thar
the slaves in the South. This is no fiction. II is
truth, which the painful experience of few year,
will demonstrate. Sub-bosses will perch over oper
atives employed, and, with cagle-eycs, observe al
their ways and keep them in constant fear, and tn,
N, .h,..t ya..aloa. Hapde nIo,,.d ,.,u n.