The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-21
THE MANUFAcTURrNG CAPITALISTS

. | The MANUFACTURING Shfl hLlolS,
Mr.. Abbott Lawrence, Of Boston, the rich manu-
aeturer, has addressed two letters TO Mr.. Ryes Of
Virginia, upon the advantages Of the protective sys-
tenn. II 10 of little consequence TO us or To the soan-
try to know why they were written, OF why they
were published they were written for the
purpose Of being published, or whether they were
Published to bring Mr.. Rives himself before the
public eye which it would appear, from fis own re.
cent letter. he seems so lite anxious to court Il is
enough for TO know that these letters now be-
fore the country, and that they eaIeulated-as
we presume they were iniended-to bolster I'D a
fictitious system, which we believe to be nearly as
oppressive to the great body Of the Community, as
Il Ii is protective TO Mr.. Lawrence and his fellow
craftsmen. Certain II is that they have been ush-
cred before tho public tribunal and that they are
now paraded in the high-tarf journals, at the very
moment when the great question OF the tariff is
coming into discussion before Congress The
action is rapidly approaching, and Mr.. Lawrence
bias been invited by others, well as prompted by
his own intstssv, % fernish weapons for the srgu-
ment.
We shall lay before our readers the two MS
letters from Boston, in reply to Mr. Lawrence,
with which We have been favored, in the course
Of 4 tsS days and, IN The mean time, we give
place TO the following editorial FROM ths Lowell
Advertiser" Il shows the aegtes Of credit which
| is due to some Of the facts set forth ID Mr. Law
rence's epistes The details which are stated in
this article, from the centre Of tho msnufae-
lures OF New England, bear the impress OF
acctracy on their face. Besides, Mr.. Hill
dreIh, the editor, Is extensively known as a gen
tlsmsn OF high standing and scrtpuous integrity.
His statements are entitled, independently Of eirI
eumstanees which siSe them conclusive authority,
to quite as much weight on The score Of personal
character as those OF Mr.. Lawrence.
It is idle, as Mr.. Lawrence and his allies attempt
TO do, to attribute the prosperity Of our country to
the tariff of ls49. young and an snterprising
country Ike TIE United States can scarcely be ar
rested in its onward march By Tie builders Of It's
government II mast march on, although il does not
march rapidly if it were jsft to It's native ener-
gss and resources. But there are other elements in
the calculation which tn. tariff champions are
pleased entirely TO overlook. We Would sdrert,
among others, TO the facts that in ls4l asd I5l2 the
currency in most Of the States was in a very bad
condition, and all kinds Of business in consequence
more or less deranged!
That in Septsm6er, 1912, one Of the grestest re-
WILSON'S ever known in banking history occurred
in New Orleans, the sfests of which were felt
throughout the country:
That the effects 6f this revusion continued TO be
felt till May, ls43, Since which time the banks have
been steadily increasing the amount Of the circusI
ting medium:
That much Of the prosperity, or apparent prosper
ity, which has been attributed to the tariff Of 1912,
Is but in rcsity the effect Of throwing OF multi.
tude Of broken banks, and IN. restoration Of the
credit Of the residue:
That this result, though Simultaneous with the
passage Of the tariff, is quite independent Of it.
The revusion in New Orleans occurred, if our
memory serves us, in the very month in which the
tariff Of l542 was passed. and so powerful was its
operation, thst even those DOMESTIC articles 10 which
additional protection" wds afforded BY thar tariff
fell in price; and they remained low III PRICE,
till the banks by the restoration Of their credit in
Nav, 1S43, were able to increase the amount Of
circulating inedtihi But let return to the article
in the Lowell Advertiser.
From the Lowell Advertiser
foT ssBoTT LhwnENCE's STATEMENT AS TO
THE rRiCf 6r labor IN THE LOWELL FACTo
RES.
Mr. Lawrence has written two letters to Hon
VIM. c. Rives, Of Virginia, upon the tariff, slavery,
&C. The point in them is to satisfy Congress that
protective tariff is necessary to the prosperity Of
| the labor Of our country The old, ofen-re-
fitted arguments that have been used a thousand
times over are again paraded before the people
tina, by fostering manufactures home market Is
created, labor protected against the competition of
1.-THE paupet labor Of Europe, &c; but not word is
said in justification of lie Tariff system as il actually
exists, giving manufacturers four or FIVE times as
great per cent their capital any other inter-
est in the country can make or get, or tending to
show that under revenue tariff we should not have
the 6ae markets., greater price for labor the
every thng, except That msnufacturers' dividends
| might not be more than ten, Instead Of thirty per
cent. per annum. But refer to those letters
only account of single statement put forth, as to
the price paid for labor in this city, we will not
dwell upon other parts of the letter.
| Mr.. Lawrence says:
81 will give you an example of the rate Of wages
under low duties and Under the thrift of 1912. In
ness bscame oppressive, that many of the manu-
featuring establishments in New England were
closed the operatives dsmi ssed, the mechanical
trades still, and every resource for the labering
man seemed dried up. . ~
"In the city of Lowell where there are more than
|
satid spihdes each, il was gravely considered by
the proprietofs whether The mills should be stopped.
1t was concluded to reduce The wasss)this was done
several times, until the reduction brought down the
wages from about $2 81 so per week, exclusive Of
board; this operation took place upon between 7,OOO
and 5000 females; the mills on; no sales were
made Of the goodsj the South and West had
neither money nor credits and, finally, it was deter
mined to hold out till Congress- should act upon the
tariff The bill passed, and Of course The mills
were kept running, which would not have been the
if the act had been rejected, and now the av-
erage wages paid at Lowell-iaking The same number
Of te,ddie; for the same arpcs--s 90 per week ex.
elusive of board. Yet Mr.. Walker says labor has
fallen Where are the wages for labor, ask, low
err than they were in 1892 Who is to be benefited
by the adoption Of system that gives up every
thing, and gives no reasonable promise of any
thngi"
The object Of putting such q statement before
Congress and the world is too apparent to need be
mentioned. That it wholly misrepresentS the facts
they exist here, few plain truths will settle be-
III