The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-03

profit than. his proportional rate for while, bl
capital and labor viii leave other pursuits for mann
featuring until all reduced so near the sam
level as 10 be equally desirable as pecunary invest
ments. But when the manufacturer reaches thi
level through stages Of declining profits, he is still il
need Of protection TO secure and monopolzs III
home market. he is sull as importunste as eve
Tor protection, as shown by our experience; ant
z his necessities be stated truly he is still unable
to drive the foreigner from the market without
duty to enhance the price of the products Of tn
latter. Now, if this be the case, the other employ
nent still getting less for their products thar
| they would have done but for the duty, and ar,
therefore gaining less rate Of profit. But the man
uiacturer gets the same but lIttle more and thu
all classes are producing al less rate of profit than
4 they would have enjoyed but for government
interference. A state Of things which must eoniin
nc until the relative cheapnesS of the agents in man
ufscturing production al home, compared with
those abroad, become such as, in addition TO the
natural advantages in the home market will enable
US To undersel the foreign competitor without the
assistance Of duty. This 10 The precise point a.
which manufacturing becomes profitable 10 a nation
and ought To commence, Before this period they
can only exist by diminishing the rate Of profit aI
which the whole nation produces, OF course il fol.
lows that nation must increase Is wealth less
rapidly under such circumstances than II Jeff to the
natural course of events Could anything be more
absurd and unjusthan thus to diminish the profits on
the production OF whole people. The farmer
the sailor, the merchant, the artisan, the dayabor
err, are all making less upon their capital and indus
| try than they would have made bat for a law OF
their own government. The manufacturer escapes
| the general depression for a time, but ultimately
his turn also must come, and his profit falls TO near
| ly the same level | know that these conclusions
have been sought TO be avoided by maintaining
that the exclusion Of the foreign competition ena-
bes the domestic man facturer 10 sell cheaper than
~ Tntlh hau dana 4 H1.fu all
But this proposition is manifestly absurd that |
need not repeat the arguments against it, II resis
upsn the absurdity that there will be more compe-
huon amongst our own manufacturers II we conine
the home market to them, than there would be ifal
the manufacturers Of the world had access 10 Il.
In other words, that part is greater than the whole
II rests on the absurdy that although the agencies
Of production, capital, labor machinery, the natu.
raj agents and the command of the raw material
upon combined view may be cheaper elsewhere
than here; that yet mere legislative provision
may give US the faculty Of cheaper production
at home. Ii rests, too, upon the absurdity that
protection is necessary to them, although they
have the ability TO sell cheaper here than for
eigners could possibly do if they had access TO
the market They say that If we will give them the
home market, they can sell cheaper than foreign.
could possibly do; if the reply not ready
il you can undersell the foreigner in the home mar
ket, do II, and you will certainly not only take IT,
but keep ii. Facts, too, have been maintained TO
exist which prove the proposition; and yet when
these have been examined, and met by those com
petent and disposed to the work Of detail, they
have always been shown to lead to far different
conclusions. II is remarkable that in all the lists
which have seen exhibited to prove this PROPOSE
ton, the price Of the American fabric after the duty
was laid, was compared only with the price before
protection was given. For fairness further com
parison was necessary between the price Of the pro-
teeted American fabric and the similar foreign article.
Whenever this comparison has been carried out, the
comparison was as much in favor of the relative
cheapness of the foreign article in manufactures,
which really required protection after the duty as
before and this because the fall in price was clearly
traced to restrictions of the currency improvements
in machinery, or other causes operating abroad as
well as at home. ..
should not have alluded to the sophistry, except
that 1t is the only pretext for avoiding the conclu
sons to which have attempted to lead the COM
mittee.
Mr.. Chairman, it is difficult TO measure the
effects of the depressing influence upon a country
of any legislation which diminishes the profit upon
the entire mass Of its productions. very small
dlmnuton in the rate of profit upon such mass
would amount TO a vast When reflect
too that most of the profit thus lost would have
taken the shape Of accumulated capital, and that
the capital OF such country as ours accumulates
almost upon the ratio Of compound interest, we may
form some conception of the vast amount of nation
al wealth which is lost by the restrictive system.
customs and facts demanded to sustain them. To
this it might be replied that those who seek to
change the natural order of things when and
theory are manfesty against them, are bound to
produce the facts which are to establish the propre
ty Of this change None such have been, or can
be produced, as has been shown in every instance
when they have been accurately examined. But altho
the burden of proof far facts concerned,
manifestly on the other side, yet we may safely
sumo it, for experience has decided in favor as
e -. i - a
matter. Sir Robert Peel, in his speech in January
last, has presented us with body ofevidence on
this subject which is almost conclusive, so far as
the experience of Great Britain can decide 1t:
THAT is the total of foreign exports which
our dom domestic industry was made By
from EAT 3s Ooo in s2 to EOS 600 900 in 1874
exclude that trade In 1912 apart from the China trade
exports all other countries except China amounted to
to and this said before deducng the China
trade altogether In the year Si5 we can only have the
exports of the principal articles to all parts
of the world in ls43 f4l 600 in ls4 f47 320
in lsl5 EAU OoO thus showing another increase in
is4s
"Let me take the bearing upon
this question In 1912 the House will recoect proposed
reductions the customs duties OF est
mated loss of Ella 0oo and in 1884, proposed further
reduction in the customs duties TO the amount of
and in s4b to the immense amount of f24ls 600 est
mated that the total loss from these several reductions would
enue from from both sides. Have my expectations
been resized2 Have four millions been lost' No The
of the loss has been FL 500 600 dealt with
the excise last year and made reduction of million in
that department took OF the whole of the glass duties
took of the anchor duties But observe, what has been
the efect" ." believe that notwithstanding the total re-
duction the absolute loss indeed of million in the
the from that department will be than
there has been spring of prosperity which has
than supplied the deficiency"
He also informs us that the duties chiefly |
removed from four principal articles-fax, foreign
cattle lard, wool. The price Of fax Mt Belfast,
i'm lS43 from 65s TO Cts per tom in lS44 63s to 6Ss
in lS45, Gas. to 69s; in 1876, 7Os to 8Os. Price of
provisions has also risen. In 1910, only 81 cwt Of
foreign lard brought in the country in lS43, 48,2l2
cwt.; in 1874 $4,000 cwt.; in 1845, $4,000 cwt in
1874 from ASS, per cwt; lS45, 67s., and 1876, Gas
In ls42 there were As 800 600 lbs foreign wool inn
ported; in 1884, 65 1870 900; and in 10 months Of last
year, there has been no less than 65,216,00O lbs
In 1912, price Of South Down wool, when there
was a duty upon foreign, was lid; of long wool, |
I0d. in lS43, of South Down, II 3D.; of long WOOL
Id, in 1874, the price Of South Down was Is. and
ID; of long wool, Is. Cd; in December lS45 eigh-