The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-25

have not included the allowance for loss Of inter-
est, and for fire insurance. amounting TO little more
than one per cent, because these charges which
equally attach to all other pursuits My own opin-
ion is, that at this time the profits generally
much larger than these But | have selected this
statement because its authority cannot be disputed
and because the greater portion Of the time il
was during the operation of the compromise act.
Well, SIR ought not the manufacturers to be salts
he'd with these prokts' In what other pursuits are
as large ones made2 can answer for the farmers
IL Is difficult for US TO make ends meet to say moth
ing about profits. Sir, on an average, the farmers
III my State do not clear two per cent. on their in
vestment And in making this statement answer
another argument, and that is, if reduce the tariff
manu- facturers will be thrown out of employment,
and engage in agriculture, and become competitors
in place Of our customers. They will scarcely give
up ten per cent. 10 take two and quit an employ.
ment yielding good profits to engage in one which
yields little or none, and which, as those gentlemen
tell us, would be made still worse by the increased
competition by this division Of labor.
In answer to this the gentleman from Massachu-
sets tMr. WINrHRoP] says that almost any of the
stocks of the New England factories may be had
at a small advance, many Of them at par, and not
few below it; and from this he infers that their
profits cannot be so exorbitant as is represented.
The facts to which the gentleman refers can be
easily accounted for. | see from their own publica-
tons that most of the New England factories are
owned by jont-stock companies; and that most Of
them went into operation without their entire,c api
tai being paid up. In other words, that they com
menced business in debt, to extinguish which much
of their profits have to be applied Consequently,
the dividends declared were small, although the
profits were large. We all know that the price Of
stocks in the market of the Exchange is generally
fixed by the dividends declared. Few persons can
rely upon any other criterion besides many persons
desiring to invest money must receive regularly
their dividends for their support and the stocks Of
companies making small dividends are always un-
der par, no matter how much money they ma
king and adding to their capital fhis know to
be particularly the case in my own State, especially
in railroad companies. The fact TO which refer
ence is made mayb be accounted for in another way.
There has been such an undue encouragement given
to manufactures that most of the capital which can
be directed into them has already taken that direc-
ton; and there is now a deficiency in the capital
which can be so applied Be this it may, no one
can deny that the actual dividends which a pursuit
makes is better evidence Of their profits than the
price of their stocks in the market. have shown
what these dividends are, and that they are greater
than the profits of any other pursuit. '"
But there are facts conclusive to show that, even
in the opinion of the manufacturers themselves they
can live and do a good business with duty of 20
per cent, much less IS or 30. q.
In March, 1883, the tariff compromise was adopt
ed. We all know the events which led to its adop-
ton. They have been most cloquently portrayed
der its provisions the duties gradually reduced
until June 1872 after which the highest of duty
was to be 20 per cent. When it was adopted, and
for years afterwards, it regarded solemn
covenant of peace, which never TO be disturbed.
Mr.. Clay, in advocating the compromise, when ask
ed what security the country would have against the
violation of its provisions, said:
what man. who entitled the character Of Amer.
lean statesman would stand up in his place in either
House of Congress and disturb this treaty Of and
amity 7" ..' . ,-.... .
Governor DAVIS, of Massachusetts, who voted
against the compromise, was equally explicit. He
said: - .. a '...
promise while she supposes beneficial to the tariff States
and injurious to her. and when that period shall close
system: what SonoraSie nam who Votes or MI. Hi could
sustain such measurep
The south, from the beginning showed its deter.
mination to stand by the compromise in all ts pro-
visions. From the first, she refused to disturb its
provisions, even when brought forward in the insd-
ious form Of propositions from the north TO reduce
some Of the duties. .'.".
In addition to this most of the State legislatures
at different times declared that the compromise
ought to be held sacred and invIolate. The lepisa-
ture Of Virginia 30 declared, almost by unanimous
vote, the wings voting for it. In the presidential
contests of 1886 and 1870, the candidates on both
sides were pledged to the compromise. Under these
circumstances the great mass Of the people, who
could not conceive Of the perfdy which afterwards
sanctioned its violation, must have regarded il
the settled policy of the country. Neverthe.
less, with this apparent moral certainty that,
after 1892 the duties were not TO exceed twenty
per cent, manufacturing establishments sprung up
all over the country; The census returns show
that from 1880 TO 1910 the rate Of increase Of manu-
featuring establishments was very great In the tal
BILE have presented Of the Lowell mills, it will be