The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-09-25
Tarln soph,.n,s ana F.ll.el...

fully upon this point.
Tariff sophisnas and Fallacies.
That veteran and perseyerng whg politician. the editor
Of The Plough, the LOOM and the Anvil" has proba
bly, invented and put forth yagares the subject
Of protection than ever had existence even in the fc
tous realm OF Utopia where all sorts Of absurdes Stu
pidites and nonsense in politics and Legislation, are i'm
agined to have existence He is the author Of that vey
profound and reconcile problem in the philosophy the
protectonsts, namely, that all the iron cloth, &c. i'm
ported into this country is in fact but many bushels
Of British wheat, so many pounds Of British beef,
many bushels Of British potatoes. 50 many sacks Of Brit
sh OATS and 50 many tons Of British hay which deprive
the American farmer Of the sale Of the quantities
his produce. It certainly is problem more recondis
than any which Euclid ever propounded in mathematics
and there is not another mind in this country
but that Of the venerable editor referred 10 who can
demonstrate it, and make clear to the comprehension
of common men for what OF ordinary intelligence
ever dreamed that the bars OF iron imported from Liverpool
or Sweden or Russia, were not in fact so much hard,
tough useful metal, but so many British Swedish
Russian bushels of wheat pounds Of meat, sacks d
potatoes, tons of hay, sc. Certainly il required some
such profound genius the editor of "The Plough. h
Loom, and the Anvil" to make all this apparent mpos
biliiy clear to the understanding OF common men, That
remarkable gentleman has done il to some extent He
has succeeded far convince himself Of the truth
of his profound proposition; and he to have
WINGED many Of his partywho appear to be sed with
inielects equally luminous and powerful as his own
Certainly he has convinced correspondent Of the Re
public the organ of the cabinet. from whose communi
cation We makethe following extract
What would be said of an American farmer who would
purchase 500 worth Of British wool, bread, meal and
vegetables, for consumption in his family. when b
own crop Of wool and grain spelling in his ban
for OF marketi Yet fais Is literally true Of con
farmr toho pnrehds Brfsh cloth, iroH good Of s
kind 10 agrcssraf produce disgsiss aad uoiAiss
else good policy for the people Of the United ss
OF whom engaged In ngfculture) to st
seventy five millions OF dollars annually abroad parchas
the agricultural produce other countries, converted s
goods II So then they should 10 for ee uade" and a
,arih Of 46.
Here we have this "Plough. Loom. and Anvil" UofL
anism, full aedged, and addressed as serious agunss
to the American farmers to convince them that ever
Of any kind"--which they purchsa
from abroad, is so much wheat. &C.. produced BY b.
British or foreign farmer. interfering with the sale
a like quantity OF American agricultural produce Az
the conclusion OF the argument is. that they must bg
nothing OF foreign production, because il is but ior
wheat Sc, in the disguise Of iron bars pieces Of broad
cloth, bales Of calico, razors Jack knives, &C., SC
Now, LEI us meet and overthrow this Utopianism win
a single fact. Suppose the American farmer wishes
procure ton Of iron TO about his own premises
vet up blacksmith in his neghborhood; and in oube
10 get il, he takes $40 in money goes TO Liverpool bu
The ton Of iron, and brings il home The philosophers
The "Anvi" school would at once say that the iron
in fact 90 much wheat provisions, &c produced by h
British farmer, the sale OF like quantity OF which h
American farmer had lost by his stupid operation b
suppose the American farmer actually raises on his
so and with his own labor. forty bushels Of wheat
worth $40, takes il to Liverpool, and exchanges Tor
lon OF iron, worth the same amount Now, in this stat
81 the case we would like to know whose wheat hi
ron actually representa- Is ii the wheat oil the Bhd'
Or the American farmerl Il cannot represent the whe
ii both; and il Il is the American farmers wheat who
buys it, and which II represents after the exchange,
did the British wheat get expelled from Il. and the Ame
lean wheat get into iil Will some OF the profOudU
philosophers Of the "Anv" school explain this phenop
non
Let us take the bale Of CLOTH and 90 through the
process In The first place, the farmer takes his mou
md goes to Liverpool, and purchases IT, When
,roughtto this country the tariff Utopians tell him
has brought back so many bushels Of English whss
n the form Of his cloth. The farmer, determine
lot TO be cheated again 10 this way, takes his on
wheat, the product OF his own soil and labor,
liverpool, and exchanges it for the cloth. Whcu
wheat does the cloth now represent Is il that Of u
British OF the American famsri And how will ,heI
arif sophsts convince the American farmer that
'ale Of cloth does not represent his wheat when
wheat actually purchased i'll And by what uek
magic, by what hocus pocus, was the British wheat
,ut Of the cloth, and the American wheat put into
Will the chief Of this learned school, the profound phd
'pher Of "The Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil
,laini
But let us examine the course of this exchange in
more complicated form, as il actually takes place.
American farmer has forty bushels OF wheat, which
ellis to the American merchant for $40 The merenp
axes the wheat to Liverpool, and exchanges il for
iron. brings the iron to this couftry and sells
american farmer, who raised the wheat, for ~. y