The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-04-29

ishing snip building, ana lreights must
rise to paying point before it will begin
to grow again. The low prices Of iron
and cloth are diminishing the number of
persons engaged in manufactures, and still
more rapidly the proportion, for popula-
ton increases while manufactures decline.
The number of persons engaged in agri-
culture is much larger this year than the
last, while the number otherwise engaged
is smaller. Low wages diminish immi-
grafton, and the people who remain abroad
eat the food of Russia, when they would
have preferred to come and eat the food
of America. The market thus tends to
diminish rapidly, while the persons en-
ployed in the production of food are far
more numerous, and the return to the
labor of each promises to be great. I'm
der such circumstances, is there not a
reasonable probability that prices will soon
be low enough to enable our farmers to-
"compete" with the food producers Of
Russia, even though their wheat should
reach England at cost of seventy cents a
bushel!
Should such prove to be the case, and
such it seems not unlike to be, the high
est anticipations Of our neighbors might
almost be realized, as the export would
ego on augmenting" with every fresh fall
in price. We desire our readers to re-
mark that the great object of the Secre-
tary was an increase of exports, believing
that if we sent much abroad we should
obtain much in return. And such seem
to be the views of his followers Of the
Union, who make much account of the
goods we import, but keep no account Of the
enormous debt now accommodating against
us because Of the insuficiency Of the
prices of the produce exported to pay for
the merchandise imported under system
of Glow duties" whose object was that
of enabling nations abroad to pay US for
our products. How we were, or are, to
pay them, seems never to have entered
the mind of the Secretary, or of his hum
bic followers of the Union. By the close
of the present fiscal year, we shall have
added, within three years, sixty millions
to our foreign debt, and almost four mil
lions to our annual payments for interest;
and the total amount required for IN
terest alone, in one year, will require
more than the value of all the breadstuffs
we are like to export in five years, un-
less we have great fall of prices. Such
are, and are like to be, the "benefcent"
results of the tariff of 1916.
II seems never to have occurred to the
sage economists of the Union, that large
exports are to be obtained only by low
prices, indicating a small ability to con-
sumo what we produce at home, and &C
companied by very small ability to pay
for what we desire to consume that is pro-
duced abroad whereas, high prices that
should be accompanied by great diminu
ton in the quantity of exports, would indi-
cate prosperity at home, and be accompa-
MED by large power of consuming for
eign products, because foreigners would
then give us much labor for little labor.
1t is not to be doubted that if the tariff of
1912 had been allowed to remain, our
home production of iron would now far
exceed million of tons, and our home
consumption of cotton would have in
creased at least 100000 bales; the con-
sequence of which would have been that
we should not only have made market
for the trivial quantity of ''breadstuffs and
provisions" exported, but that the prices
would have been so high as almost, if not
quite, TO have warranted their import;
while the price of cotton, with short crop
like the present, would have been higher
by five cents per pound; and that thus we
should have paid for more merchandise
than we now import, absorbing all our ex-
ports, and leaving us thirty millions in
debt.
The theory of the tariff of 1912 was that
of bringing the market as near as posi-
BILE to the door of the farmer, thus enabling
him to obtain the highest price; and there
fore it was that under it production and
consumption increased SO rapidly while
paying off our debts. The theory of the
tariff of 1S46 is that of having the market
as far as possible from the farmer, com
peling him to sell at the lowest price; and
therefore it is that production and con-
sumption diminish, while our debt in
creases.
The Albany Epening Journal copies
statement made by the Jackson .hississip-
plan, to the effect that elf the proposition