The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-08-06

we find extracted in other papers an article
from the New York Journal of Commerce,
which escaped our notice in that print, the bur
den of which is to prove that the suspension of
the cotton-mils in various parts Of the country
Is not attributable TO the operation of the exist
ing tariff.
The Journal remarks that moments attention
to the description Of goods manufactured at those
mills which have wholly in part suspended ope-
ratons, must convince the most sceptical that the
tariff has nothing whatever to do with their present
difficulty. They have all. without exception so far
as we have heard, been at work upon heavy plain
cottons which form part of our foreign importa-
tons The only competition our cotton manufac
turers now care about is in prints and fine sheet
ings and shirtings. Printing cloths have been the
most profitable of any cotton fabrics for the last
year, and the price has kept steadily improving
with the advance in the material In proof
of this, the Journal gives comparison of cotton
and OF the prices of printing cloths the lat of
March, 1919, and the let of March, 1850, which
shows that while cotton advanced about 8, cents
per pound, this kind Of goods advanced of a cent
per yard, equal to 5. cents to the quantity (six
yards) made from pound of cotton"
Taking this TO be so, what does it prove? If,
Nii'h wv 'Oot VI tlit law UldJcTldl advances
rapidly, the manufacturers of the coarser de-
| scrlpton OF goods, in which the value of the
material Is largest compared with that of the
labor employed in It's fabrication, are obliged
to stop, while those who produce the finer goods,
In which the cost of labor is the, principal ele-
ment, keep their work going, does it show that
the high price OF American labor is no impedi-
ment to the ability of our manufacturers to com
pete with the low priced labor of England. ir-
respective Of the tariff? BY no MEANS but at
the most. that upon that description of fabrics
the protection which it gives is adequate For
what reason, then, is it that the manufacturer
of the cOaiser fabrics, in which the domestic
manufacturer has equal protection in respect to
the labor employed, and an advantage over his
foreign rival in respect to the material equal to
the cost Transportation, can no longer find mar
ketat remuherating prices! Evidently because
the power Of consumption in the community is
diminished by the increase of cost. which is d-
rectly proputionate TO the amount Of material.
The cheapest goods, those which are used most
extensively, by all classes of the community.
are those which are least able TO bear the ne
cessary advance in prlce-an advance the bene-
| fit of which results not TO the mill owner, but
TO the planter, for it is simply that of his cot
! ton.
| The Journal Of Commerce reasons that the
want Of protection has nothing 10 do with the
stpppage Of these mills. because the owner. OBJ
tanned no increase Of price in consequence Of
protection. This is point in which the adyo-
Gates Of the protective policy fully agree with
it. lis language is:
GAS proof that the depression of this interest
has no connexion with the low rate Of duty charged
in the present tariff appeal to the fact that this
very class of goods ia now competing successfully
with British fabrics in every market in the world
where they stand upon equal footing"
If the Journal had said in terms that the de
preston Of this interest had no connection with
the low rate of duty on cottons, the proposition
would have been clearer and more suggestive.
In that case, the idea might have occurred to
It's readers-possby to itsef-that it might
have some connection with the low rate Of duty
on iron, on coal. aud on other industrial pro
ducts. Aud that connection might subsst. al
though the makers Of iron and the miners of
coal should, like the cotton manufacturers, de
rive no benefit from protection in the enhance
ment Of the prices Of their products. For it is
palpable, that the stoppage OF these cotton-mils-
which, by the admission Of the Journal i'm
posed no tax on the workers in coal and iron to
keep them mnning-by throwing men out of
employment, dimnishcs their power 10 pur-
chase iron and coal, at whatever price they may
be furnished. Though coal and iron were not
taxed to keep the splndlcs aud looms running.
yet they are taxed by stopping them. II is
complete non scquit'T. then. to infer that the
same thing is not true in reference to the cot
ton mills, and 10 say that the tariff has nothing
to do with their stoppage, because the tariff
taxed nobody FOR their support.
The whole philosophy Of this matter is con
tanned in the following extract from the Ken
nebcc (NIc.) Jounat:'
q" How are the unprotected classes injured by the
withdrawal Of protection from Others How do
the hard times come about? Simply upon tho
principle that every interest is dependent upon all
others for the sale Of ts products and fair rcnu
neration in prices. II the great iron interest is
ruined by foreign competition which it cannot
men are thrown out Of employment or reduced in
wages to nearly starvation point Add the woollen
and other interests. and you have other throngs Of
wo5kmen unemployed and unpaid. Every inte
rest which loses the supply Of the whole or any por
ton Of the home market, by reason Of an influx Of
Foreign goods, becomes embarrassed and distress.
ed, aud It's operatives feel the pinch. All these
workmcn become embarrassed. Thcyarc making
but little money, and Of course spend but little.
They cannot buy the products of other mechanics
a. they once could. They do not consume 80 much
Of the handwork of others, they did when in
prosperous circumstances. They and their fami.
lies do not even eat so much, because they can't
afford it..
"Now, let large proportion Of the protected
classes and their dependents thus curtail their con
sumption, and tho effect of such state Of things is
felt at once by the unprotected classes who are all
dependent or lcss upon the first for a sale of
their goods. Tiny, in turn, experience failure Of
their usual amount Of business;, they cannot sell as
much as usual nor collect well; they "feol the
hard times and begin to retrench in their expen-
SEES They buy less for consumphon-wear cheaper
III. Z.