The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-08-14

and the domestic consumer pays nothing, ichue
profiing largely BIZ the domestic market fur
nished him By the men tehose competition has
compelled the reduction in the foreign price.
In 1912, the domestic production of iron but
little exceeded 200 900 tons, and there was rea-
son TO believe that il would speedily fall much
lower. Five years afterwards, under the action
of the tariff of '42 it had reached 500 600 tons.
The quantity of iron in the general market OF
the world had been largely increased by the
protection that had been afforded, and toour in
creased power of production is unquestionably
due the low price to which the foreigner is now
compelled to submit, that he may obtain an en-
trance into our market. Abolish the existing
duty, and we shall cease altogether to make
iron, the consequence of which will be that the
supply in the market Of the world will be SO
greatly diminished that the price will rise far
more than the duty, and thus the foreign pro-
ducer will pocket what the treasury ceases to
receive. If so, il must be obvious that the duty
is now paid by the foreign producer, and that
no gain to the consumer could result from its
abolition.
Ill lCII VIC COISullltu dllIiOSt al illlliOii VI
tons, of which 100000 were made at home.
Had the tariff of 1912 remained untouched we
should now produce 100000 tons. Were we
now to abolish all protection, closing the fur
naces at once instead of doing it by degrees, as
we are now doing, it would be necessary to i'm
port at least | 100000 tons to enable us to con
sumo as much per head as we then did. At
what price could that quantity be suppliedl
Certainly not less than fl0 per ton; and the
cost delivered here, duty free, would not be
less than $50. The abolition Of all duty would
thus inevitably raise the price, because it would
diminish the general supply. Were we, on
the contrary, to raise the duty to $50, the price
could not rise aboue $50, because every furnace
in the country would be re-opened, and the gen
eral supply would be largely increased-the
effect of which would be to cause a diminution
of prices in foreign markets even below their
present point, for while competition is main
tanned, the foreign producer must pay the duty.
Thus far our iron-masters have struggled to
maintain competition, and the supply in the
general market has been large, the consequence
of which is seen in the present low prices. With
another year the mass Of the remaining furnaces
will go out of blast; and then the supply in the
general market being greatly reduced, the price
will rise to point so high as greatly to dmin-
ish consumption, for we certainly cannot pay for
even half million of tons of foreign iron at a
cost Of 500 ton. The choice presented to us
for consideration appears to us, then, to be this:
First. To abolish the duty altogether, and
close at once all our furnaces, importing from
abroad our whole supply at cost, including
freight and charges, of sixty dollars per ton.
Second. To maintain our present system,
closing our furnaces by degrees, and thus di-
mnishing the supply to 4 point at which prices
abroad will rise to .f7 10 or .fS, and the con-
sumner will pay $50, until the next period of
speculation, when he will pay SO or $50, if
not 500.
Third. To raise the duty 50 as to afford real
protection, enabling the consumer to obtain his
iron now at $50, with a certainty Of its reduc-
ton to $40, or even less.
In the first case, the consumer will pay $50,
and the treasury will receive nothing. In the
second, he will pay $50, and the treasury will
receive $40. In the third, he will now pay no
more, and the treasury will receive $40.
That this view is the correct one, we enter
tain no doubt. The question we have under
taken to answer will, however, be answered
for himself by each and every one of our read
ers, after giving due consideration TO the follow
ing:
At what price can we be supplied from abroad
with 100000 tons of iron. freight and charges
paid, and duty freel Can it be less than S602
AT what price must our iron-masters supply
us with the same quantity, under duty suffi-
GENTLY protective (say $40 per ton) to open all
the furnaces OF the Union? Can they, under
existing circumstances, obtain the market at
more than $50 per ton?
Having answered these questions, as we feel
assured they must, in the negative, we would
then as our readers to determine, if they do
not settle the question that it is the foreign
producer of iron that pays the duty, and if the
consumer is not under the protective system,
supplied at a cheaper rate than he would be
were all protection abolished
1t may, perhaps, be asked, off prices rise
dplodu, VIII hot oul Ola luIHdCts w Itoptutu'
and will pot new ones be built - In answer
to this we have to say, that when the furnace
master has been ruined, and his furnace has
been transferred by the hands of the sheriff. the
power to reopen it does not exist. Abolish the
tariff, and we hazard little in saying that there
will not be found in the Union a single man
willing TO enter into competition with men like
the British manufacturers. whose motto is,
" Rule or ruin" We shall hereafter have Oc-
cl,on TO exhibit specimens Of the enormous
extent of reduction that is submitted to, 50 long
as there exists even a hope Of running their
competitors, and securing our market to them
selves.
GrapitovilIe.