The Daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1845-1850, 1850-07-11
THE TARIFF,


in the Tariff.
Mr.. Davis, of Massachusetts i am requested to
present to the Senate the petition of five hundred in
habitants and legal voters of the town of Grafton
the county of Worcester, of all political parties re-
presenting that business has disastrously declined
der the provisions of the act of 1896 and great EN-
bauasment has In consequence ensued.
They express their belief that the substitution of
ad vaOrem for specific duties was fatal error where
by frauds of the grossest character are constantly
perpetrated at the Custom House by false entry of
goods by fictitious valuation, depriving the laborer
of the benefits intended to be secured TO him by the
act, and doing at the time fragrant injustice to
the honest importer.
They entreat Congress to apply remedy TO these
evils, by suppressing the frauds and securing to the
American laborer the protectionwhich will enable him
to pursue his business successfully against the pres
ing competition of the cheap, overasked, and down
rodden labor of Europe. The evils which were pre-
dicted from the act of 1916 have been extensively
realized, and more and more severely felt as
the making Of fraudulent entries is more cunningy
devised The laborers have struggled on, hoping for
better times, till many of them are either over
whelmed with bankruptcy, Or obliged to suspend
their business to save themselves.
find in the newspapers the following statements:
Many of the cotton and woolen mills are running
without any profit. Some are suspended in part
and caused heavy and calamitous failures. 1t is
stated that of forty-one forge fires the Saranac
river, thrtyiour have been extinguished Eight out
OF eighteen have been extngulshed on Salmon river
and now more than dozen out of forty-five on the
Au Sable not in operation 1t is said, also, that
OF one hundred and twenty-five furnaces re-
Gently in operation in Pennsylvania, Sirty-three are
extingushed. In Maryland, it is added, five out OF
SIX rolling mills have stopped. The cause of this
will be more apparent by stating another fact, de-
rived from New York paper, dated June 3:
''We to-day list of vessels, most them Amer.
lean, which had brought British iron to one of our
American railroad companies, within the space of about
40 days.
In addition to the usual Lake trade, a new wharf is
now being constructed for the reception of thirty thou
sand tons of railroad iron, way from England
direct to Dmkrk, through the Welland canal!''
Thus the competition of this country is diminish
ing and its products decreasing which will raise the
value of the foreign product, and enable the manu-
facturers of Europe to realize and profit from
US by the ruin of our own aborers.
But this is not the worst aspect ofthe thing Trade
being founded on the exchange of the commodities
of labor, the difference between making and ex-
changing commodities with our own people, and eY-
changing them with foreigners is this; if the Penn
sylvanians make iron to the value Of million of
dollars there is SO much wealth created by our la
borers for their comfort and enjoyment and if they
sell 1t to OHIO, where it enters into consumption
Pennsylvania realizes a million ofdoars. But Ohio
acquires the means of payment by her industry, and
therefore her abOrers have the privilege of produc-
ing commodities to raise this million of dollars
There is thus produced by the interchange two mil
lions worth of the products of industry-one by the
sellers and one by the buyers; both of which 90 to
support and comfort the laborers engaged in the pro-
duction as well to enrich and strengthen the coun-
try.
But if Ohio sends to a foreign market for the IRON
then Pennsy vanla must lose million of dollars and
the foreign country, where the iron is bought gains
that sum- The privilege of making the iron is trans
ferred foreigners land they lose what they GAIN the
value oft There can be but one EQUIVALENT
for this loss 1.-THE laborers of Pennsylvania who
would have produced this iron find other EN-
ployment, by which they can, by their industry, call
into existence commodities the value of million
of dollars then such earnings may take the place of
THERON But all experience shows that such trans
fer is difficult, fno impossible Substitutes new
employment are by no means easily effected, even
if laborers are qualified for it. This history of "a
crisis is told in few words. Excessive imporations
make goods ruinousy cheap; our markets become
overloaded; our mills, shops, are shut up, either
because the propretors ruined, to escape ruin;
the balance of trade accumulates against us and,
a last resort, when have nothing else to supply
us with, we send away coin to enrich the foreign
ldDOTeE ana 10 SuSldlH suopS lHlS
state of things proves that labor is inactive and in
capable of exerting its energies successfully to sup
ply the wants of the country, which grows poor I'M
der the operation.
Nor does it require any wide difference in value
between foreign and domestic production to cause
ruinous condition of things, by driving US abroad to
seek supplies instead of obtaining them here 1.-THE
foreigner can place commodity in our market at
per cent less than it can be afforded by produc
ers, this is Just as fatal to their fifty per
cent, for no man will engage in the production with
the certainty of loss before him. Let us then look
into supposed state of facts, not improbable, and
see what results may happen in prosecuting such
views as are now advocated. Suppose we have the
capacity to produce three millions of dollars worth
of woolens annually, and we take them all OF for
eigners, because we can obtain them five per cent.
cheaper than our laborers can afford to make them,
we would save nominaly on that amount one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars; but to gain that the
country would lose the privilege of earning by its own
laborers three millions of dollars, and we should be
compelled to add to that heavy sacrifice upon the
raw material, which would cease to find a market
here might add to this, that the moment our shops
and mills cease to be the competitors of foreign pro-
auctions, the value of such productions will rise. 1t
is quite time sir that Congress should devote its at
tenon to the claims which the public have upon its
consideration.
The memorial was laid on the table.
CALIFORNIA ITEMS. An assayng department