Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1851-01-02
From the N. Y. Tribune
The Question of Industrial Xndepen-
dence in 1850.

That our country is now, in stale Of pro-
found peace, bounrful harvests, rapidly lncreas-
ing in population and production, running stea-
dy and heavily in deb, is fact which ought
never be forgotten until fact il shall cease TO
be. True We are making Railroads somewha,
rapidly, but England, with a smaller effe c,ive
population than ours, and much heavier intern
ell burdens on heT industry, made hers still more
rapidly, yel does no, owe other nations dol
lar for them. On the contrary, nearly every
other on earth that can safely be trusted, land
some which cannoD are to-day largely her
debtors, and some of them becoming still more
deeply so-ours, for example. Yes, with eVe-
ry internal element Of production, every reason
for paying our present heavy debts instead OF
running up new Scores we are running behind
hand at the rate of some forty or fifty Millions
per annumI We want Iron for Railroads; and
we have The ore and the fuel in abundance and
of every desirable quality we have an abun-
dance of skull and energy, now idle but eager
to be employed in Iron making and yet the
roads now making across our own ore and coal
beds are ironed from Great Britain, because
ere long experience in and virtual monopoly Of
Iron making, The profits on our trade and her
monopoly of the worlds most lucrative fabrica-
lions and commerce, enable her TO sell very
inferior qualify Of Iron at low price and kind
ly accommodate US with twenty years credI,
on good share of the purchase money. All
this goes on very smoohly-for all but our la
borers who are defrauded of The work and wa
ges belonging TO them by this cheap buying in
Engand--but what is 10 be the end of il =
Forty millions year for every twenty-five years
"a short life time) amounts 10 One thousand
Million Dollars, TO say nothing Of the interest
meantime accruiDg. The interest on that Thou
sand Million Dollars, must be some Sixty Mil
hons year. II We cannot now pay our way
by Forty Millions, what shall we do when the
annual interest Of our Foreign Deb. shall be
Sixty Millions per annum 7! -..
Al this moment, with our granaries filled 10
overhowing and our hills covered with sheep
and cattle, one half the works intended for l.
ron-makIng are standing idle and going 10
wreck, because our people are induced, through
the sorcerles of perverted Commerce, TO pre-
fer European Metals and Fabrics 10 those pro-
duced at home, under the fatal deluson that
the former are cheaper. Bu, no man ever did
or can buy an article cheap which his own boys
ought to have made, and which they will stand
idle in default of making. 1t is opr earnest
conviction that this country is today One
Thousand Millions poorer and very far behind
III dl' shi', lHuuStIy anu COHOi', 'Hdh "Hdi IL
would have been by this lime had the Tariff Of
1923 stood unmodifed riil now. Had We but
enjoyed twenty FIVE years Of adequate, tho
roughly efficient Protection 10 Home Industry,
we believe hat on mos, articles we could afford
to abolish Duties altogether and enter The ire-
est competition with every nation in the world.
That il would be desirable to do so. We do not
affirm we regard it only in The light oi prac'l-
cabiIy. But we manage TO hall protect and
then expose our immature enterprise TO the
competition of full grown, affiuenl, subtle and
deurmined rivals, and in the unequal struggle
Inns invited our manufacturers 60 TO The wall
Then come guled Markets for labor and for
many descriptions of products thence follows
distress, s,agnalion and bankruptcy, until the
People are iranscienlly aroused and impelled
10 seek change Of policy. partial, halling,
hesilaIing change is awarded, the People sink
to sleep again and few years restore The
reign Of the old delusons. How long shall i.
continue thus
We estimate that the actual Foreign cost
Of the Metals and Fabrics imported from Eu-
rope during the year now closing was certainly
not less than Eighty Millions of Dollars, Of