New-York daily tribune., 1854-08-28
uInIIc ECONONIY-OsIERS.


| tbst We were buying too much Of other nations in
proportion r. the amount Of our e1ports-and that
in order exrcate people from their present gen.
era and serious embarrassments it would be advsa-
! bic instead of adding Grain and Timber to the list Of
cur staple imports to increase rather the range OF our
productions by growing or fabrcating at home some
! aIti lies for which now depend on foreign coun-
| tros-and We instanced (anong others) the Oser or
| Bssbet Willow and Sumac as two articles which we
row largely import when ought to produce them
| to al extent commensurate with our wants. To this
article The Er,ning Post saw fit to take objection in
/ TN srtcl- commencing as fol cws:
"OsIHRs AID SuNAc The political economy of The
TTUHE Newspaper pears to be summed up in the max
i'm Il az d'ofoa s'ord Droduee rh'H Hse ereFyAngJor
| bhlch u hcN OcCGsfOR.
TO this article ~e very patiently and thoroughly
responded explsiDing for the thousandth time that
We hsd 20 such idea as The Post attributed to us
that assented uDdoubtingly to the policy of going
abroad for Cuoutcbouc and Cocoanuts, Logwood and
Spices, with whatever beside could. By reason of
dverttes of climate or other natural capacity, be
produced elsewhere with ded iedly less labor than
here. We family hoped to induce The Post to re-
tract its mistaken imput4tion this head but in vain
It's readers left to this hour in the belief that we
advocate growing Pimento in Vermont and fishing
for Seals of Key West by way of encouraging aud
dyersfyiD Home Industry.
TIE Post broadly assumed that the non.production
Of Osicrs ard non collection of Supac n this country
were proofs that Sumsc was inferior and our soil
i'll adapted to Osiers-or, in other words, that our
people declined to produce these articles because they
could employ their labor TO better advantage in grow
! iIg Wheat ard Pigs. We responded NO-that does
net cllnw the impedimcnts to Sumac g altering and
Oser growing in this country are these: Our produ
GERS have few or no fields OF Osers planted, and to
ItIt and nurture such is expensive while the return
is remote and cortingeDt they generally ignorant
Of tie requirements Of both these branches of lus
ty--Gon't know the true Basket Osier to disn.
cuish ircm other willows don't know how and when
to psrt till, cut and strip it; don't know when to
gath Row to Sumac; and if they could and
did DO all these things successfully, they would still
have to find market and ther establish reputation
for their products; for the of such not
looking toward them for supply but across the At
antic the imported Os;ers and Sumac have an estab
shed good reputation, and the natural presumption
that their upstart American rivals could not be better,
but probably would be und inferior, would weigh
heavily against them. Men slowly and reluctantly
sbandon the old paths. unless under virtual compul
.
ption that Osiers are not produced here only be-
cause our Land and Labor can be more proftaby en-
ployed, the testimony Of a correspondent that YAM
kee row residing in Boone county, KY, who has a
psnta ion of Osiers actually received therefrOm last
year profit Of cooper acrethe Oers being tended,
gathered and manufactured on shares by German
fanilie. settled near him who understand the bus
mess.
Hereupon The Post breaks out in an entirely new
sJot The growing of Osiers is longer too bad bus
iness TO be followed in this country, but too good
oue to be protected! Here is its line of argument:
This il apt illustration could desire of the
JosiOn took the other day that when people find
The cultivation Of osiers aud he mixing Of baskets becom
ing profitable they will be engage these occupa
;ionf. Here is resident Of Kentucky who finds the ea
walton ef osers lucrative business. and he therefore
follows it, He gets profit of two hundred doars
Il, TIE atds which Germans employed TO plant
oser stocks and gather the :wigs. We congratulate him
ou icvirg well dsuutod the principle of free trade
Hud hope lie viii with his enterprise He
LUies hurdles Of oser tvigs imported from Holland
Or on baskets brought from France He prospes under
forcing bone Production, ef which The TEIBuSE talks
! SO paiheticaly.'
Now We are as ignorant The Post as to the first
cost ofthst willow plantation, sndas to the number Of
yors through which lay neglected and useless await
irg the sdyen; Of those experienced German basket
Tskus who have rendered it asource of liberal profit
to itsovltr But do know several ho have started
similar plantations aud utterly broken down in them
-Ierhops from seme misunderstood pecularity of
sell or climate; perhaps from sheer ignorance Of the
/ busiress by those who undertook it. But We have
ssid nothing hitherto to the necessity Of higher
duty on Osiers. Our proposition is that we ought to
| grow, not a few acres az profit but supply ade-
J qusie to our home demand. What we desire is not
particularly that Yankee in Kentucky may make
fortune by growing Osiers, but that Osergro wing
shall be,ome stable and prosperous department
oftie National Industry. If this can be promptly
Effected under the present duty, or without
sny duty, We shsll be content: we only in.
sist thar it shall somehow te accomplished. If
! Tie Post viii induce its Free Trade friends TO
forget its former assumption that Osers are not ex.
ttrsvey grown here simply because our labor can be
more probably employed in growing Wheat and rear
irg Piss-thft the fact that they are not so grown
sufees torrove tie business unproftabe-snd accent
ard set upon it, new theory that Osier-growing ia
universally proEtabewe will 20 with it in opposing
tny increase Of duty this article Only let us have
the Osiers grown here in abundance, and we want no
duty on their foreign rivals. But We have uniformly
found these who in theory insisted tina. new branches
Of Industry would be natonaIzed or expended with