Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-10-05

duty on foreign goods is always to raise the
price of them That is, indeed, the natural
tendency, and for short time such may be
the effect: but it is. and has been, the invar-
liable result in the end that where the article
protected is one which can be successfully
manufactured in this country, we having
the raw material and competent skill, to re-
duce prices. That was the case, we all know.
in regard to cotton goods after the tariff of
1928. know. from personal experience,
that the price of charcoal-refined iron manu-
featured in the Southwest fell two cents on
the pound the year following the tariff act
of 1912. This is the natural result of the
home competition; but the competition of the
foreign article, in most cases, co-operates
with that between the home producers In
bringing about this reduction. The protec-
tive duty may be so high as to injure the
home manufacturer; it may be so high as to
stimulate investments of capital to an extent
which will lead to over-production of the
protected article: and ii was for this reason
that some of the most judcious friends of the
protective policy in Congress voted against
the act of 1923. and among others the late
John Davis. of Massachusetts,.
But the objection 20 the protective policy
is still urged. that the price of the protected
article is always inc reascd by the amount of
duty imposed on the foreign article, and that
the consumer pays it. and hence duty i'm
posed for protection is denounced as tax
upon the consumer. This is the objection l
have just answered, brought forward in diff
ferent form. Experience has amply shown
that even for the short period of the increased
price which sometimes follows the laying on
of protective duty. the foreign producer
| pays, or rather loses, portion of the duty.
1t is not the amount of the duty that regulates
the price of the protected article so much as
it is the relation between the supply and the
| demand. If the supply exceeds the demand,
| the price falls; and in case the excess OF sup
| ply over the demand be great. the price OF the
| article will often fall below the cost of pro-
| ducton. 1t is clear from this that as gen.
eral rule, as long as the duty is not prohibit
| tory in its character, the amout of the duty
| will have very little to do with the price of
the ARTICLE when it reaches the consumer.
| The theory of the late Mr.. McDuffie was
| that the exporter of the domestic product.
! cotton for example, paid the whole amount of
the duty imposed on the merchandise received
in exchange Tor it in the foreign market. He
| contended that a planter who shipped hun
! dred bales of cotton to Liverpool, which were
| there sold and the proceeds invested in mer-
chandise which had to pay duty of forty
| per cent when imported into the United
| States lost forty bales of his cotton-robbed
| of it by the protective policy of his country.
| This theory was long prevalent in the South.
| but ii was too absurd to beheld by any but the
most iauudiced and Incorporate partisans of a
! local interest. But another doctrine. almost
! if not quite as presposterouS, now peValls TO
| some extent in the South; and | am sorry to
| say that an American Secretary of the Treas
| ury has committed himself TO it before the
| world in his financial report at the opening
| of the session. Our accomplished Minister
! of Finance has discovered that we cannot ex-
! pcct foreign nations to buy our cotton, rice,
! hreadstuffS. and tobacco unless we continue
! to take their productions in return; but he
! does not appear to have learned that the iarg-
er and more diversified the products of inter
nal trade and industry of any nation, the
greater will be the amount and value of
! its foreign trade. Nor does he appear to have
| given any thought to the consideration that
| if the people of the United States. by a fav-
Orable change in their policy, should. IN few
| wears by their own machinery and skill, man.
ufacture one-half or two-thirds the quantity
of the S130.000,000 worth Of the cotton,
| woollen, silken, and linen fabrics, and their
| compounds and Of iron and iron manntac-
lures. now imported from foreign countries,
one consequence would be that more of our
| cotton, rice. breadstuffs and tobacco would
| ba consumed at home. and less proportion
of them dependent on foreign market; and
that another and equally important c0nse,
uuence would be that the people of this coun-
| try would import far greater quantity of
foreign products adapted to their wants and
tastes than they do now. and that ut the same
time the flow of the precions metals would be
reversed. and thus enable Us, if we would, tr
impart to our currency Il universal credit and
a uniform value.
The cotton of the South is a great interest
the most important product by far of this OF
any other country, and no wise or patrlot(
statesman in this country will favor policy
which tends to impair its value. Bat 1t Il
most unfortunate, | think, that its public
guardians are so sensitive to every movement
connected with it, in any form or degree
The proposition to remedy the frauds on the
revenue, arising chiefly from the mode o
collecting duties on the foreign value of thu
imported merchandise, and to give t.
domestic manufactures the degree of prOtec
tion intended by the act of 1916, is no soone
made than it is denounced as blow aimed a
the South.
In 1856 Great Britain imported, in rount
numbers. seven hundred and eighty million
pounds of cotton from the Unite Estates, for
which the planters were paid S74O00.OOC
| This amount of American raw cotton, eNcep
a small portion exported TO the continent
was by British skill and industry conv erteC
into fairies of various kinds and qualities o
the value of 1902 900 900, the one-half O
which, it is estimated was consumed a
home and the other half exported to foreigI
countries. OF the $30,000,G00 Of cottor
goods imported into the United States IL
1856, it may be assumed that SIS ,000,0 0'
were of British manufacture, representa-!
only one-twelfth part of the raw cotton ex
ported to Great Britain in that year. Ge
many of the representatives of Southern
interests think it of vital importance to keel
up this sort of interchange of commodities
I so dscreditable to the policy of this country
Great Britain already receives one-tifth q
her supplies of raw cotton from countries
other than the United States, and every terri
inoognila of the globe is being explored to finC
some cotton-growing region to rival that o
the United States. India, the native land o
the cottnn-plant. is being penetrated by rail
ways with the same object: and all know how
CALLING it is to British pride to be dependen
upon this or any other country for any
part of her essential supplies.
Yet the cotton growers take no interest II
building up home market for their grea
product; and still regard with jealousy anC
suspicion every proposed change of our com
Inercal policy, looking ID that among othe
nbj-cts-fearing some injury to Southern in
terrsts, or some advantage to the North at tn
expense of the South.
wish. sir, il were so. that upon such qurs
tions we could know no North, no South, bu
only our whole country.