The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1865-09-28
ter throughout the whole range of these
United States

clearly prove, when there is no market
, either at home or abroad, that there is too
much labor employed in agriculture, and
that the channels of labor should be multi
| piled Common sense at once points out
, the remedy. Draw from agriculture the
superabundant labor, employ it in me-
E chanism and manufactures, thereby Great
ing home market for your breadstufs,
, and distributing labor to a most profitable
account, and benefits to the country will
result. Take from agriculture in the
!; United States six hundred thousand men,
women, and children, and you at once
: give home market for more breadstuffs
than all Europe now furnishes u.s. In
short, sir, we have been too long subject
to the policy of the British merchants.-
1t is time We should become a little more
Americanized, and, instead of feeding the
paupers and laborers of Europe, feed our
own, or else in short time, by continu-
ing our present policy, We shall becaths
paupers ourselves"
TO the state of things here described
were, We, in 1928, indebted for the first
thoroughly national tariff. Almost from
the moment of its passage, activity and
life took the place of the palsy that pre-
viously had existed. Furnaces, and mills
were built; immigration increased, and
so large became the demand for the pro-
ducts of the farm that our markets scar
cely felt the effect of changes in that of
| Eng gland the public revenues so rapidly
increased that it became necessary to ex-
empt from duty tea, coffee, and many 9TH
er articles and the public debt was final
ly extinguished.
The history of the world to that hour
presents no case of prosperity so univer-
sal as that which here existed at the date
of the repeal of the great national tariff
of 1928. Had it been maintained in ex-
istance we should now have had no Sc
cession war, and at this hour the south
exhibit state of society in which the
land owners had become rich, white
slaves had been gradually becoming free;
with profit to themselves, to their owners,
and to the nation at large. 1t was, how
ever, repealed in 1884, and the repeal
was followed by succession of British
free trade crises, the whole ending in 1912
in state of things directly the reverse
of that above described. Mills and fur
naces were closed mechanics were straw
ing money was scare and dear land had
fallen to half its previous prices; the sher-
iff was everywhere at work banks were
in a state of suspension States repudia-
ted payment of their debts the Treasury
was unable to borrow dollar except at
high rate of interest, and bankruptcy
among merchants and traders was so uni
versal that Congress found itself compgll-
ed soon after to pass bankrupt law.
Again, and for the third time, protec-
ton was restored by the passage of the
tariff act of 1912. Under it, in less than
FIVE years, the production of iron rose
from 100000 to 100000 tons and so
universal was the prosperity that, large
as was the increase, it was wholly Insult
cient to meet the great demand. Mines
were everywhere being sunk. Mills were
everywhere being built. Labor was in
great demand and wages were high, as a
consequence of which immigration speed
lily trebled in its amount. Money was
abundant and cheap, and the sheriff found
but little work to do. Public and private
revenues were great beyond all previous
precedent, and throughout the land there
reigned prosperity more universal than
had, in the whole history of the world,
ever before been known.
Once more, in 1916, however, did the
Serpent-properly represented on the oc-
casion by British free traders-make his
way into Paradise, and now dozen years
elapsed, in the course of which, notwith-
standing the discovery of California mines,
money commanded a rate of interest,
higher, as [ believe, than had ever been
known in the country for so long period
of time British iron and cloth came in
and gold went out. and with each sue
cessive day the dependence ofour farmers
our foreign markets become more complete.
With 1857 came the elimination of the
system, merchants and manufacturers be-
ing ruined, banks being compelled to sus-
pend payment, and the treasury being,
reduced to a condition of bankruptcy
nearly approaching that which had exis-
LCu dt luc ClUS6 VI LhC liCC tIduC pei
commencing in 1917 and 1914. In the
three years that followed labor was every
where in excess wages were low immi-
grafton fell below the point at which it
had stood twenty years before the homo
market for focd diminished, aud the for
eign one proved so utterly worthless that
the annual export to all the manufactur-
ing nations of Europe, as [ have already
stated, amounted to but little more than
sl0,000,O00.
The rebellion came, finding our people
unemployed, public and private revenues
declining, the Treasury empty aud the
public credit greatly impaired, With 1t,
however, came the power once again, and
for the fourth time, TO obtain protection
for the men who had food and labor for
which they needed to obtain market
!; That protection has now endured for but
little more than four years, aud yet. so
marvellous have been its effects that while