New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1866-01-27
The Necessity Of Protection, nna ihe
Reason for it.
70 th< Cditoy 81 The N. y. TTibrne.

SIR: The division of labor and the exchange
Of one sort Of labor for snotherthe exchange OF COM
modities-commerce-are indispensable 70 civilization
nd 1t 10 ssevident that 1t is every mans interest 70
exchange the products Of his own labor rere ne can
procure for them the greatest quantity OF other CON-
modities that be needs A man who produces "nea''
and wants to exchange for oranges woud be the loser
IL compelled By any regulation of Government to pay
their cost as produced in glass houses In bis own neigh
borhoodsay bushel Of wheat for twenty-five oranges
instead Of sending his wheat to warmer climate
where he con get fifty oranges for bushe, over ana
above the charges for transportation. &c. And SO OF
all other exchanges But in country where Wool ana
cotton, and iron ores and fuel and water power ana
wheat. and beef and pork and all other materials and
facilities for the manufacture OF CLOTH and ron
and all tho various commodities made RON WOOL anu
cotton andiron, abound that all such commodtiss
can be produced within the country at the same co ~
aborns In any other Country that is to say certain
quantity and quality of cloth or iron can De manu-
featured at home by the expenditure OF the same mum
Der Of days labor as elsewhere then equsad hsss
evident that to send materials Aforesaid tneo
or four thousand miles away TO be converted INTO cotn
and IRON Co. 10 be retained TO US for our USE
loss to somebOdyof all the labor expended In the trans
portation For instance, suppose 600 yards OF cotn
REQUIRES in its manufacture 600 pounds OF WOOL LUZ
DAYS work. and TO- 900 pounds Of prov sions 70 eed the
laborcrs and their amesi that cloth Is msae "hets
the wool and provisions produced, and where - Is
wanted to cothe the people who produce tnem, az s
cost will be the 600 pounds of WOOL 10000 pounds OF
provisions and 1000 days work. whereas, u those
materials are transported three four thousand miles
or any other distance TO be converted into cotb the
cost win be the same plus the labor OF tne
wool and provisions TO the manufacturer ana the eoLn
back again. 1t is entirely clear that somebody pays
this extra expense. Who pays II III 1t Is imagined
that the producers OF food, &C do not pay any OF IT,
examine the prices Of wheat In different localities and
see how that article ia cheapened by its distance nom
s saS P Il. SNe'' D'1'
The price of labor is lower in Europe than in this
country that is TO say irrespective OF money prices
of which more further onthe laborer receives less 81
the necessares Of life for days work than bere so
that it is argued that by free trade we may receive
perhaps the product oftwo days OF foreign cheap labor
Tor that Of one day Of ours aud thus overbaance our
share OF the expense Of But apPrehend
that this theory Will not stand the test OF the philosophy
that free trade its upon for according TO
the doctrines Of orthodox free trade political econo.
mists the free exchange Of commodities and always
must be- In the msiD, te bass VI lsbor for labor,
and cannot be the basis days labor on side
that the cheapness of labor IN Europe profit rs In
exchange Of copmQdi.ies, bpt free trade must greatly
nsre the lab0ng class BY reducing the wages to the
level Of that cheaper labor OF Europe.
Returning. now. to our startng.pont; That 1t Is our
interest exchange products where we can pro.
cure the Of other commodities for them. VIII not
every mans interest always prompt him 10 seek that
marketi think it Is easy 10 show that such Is not
always the case. II commerce-domestlc and foreign
always in reality what 1t is 10 theory the exchange
of commodities, the men who produce wheat, &C.,
would always be pretty sure 70 exchange where they
could get the greatest value in manufactured goods for
given quantity Of their own productions But By the
interpcstion Of money and money prices In an Ell
changes the real price of what we buying Is some
times good desl myslifed need not argue that the
real price of what we buy depends much upon the
5SS wheat at e. bnhs yard Of cloth
cheaper al 81 yard than II Is at 81 % with wheat At
81 bushel And If any man is doqbing tsat mannisc-
;,f oiy
products Of agriculture, let him Imagine all our people
TO be employed in agriculture oil our home demand ex'
tiuguished and the supply proporionatey increased,
and then considering that the present state OF things
we have adequate foreign market for our surplus
provisions except in times Of short crops In Europe
cipher up what prices we would get. And this theo-
retioal figuring does not satisfy him. let him 60 into
manufacturing community and compare the prices Of
everything eatabe with the prices IN an exclusively
agricultural community few hundred miles distant
from manufacturing market ibis difference Is seen
and felt wherever manufactures arc located, and Wei
understood everywhere else and presume nobody VIII
deny it. H. then manufactures do give US higher
price for agricultural products the backbone OF the
free trade theory broken, for II opens possibility at
least that this difference may more than compensate
for the higher money prices that we pay for manufac-
tured goods under tariff that enables us TO manufac-
ture them II should be understood too. that We can
rot have home market % sell In at high prices and
foreign market TO bny In OF low prices for the former
depends entirely upon our ing goods OF homo manu-
Assuming all these principles to be correct then we
will be able to understand why It Is that individuals
may always trade where they get the most for
their own productions. Imagine our whole country TO
be manufacturing all the goods OF every description
that consume for which we have the natural facii
ties TO manufacture cheaply price by the
quantity Of aboras they can be Manufactured III any
other country. This would give home markets for
farm produce with all the increased money price that
give, be II more or less. And sup
pose that under ibis system VI production aud e1.
change. wheat Is worth 81 a bushe, wbep in the ab.
sence OF this manufacturing work. 1t would NOT be more
A .suJ osctf nafef -
a ysrd-a bushel Of wheat for yard OF cloth. Then
suppose foreign cloth Of exactly tie same quality 70 be
offered for 81 . per yard' Ihe Iarner' having
. bushel cash, will be sure to buy the i'm:
imported cloth. Let these two articles represent al
products of the, soil and Of the manufactures. The
foreign goods being offered l2i per cent cheaper
money prec-no domestic goods viii be bought, and
the next year the manufacturers will have no use for
wheat or any other farm produoe 80 that the Pce Of
wheat viii come down 10 81 80 per busheJ and 10 buy
the o. Is back that he had paid for yard OF CLOTH 70
buy another yard with, the farmer must pay one and
,Ih bushe Of wheat instead Of ore oushei as before
and ell other things that proportion thus clearly In
yoynga loss OF l6 per cent IN buying what he thought
was l2l per cent cheaper.
Theoretically. therefore, It is clear that While the
vital interests Of the country may require us to manu-
'acture goods 1t may be impossible for manu-
lectures 10 succeed without protection And our whole
experience proves both these propositions practically
rue. Wherever and whenever manufactures flourish |
ID classes are benefited by them and the fact patent
hat they cannot flourish without protection. n
Now, pursuing the subject little deeper vet rs SEQ II
re can ascertain rhy these things are 90. live can
manufacture goods at low labor price as In Europe
Why not at the money pricei Irrespective Of the
Money price Of labor the real wages In this country
he quantity Of bread and meat aud calico &C., that
aborer gets for days works. much more than IN
Europe, which IT, think, very good reason why we
hosh not manufacture ct European money prices bat
apprefend thar that 10 only Q question between
aboTers and other classes In tins county and oanDot
or any considerable time. prevent from nauufaetur.
for European money prices for with free exchange
Ne products sf lsb0s with Earsps, the price Of labor