The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-09
Senator Ramsey's Mistakes.


The bill introduced into the Senate by Mr..
Ramsey, of Minnesota, to regulate our trade
with Kanada, in most respects the sans as
that of Mr.. Beaman's, is liable to the objection
as to the monopoly it would confer on tho
route to Canada via Portland, and in some
other particulars. But it has the additional
and prais eworthy characteristic of embodying
bCld and comprehensive attempt to extend
reciprocity to goods manufactured in each
country from the materials produced in it,
subject in each case to duty of five per cent.
OF course there would be infinite frauds in
carrying this plan into practice. None could
tell whether cloth of certain kinds was made
from Canadian or other wool, and SO on of
many other manufactures, so that we should
be adopting to considerable extent five per
cent. tariff on the manufactures not only of
Canada, but of the world. Oaths might be
exacted, but custom house oaths of this kind
made in foreign countries are not much more
efficacious than those of radical Senators and
Representatives at Washington to support the
Constitution of the United States.
Besides, mere duty of five per cent. would
by no means counterbalspce the superior al
vantages of Canada for manufacturing con-
ferred upon her by our large debt and the
monstrous and illadiusted method of pro-
viding for it. In many of those articles of
which Canada produces the raw material,
such as Mr.. Ramsey proposes to admit at
duty Of five per cent, her people would have
an item of five per cent. advantage to begin
with, and in iron for machinery, rails, loco
motives and ships or boats for transition
every point as to general cheapnes5 Canada
would have enormous advantages. But in
other respects Mr.. Ramsey's bill indicates very
little reflection. For instance, according to
the bill, whisky made from cheap Canadian
grain mis- ght be admitted at a duty of five per
cent. So long as the bill remained in force
have n
should be at the mercy of the Canadians, who
could thus cut us off from what ought to be an
important and proper source OF our excise
revenue.
Mr.. Ramsey specifically adds agricultural
implements to the list of articles to be ad-
mitted at five per cent. few years ago we
exported them on a very large scale to Canada;
but the Canadian tariff transferred the manu-
facture to the northern side of the frontier.
Wood and iron are the materials used. The
Canadians have wood more than five per cent.
cheaper than our Oppressively taxed people,
and have iron yet cheaper by many times
over. Consequently, if Mr.. Ramsey's system
were likely to be permanent, it would transfer
the manufacture of agricultural implements
from this to the other side. Ploughs are agri-
cultural implements, and iron plOughs are no
exception to the plain rule. Nor are iron
| steam -ploughs, with all their machinery, to
be reasonably excepted. But it is easy to see
that, with iron free Of duty, the Canadians
could completely drive our people out of the
market in our own country.
Their advantages would be quite as great in
making iron ships. We name this to show
how difficult it is to make any minor change
in our very complex system without making
far wider arrangements than are at first OBJ
vious. Scarcely anything is better entitled to
be free Of duty than agricultural implements,
but the same might be said of ships, railroad
iron, tools, ETC., etc. What is needed is to
give our manufacturers fair chance of making
good articles at low prices, as well as to insist
on fair competition. 1t is unjust to subject
them to competition when they are fettered by
high prices on all that enters into production
to tie them down and then insist on their
running race where they furnish heavy
stakes.
All these difficulties are the result OF prefer
ring brute force to statesmanlike prudence and
skill. We became welded in much haste to
the idea that a national debt is a national
blessing. Tie bonds are indissoluble, and we
are now at the beginning OF the same long
business wherein we shall have ample time to
repent.