The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1869-03-31
FLOR the D emocrat.
Horace Greeley on Protection.

In q late number of the New York
Tribune, 1 read one of that series of
articles in which Mr.. Greeley is dis
cussing the respective merits of the
Free Trade and the Protective policy;
and l propose, with your indulgence,
Mr.. Editor, to state why his argu-
ments appear to me to be i~nconclusiVe.
He takes for his theme this propo-
sitioD of Mr.. McCuIloch's Those who
do hot buy, need not expect TO sell ;
and conversely, ii Is impossible to ex-
port without making a corresponding
importation" 70 rebut this state
ment, Mr.. Greeley gives great many
figures to prove that England's com.
mcrce is increasing, and yet that she
does not import manufactured COM
DlOdtteS. Now MI. McCulloch does
not assert that q country must i'm
port manufactured commodities. or
any other commodities in particular.
He simply says that a country must
import some commodities, or else that
expectation is impossible. The kind
of commodities imported will be diff.
erent in different countries, each i'm
porting what other countries can pro-
duce none easily than itself. England
would not import manufactured arti'
cles, because she al make them at
home cheaper than she could buy
them abroad. But MI. Greeley will
probably admit that she imports some
kinds Of articles, and that If she did
not she could not export. England,
therefore, forms no exception to Mr..
McCulloch's statement,
The Tribune proceeds ;"The maxim
among US really means that 1--WE do
not sell raw materials we can have nc
, fnraion 0DnNnoaran - TUn onoaNT ~ =.
proposition at once; although it has
no logical ~cOnneXiOn with that OF Mr.,
McCulloeh. 1t is true that except we
export raw materials, our commerce
Is at an end; for what have we else
that we can export I? Mr.. Greeley
thinks otherwise. He holds thai BY
some means OF other, which however
he does not indicate, we can carry on
commerce without exporting raw ma
terials. How? BY exporting man
ufactured articles? I. would like to
know how we can compete with the
British in Europe after transportation
has been added to our prices, when
according to Mr., Greeley we can not
compete with them here even after
their prices have been increased by
transportation, The proposition that
we can have no foreign commerce
without exporting raw materials Mr..
Greeley declares to be "annihilated by
the facts of British trade history
He proves clearly by statistics, what
every one already knows, that Eng
land exports but very little of raw
materials and he infers that we also
may prosper -eommercially without
such exports. Now what is there t.
warrant such an inference. Are the
cases similar? Is the surplus paoduc
Jion of the United States the same as
that of England? With the exception
OF perh2ps a single article England
nas no material to export. We have
little to export except raw materials.
II we do not export our surplus cot
ton and flour and pork and corn,
what r we to do with them? Is the
valley of the Mississippi, that can pro
duce food enough for the human race
to be restricted for its market to Penn
sylvania and New England? I dc
not believe that Mr.. Greeley's rea
soning satisfies himself, or that it car
satisfy any honest mind, But there
Is no theory absurd enough to be re-
jected by every One I am here re
minded of the following reflection o
Archbishop Whately's:
IAN things" says an apocrypha
writer, "are double, one against an
other, and nothing is made in vain
unblushing a~SSerters OF falsehOo,
seem to haYesa race of easy believer
provided on purpose for their USE"
L hope to return to this subject mex
week f. q.