The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1869-12-28
Effects of "PrOteCiiOn" on the
giuDfStPTtpu

Unprotected.
a tariff is inaugurated about III this
way: Mr.. A. with more enterprise than
prudence enters into q manufacturing
business which is proved by experience
to be Improbable. Thereupcn Congress
protects him by levying & tariff which
makes his business lucrative by exclud-
ing his competitors from the market, or,
admitting them only under heavy penal
ties.
But the products of Mr.. 4. enter
largely into the productions of another
manufacturer Mr. B., thereby increasing
the cost Of BIS .prcductions to such an
extent as to render his business unprofl-
table. The tariff is therefore extended
to cover Mr. BIS business.
These together have the same effect
or C's trade which AS tariff had on B's
business, and soc. must be protected
And so it goes on through the whole
alphabet an hundred times repeated
One branch Of business is found to be
Improbable without protection; but pro.
tecting it makes It necessary TO protect
ten others that being done fifty more
suffer for want Of protection, and so on
indefinitely. The more kinds OF produc
tons there are protected, the more will
need protection. For as soon as busi.
ness is leveled down by protecting all
equally, those needing protection will be
in exactly the same relative condition
they were before any were protected
Thereupon second adjustment of tar
ifs must begin, run the same round, and
give place to third. 1t is for exactly
these reasons that one-fourth of the time
of every session of Congress is EN-
ployed in tinkering the tariff.
1t is utterly impracticable to make
tariff that will give universal satisfaction
An attempt to do so is like trying to
save a sinking vessel by taking the plug:
out of one set Of leah.holes in order to
use them in stopping others. 1t is ever
worse; the parallel would be correct i
the plugs were continually taken from
larger leaks to fll smaller ones.
1t cannot be done. Congress may tin
ker and tinker to the end Of time, bu
the more tariff is tinkered the worse i
will grow. The aggregate wealth Of TIN
country cannot be increased by taking al
, the profits from thrifty industry to max
up the losses on branches Of busines
which should never have been com
r menced.
But in all this arranging, adjusting an,
tinkering, agricultural industry gets N
protection. That is not only require
to take care Of ITSELF, but is further re
quired to support host of pauper mar
, ufacturing interests. Farm products dc
e rive no benefits from the taritf-produl
tions of the earth bear not penny c
protection-yct their cost to the farme
is increased from twenty to forty pc
o cent by means of the tariff.
n But the tariff increases tenfold IL
Il number of non- -remunerative branches {
: Industry. II ,---I-Ad- branches whic
u would otherwise yield fair pronts a
taxed below that point in order to su
tain ten others. This pauperizes tt
II whole hundred and ten.
a. ThuJthey progress, each one taxi
D. all theothers,as well as all outside inte
ID ests, theonly net gains to the protect'
y y interests being the sums taken from Il
5. unprotected interests.
at X taxes Y and z twenty per cent;
taxes X and q twenty per cent. BY tt
process X gains twenty per Gently gal
cr twenty per cent, and z is forty per Gel
a. out of pocket.
a. 4. Now let X represent the manufactur
of of iron, Y the manufacturer Of cott
es and z the farmer, and you have the 2rt
er ent tariff.