The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1870-04-02

are cheaper. Nothing is dear or scarce bu
/. labor and capital, the acquisition of whicl
8 is the matter of consideration. Why, then
does not capital and labor come here of it
own accord ? Simply because it is invested
and settled in the old country. If the cap
ital was uninvested and the people unsettled
looking for place to invest and settle, thi
country would be chosen at once. But t.
sell out and move would involve loss, time
aud trouble. 1t would sink large part O.
the capital 1t is cheaper to pay transpor
tation both ways. And SO it is that while
we furnish both the raw material and the
market for all this manufacturing popala-
tion and capital the old countries have all
the advantages Of their society, enterprise,
taxes, and allegiance.
Now, we propose to induce this capital
and population to move to America. We
propose to do it by a little discrimination in
the terms of tariff, the tariff we have already
agreed to levy for other purposes. We
propose to say to these manufacturers, "If
you stay outside Of our country, if you pay
your taxes and give the benefit of your so
ciety, enterprise, and allegiance to another
country, we cannot put you on an equal
footing In our market with those who pay
taxes into our Treasury, help improve and
develop our country in time of peace, and
defend it in time of war. We have alread,
agreed to put small duty for revenue ups
on your goods as they enter our ports; we
will make it a little larger to furnish you
an inducement to move to America, or to
give those who do move a little advantage
in our market over those who will not" l
do not expect that such duty, so small an
advantage, will induce these people and
this wealth 10 come here at once. Valua-
BILE mills, shops, and dwellings connot be
abandoned and lost. To change these re-
quires time. But all new enterprises, all
capital that would rebuild Or enlarge, all
young, unsettled, and adventurous mechan.
les and artisans will come at once. In time
all will come. In time it will be found
cheaper to stand the loss of moving than to
pay transportation both ways with the pro
tective duty added.
Now, sir, why should we not levy this
small additional-duty, and thus entice to
our shores this great wealth and industry
Because, it is said, it will increase the costs
of imported articles. Admit it; but does
not duty laid for revenue alone increase
the costs also? Do not the tax on home
manufactures, whiskey, or anything else,
increase the price after the tax is paid
Of course it does. All taxes raise the price
of the articles upon which they are paid.
If land is taxed it will appear in the pro-
ducts of the farm ;..if RAILROADS.&C. the cost of
travail and price Of fresghts if merchans
disc, it must be made up in the sales. You
cannot raise revenue and its burden now.
here left. If we are to levy no protective
duty because it will raise The price, then
for the same reason We are to levy no duty
whatever for the same reason you cannot
tax anything. But while 1 admit that
protective tariff will raise the price to the
consumer in the same way that revenue
tariff will, do not admit that it will raise
1t in the same degree. Home competition
compels the foreign manufacturer to put
down his price to the lowest point of profit
in other words, to stand part of the
duty but the importer of articles which
there is no home competition charges up the
whole duty to the consumer. This in
creased cost of protected articles is the only
objecsion that has been or can be raised
to protective tariff but if that objection
is to prevail, as l have already shown, we
can have no revenue tariff and no internal
taxes whatsoevr.
Compare, then, the disadvantage with
the advantages of protective discrimina
tion. The only disadvantage claimed is
the increase in prlce-not large, not oppres-
sive, not much above the increase from
revenue tariff, to which all agree-an in-
crease that is necessarily short.lived, dimin-
ishiDg constantly as foreign capital and Ia
Dor moves to this county, until it disap-
pears altogether for ivestment and compe-
tition at home, where living and materials
are cheapest, must finally bring the price
even below the foreign standard
The advantages are more numerous and
more important. First, it brings to this
country for investment in manufactures
and other enterprises many millions of cap.