The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1870-01-07
THE PARsEE LETTERS.

No. "a.
10 Horace Greeley:
SAHIB: In one of my former letters
/ faithfully recorded to you the great
complaint made by the umbrella-man-
ufacturing sahib-the great inconyen-
ience he has in not being able to ex-
port the odd goods which accumulate
on his hands. i did not then know
TO what extent this great evil is really
felt IN your great manufacturing coun-
try but, as i was anxious to buy some
carpets for export, began to realize
the evil.
applied to a great carpet-manufac-
turing sahib for his goods, but found
that although the invention of making
carpets by machinery is purely Ameri-
can, could buy them in London, OF
Grossly, much cheaper than here
When / told the carpet sahib this.
he, Of course, knew it already well
enough.
How is ii, !" said /, 'that your peo-
pie, who supplied the world with your
brains, In this instance, to produce
carpets by steam machinery, still can
not take tho full advantage OF your
own invention BY supplying the world
with the carpetsY'
"Well, said the carpet sahib (who
is one of your greatest admirers, O
Greeley, sahib), 1--WE think that our
own market is sufficient for us. All
we can desire is To shut foreign car
pets out of our own country. Yet,
do what We will, we cannot succeed"
Perhaps" said l, 'syou are not
protected enough?'
"Of coufse, said the carpet sahib,
I'VE do not find it enough, although
we are continually tainted and poster
ed by the press and those enemies to
society, frce-traders, that We have
from - to % per cent. protection; which
il perfectly true. Yet you see. this duIy
| j. clearly TOO little; for. would you believe
il no less than three niilion dollars worth.
Of foreign carpets are regularly imported
annually into the Unite Staie<."
This is very strange" said ]. Even
| If you cannot compete in foreign mar
kets with carpets, how is it You cannot
keep the foreigners away from your own
country with such protection rs you
name -
Well said the carr ct s,hib. '.there
are several reasons. Firstly. we have TO
pay ut least 25 to 81 per cent. duty on
the raw material. which entirely comes
from foreign countries"
But why is that 2" said |. ''if YOU
do not raise that class OF wool here, why
Is il protec;ed!"
"Jmph,' said The sahib. eycing me
rather awkwardly. tour Western WOOL
growers will not understand this, and
they insisted upon duty on oil foreign
wool, which We woollen manufacturers had
10 concsde 10 them, or else they would
not have allowed us our duty on carpets
or woollens, you see, said he.
"YeS," said |, lido see IL, indee9"
Secondly" said be. do what we may,
there are sume sorts of English carpets
preferred by our people, whom no act Of
Congress, somehow. will restrain from us
ing the foreign article. Thirdly. our Ia
Dor is also higher-muchh higher-than the
pauper labor of Europe. But our chief
difficulty is in the accumulation of surplus
-sfock The English manufactures, after
supplying his home trade aud his foreign
custom trade, when he finds he has one
hundred pieces of carpet left on hand
which is in manufacturing unavoidable
he consigns it to our mal kct, and does
not care if he loses 20 per cent on it, as
that pays him in the end better than eli
thcr making less or keeping it on hand.
Ion. as a merchant, will understand that,
il have one hundred pieces Of carpet. in
stock. | can easily sell and supply GUS
toner With seventy pieces, but il have
only seventy peices | cannot sell them
all. People will pick and choose from a
large stock. and not take what We give
them. Now. we find that our trouble is
to compete with this foreign surplus pour
ing into our market while We have no
market to-send our own picked-over sur
plus to. This alone requires. the great
consideration of government, aud it is
against that we should like to haze few
hundred per cent. moro duty, to entirely
prohibit the foreign surplus coming here. ;"
"Were 1t not better" said /, '.if you
would have no duty on wool. less duty on
everything else. aud thereby reduce the
high wages, by giving your working-man
4
the power TO purchase moro commodities
for his wages than he can do now have
cheaper machinery; 20 in for free COM
petition, both here in your own country
and abroad and then give those very En-
glish Roland for an Oliver, by sending
yOur surplus carpets not only 10 England.
but to their foreign possessions and all
over the world p
My friend, said the carpet sahib, ssyou
are dangerous person, and believe you
are free-trader; and, for all know,
you may be an agent of the foreign man-
ufacturers and paid by British geld
Thus excited, he left me very unccrc-
moniously. But leave it TO you, o great
Sahib Greeley--you who have such ange,
lie patience with ell who differ irou you
whether my ideas do not deserve some
consideration, which am sure ycu will
be ready 10 give them.
s. With greatrespect, a, CVRlosIHHoY,
Parsee Merchants Of Apollo street,
Bombay.