The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-12-08
THE TARIFF.

t;o, Of the American System oil protection
90 Free Labor" a. he now invites Us TO en- I
gage in. We were, in random way, ex-
aiming book, written by the head of an IN |
auential newspaper in the west, in favor oil
fr,e trade. Mr. Cree accepts Of discussion
IN which we have not invited anybody WHO'S
not prepared to defend Mr.. Grosvenor.
Nevertheless we shall do what We may TO
entertain this enthusiastic deyotee of ''pauper
labor" and system ofthings that wilimake
The poor poorer and the rich, richer, the great
and powerful more great and powerful, and
tie weak and helpless, more weak and help
les. And when we make this
statemen, (which may he regarded almost
as presentment) We do not in the iirst IN
stance do 80 to attract the car Of the multitude,
nut because we expect TO prove II substan-
tally.
Mr.. Cree states our position upon the
protective system fairly, 80 FAR as we iouEd
ii necessary to express it in the examination
of book written in opposition to our best
Judgment al the right involved in the dis
cIssion.
Let us saw, in the very outset oil tins ar
ticle. that We have learned to regard, with
careful interest, what this champion OF Free
Trade saws or writes. So we were greatly
surprised when we read the following para
praph in his communication, the first that
contains suggestion Of any argument We
quote:
ssTbe writer seems 10 assume that her Ca
pacity (meaning Great Britain TO manuiac-
lure and undersell Us, is destructive to our
Interests, a proposition which cannot lie
main,aiued. unless If he shown that we are by
nature and circumstances, Manufacturing
people. and bound to invest our money and
labor in manufacturing industries, else let
them lie idle, and above all, that there are
no manufacturing industries oil Importance IN
which we are free from all competition. As
neither The above facts can lie shown, there
is no ground for the direiul predictions as 10
the results OF free trade, set forth IN the last
extract"
That, he sure, is summary way 10
dispose of a vital statement IN this contro-
versv. We have no idea that the author oil
the above would for moment contend that
he had said anything ineligible in this
rigmarole There is already betrayal OF,
either lack OF power TO grasp the whole
subject, or else an unhealthy tendency TO IN
dulge in sophistry. We do not seem 10
assume" anything. We specifically state
tina, free trade brings inevitably the ire'
labor of this country, Of all kinds, into dircc
competition with the cheap labor of the Old
World. There is no fact to modify this
truth but that of the interposition "i space
dis,ance-ra raising theoretically, though, :i'
we shall be able TO show, not practically, the
product of the cheap labor of Europe Just 81
much above the level Of direct COM
petition as il costs to convey the same
over this space.
The labor iatefesd all over the civilized
world. Is divided into two branches. The
one composed Of the producers Of the food
for the rAole, and the raw material for the
Uses of the other great branch OF work-reo-
ple: the other, composed of the non-produc-
crs-engaged in manufacturing, IN mining,
in the varied mechanical pursuits and al
other kinds Of employment not connected
with the cultivation of the soil or It's US
otherwise. Both domestic and international
trade or exchange, is mainly founded upon
this primal division of the industries oil In
,ro,E-tolEs Of the earth. The only tact vary
ing this As an automatic statement, is tina
which is founded upon the traffic IN exotic
such products and articles as are necessar..
io the comfort or luxury of civilized people
FRS, then. if these two branches of the tdbo
interest are separated by the Atlantic Ocean
the non-produccrs, as we have defined them
On one side, and the producers ON the other
the ,,bs,acIeof distance" will he all the Will
against the ''producers' Of the raw material
l,.c,use If costs more TO carry a bushel of whea
1900 miles to pay for yard of cloth tina
il does to carry the yard of cloth thou
sand miles TO its consumer. Then 1t Is Piai
,oa mind capable OF thinking through
clear sentence, that the closer these tw
great branches of industry are brought iC
gether. the better for the Worker cf the so
and the mine.
Now. we have read with the closest atter
ton the communication under revie'
and we think about it precisely as we d
about the book published by Grcsveno'
tina, we shall be able to fully answer it an
entertain its author by an examination {
this first crude counter statement, which
meant to I've logical
The writer admits the statement OF fact
that Great Britain Gun manufacture an
underseil u.s." on basis of Me- trade. III
he saws we cannot prove that such an ordc
of things-that is to say, the BIRTHS
manufacturers under a system of FIRE
trade holding possession OF on
markets-by ,nderSeiiiny our home MANI
facurers-''is destructive TO our Interests.
We take il, he has not been 80 inexplic
with purpose. We are sure he means on
labor Interests. our business interests. The
IL the British manufacturers under syster
Of Free Trade, can updersell our iron man
ufacturers, the labor employed in our man
ufaauries mus, be put dorm to enable tn
owners to compete with the British manu-
facturers. That order goes from these manu-
factuners TO those immense enterprises en-
rared in mining the metal and coal, and i
preparing the rough material for manufactul
eruse. The same command must be issue
hv the COTTON wooden and other manufactul
crs- whose goods. made b. free, well pai
labor. cannot 60 into our markets and con
pete with the British maker, who pays Ju
enough to the working people to keep sol
and body together This order also run
hack to the producer of the raw ma'eria
These vast interests must protect themselv'
IL at all by a reduction of the cost OF iaho
70 something Close tothat charged the BIRTHS
and European manufacturers. They mu'
also be prepared to invest their capital at
,yott Of three TO -four per cent. Is it possibl
tina, any man capable of approaching tn
simplest syIogism, cannot apprehend the losl
cal relations of all kinds Of labor? You n
duce the price of labor in all the lndus'rie
We have named, as connected directly wit
the manufacturing and mechanical enterpris
in this country, and you have reduced tn
ability Of the laborers to pay high prices 70
the food they must consume. Then the dis
count goes inevitably back upon the pro
ducer.
Then, the other order of consequences