Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1870-04-01
now IN WORKS.

Free-tradcrs complain terribly about the
hardsbips and high prices caused by pro
tective tariff. This is well illustrated the
steel trade. Before the war all our steel
was imported, and foreigners had control Of
our markets. Protection during the war
built up the manufacture Of steel in the
United States to compete with the foreign
manufacturer The result is that to day,
in spite Of the high price Of labor, we buy
steel with paper money several cents per
mound cheaper than we could before the
war. when wages were low and we bad no
protectiou. The manufacture Of copper
shows similar advantage from protection.
Previous to the passage of the bill inereas-
ing the duty on copper, We had compare
lively 40 manufactures of copper though
we had the richest mines 10 the world
Since then we have he'd manufactures built
up until VIC now compete with the British
manufactures. The result is that copper
is not only much cheaper at home but even
in London it is only about half as high as
before our manufacturers were protected.
Previous to the erection Of cur mauufae-
turies of copper it sold for $3.50 per ton in
London, now it sells for about $500 per ton,
cheaper than ever before. Here We see
that net only our own people, but also the
people Of foreign countries were greatly
benefited by the protection given to Amer
lean manufacturers The same rule holds
good in iron and every other manufacture
for which we possess facilities. Ia iron as
in copper we have the finest ores aud coal
in the world, and few years Of liberal and
iudicious protection viii so build up the
manufacture aud produce competition
among the producers of iron that we win
get it, ike copper, cheaper than ever be-
fore in the world So it is with wooden,
cotton and silk manufactures, In silk nine
years have made an immense change in the
trade. In 1859 we imported $50 600, 600
worth of silks from France; in 1865 after a
few wears of protection, we were abla to
supply our own market to a large extent,
and only imported about $1,000, coo worth,
and kept the other $l4,000,000, that we
would have expended under ree-trade, at
home to pay and support American labor
eTs How people can be duped to believe
that policy that enables us to do our own
manufacturing employ our own people at
good wages and keep our money at home
and ourselves out of debt abroad, is any
thing else than highly beneficial we cannot
comprehend. The argument Of the free
traders that protection Is only for the bene-
fit of manufacturers is simple nonsense, for
every school-boy knows that when any
branch of business is highly profitable, peo-
pie arc induced to engage in it, and that
the competition thus brought about soon
brings prices to a reasonable rate, just as
we have shown above in regard to copper
and steel The argument that it creates
monopoly is also fallacious, for frec-trade
not only itself creates monopoly, but that
monopoly is a foreign one and has no other
aim than to extort from US the highest
prices they can possibly procure, as soon as
they can break down our own manulactu-
rers. On the contrary manufactures built
up in our own country make home mar
kets, gives good wages to labor aud pro-
mote general prosperity, while competition
soon brings prices down to the lowest rates
consistent with prosperity to themselves and
the country.