Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1871-1872, 1871-09-27


cannot afford TO do work which paupers can
do for them.
According to the obcurd allegation Of the |
proteetionist our cotton mills will oil be |
stopped and the operatives reduced to pau |
perism II Bratish cotton goods are admitted
~ very low or revenue rates of duty
vi course, sn injury would be done to the
cotton interest or to any other if the duties
were exceptionally removed but let us st
tempt 70 foretell the effect upon cotton IN
dustry OF the enactment of general rev
enue tariff at low rates. We spin nearly |
two-hfths as much cotton IN the United
States Is is spun in Great Britain Even
now (July, l87l,) when her existing mills
are on full speed, operatives are scarce and |
the tendency is to g rise in wages; suppose |
we shut up our mills under the compulsion |
of free trade tariff, and ssk England to
spin and weave up into cloth another mil !
lion bales of cotton on seven million new
spindles, in the construction of which she
must first spend about one hundred million
dollars, and to operate which she must find |
one hundred and twenty thousand new eper-
alive. What would be her reply2 Should
We not find il at the FIRST moment in such an
advance of English wages to par with our
own as would forever equalize them, aud
then forever after leave us unimpaired our
great advantage over Great Britain in being
the producers within our own borders of 9
superabundant supply of cotton and of
food
The next plea of protection in the United
States is based on the high rate of interest
upon capital, and the alleged very low rates
in Europe. Even admitting q considerable
disparity, il has never existed to the extent
claimed, the rates quoted from Europe be-
ing on business paper Of short date. But
ad hitting that the rates of interest in this
country are high, what does it prove, except
the capital ia well employed? Shall it then
be diverted to employments which require
great concentration of capital, like cotton,
wool, and iron mills, to the detrIment and
cost OF all the other en- ploymehts which
cannot be protected, and which now pay
such high rates for rs use The last plea
OF the protecnouist whirn we shall attempt
to state Isl that this is a new country, poss-
essei of enormous natural resources which
need to be developed. Let us Pot this plea
in different form. The principle, or rather
the want Of principle, in the doctrine of pro-
lection may be stated in the following form
of q true petition
Whereas we, the undersigned, are desrous
OF establishing certain branches Of in luStry
IN the I nited States, for which we have nov
neither the capital nor the skill, We ask that
ogr countrymen shall be compelled TO pur-
chase our products st such prices IS it may
be found necessary for us to impose, while
we are learning our trade and accommodating
wealth at the cost of our said neighbors.
81. g
law shall be exertsd to deprive our said
neighbors of their present supply of iron,
salt, coal. cloth sad other com modities, in
order that they may be forced 10 purchase
of US their necessary supply at such prices
as the limited com petition among ourselves
may enable US 70 impose upon them.
Signed by the so-cAlled Friends Of
American Industry
% the other hand, the principle upon
which the free traders act may be formulat-
ed as follows:
The function OF statute law is to provide
for justice and liberty, and to promote edu-
cation. Its hmit Is so restrain abuses, and
and not to prescribe the uses to which any
man shall apply his time, his labor or his
product, so long as he does no. infringe up
on the rights of his feliOw-meu
at 10 not within the proper function OF
Legislators to attempt to control or direct the
efforts OF any person in his right stiemp pit to
obtain good subsistence"
TSgnsd by "Those who would promote
abundance"
We will not attempt TO Answer the second
demand upon US Is TO what effect we expect
to have upou Americaa industry when We
give TO our principles the force of statute
law. We may state, IN general, that we ex-
pect TO limit our work mainly to the repeal
Of restrictive statutes, and thus, in restoring
freedom to industry, to give It the utmost
possible results. .-.-...
For the present, q tariff for revenue which
shall interfere as little as possible with the
ndustrial pursuits OF the people must be
! Imposed. The construction of such tariff,
to yield at once $l20,O000O0 revenue is
very easy. The form of such "a tariff has
! oeen given many times, but 1t seems TO be
necessary to repeat It again.
! The present necessity Tor custom rev.
enue is only to psy the ordinary expenses Of
| the governmsnt, with a moderate payment
/ OF the principal of the public debt in each
| year. The whole interest upon the public
| debt is now more than pad by the excise
! taxes upon whisky, tobacco, beer, banks,
and stamps The customs revenue il there
fore needed for the same purpose TO which
it wss applied before the war, and for no
| other, unless We choose to include moder-
ate annual payment upon our debt. As the
expenses of the government are now some
| what greater per capita than In 1860, 1t is
perhaps better to make a large estimate, and
to provide for customs revenue of $780,
900 900, which sum, including pensions and
Indians, is on q basis of two dollars expeh-
diture for every one in 1860. This sum can
be very easily raised from duties upon tea,
! coffee, sugar, wines, liquors, and fancy
goods at substantially the rA:es now impos
ed, with duties upon silk fabrics at about
! thirty Eve per cent THE highest rate posi-
| ole to he levied without including smuggling
| and frAud) and with the addition, for the
| present, of rates of dnty npon manufactures
! Of wool, worsted, cotton, linen, china, and
glass, levied as far as possible a. specific
rates, bot equal to twenty per cent. Ad va
| IOrem. All chemicals, drugs, dye-stuffs, to
gether with wool pg-iron. raw steel, hides,
lumber, leather, coal, and other so-called
raw materials being added TO the free list,
We base all our actions ON the following
propositions:
l. No tax can be imposed which does
not cause more or less privation to those
who pay il.
2. Tariff is only another name for tax,
aud tariff causes more or less privAtiou
in the same manner that any other tax
causes pFivation.
Il ,. Ali taxes upon commodities, whether
excise or tariff, are paid by the consumers
of such commodities, in the proportion CT
their consumption.
In the calendar year ending Decem Der
81, 1870, the revenue under the excise and
tariff laws was as follows:
Internal revenue ...-,s ,IUS, ZUT
Customs 1915, 825 1914
Sslss of land 2,oS9. 28s
miscellaneous. Z6,6o3, StA
Iotal.' ,zVS, SJ3
Tho trina frsa-trade lsason from thasa Il n