Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1871-08-03
"Protcction" ILLUSTRATED.

The Davenport Gazette is in costa
sv. The editor OF the Advance, OF
Chicago, has been down to Bath, i'll
Maine, and writes back TO his paper
as follows:
"The place suffered much during the war
by the ravages of the Alabama on our COM
merce; and, in case Great Britain had been
involved in conflict with any other nation,
Bath would have sent forth q host of priva-
teers to avenge its wrongs. The recent
treaty happily obyiates such methods Of
redress But high tariff is almost rs
bad as the Alabama itself, for il prevents
what the other destroyed. The enormous
duties levied upon iron and other articles
which enter ship building, operatcso rend-
er the process so costly as to throw the
business into English hands, and to keep
our commerce in English bull, and English
owned yesselsl And this is called pro-
tecting American industry!' 1t is absut
time for the protection bubblc to BUST
The fact Of the decline OF ship
building is sufficient to condcm pro
lection with these editors. Their
narrow view can take IN but one in
terest at time 1t ship building
was our chief or only industry there
would oc reason in their view of the
matter. Why has ship bailding de-
clined IN Maine? 1t is simply from
the change from wooden to iron
ships. In the building of the old
fashioned wooden ships Maine can
beat any English ship yard in the
world. Her superiority in timber
and workmanship ove'balanee any
advantages the English may have.
But when we come to iron ships,
which do the bulk OF the commerce
of the present time, the case is differ
ent. Iron depends, as nothing else
does, for its cost upon the cost OF
labor, as it consists almost entirely
of concentrated labor; and while the
Englsh iron master can procure his
labor for half what the American can
Of course he obtains the cheapest
iron, and can build IRON ships the
cheapest. The demand of the GA
zette and Advance is that we abolish
all protective duties on iron, aud al
low our ship builders to buy the
cheaper English iron wherewlth to
compete with the English III build.
ing iron ships. In that case what be-
comes of our iron manufacture :
LET them go to the dogs" they
would say, as it surely would. Eng
land would furnish us her cheap
labor iron for all other purposes as
well as ship building, because on,
iron masters could not compete with
her while paying our prices for labor.
The same policy of course should be
applied, tor the same reason, to all
other branches of manufacture, and
where er the cheap labor OF the tor
elgner enables him to under sell our
manufacturers, he takes our market,
and they close up, and turn their
labor adritt to seek other occupation.
The real demand of these men is that
American labor shall have no protec-
ton over the labor of Europe, only
free competition with it, which OF
course will bring it to the same level.
While ship building has declined for
the reason stated, the manufacture
OF iron has increased to vastly
grear extent, and overbaiances the
other interest four told, but all that
goes for naught with them. They
are angry with any prosperity that
comes from protection Iowa City
Republican.