Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-11-20
Protection, vs.. British Free Trade.

Protection, VS.. British Free Trade.
In a recent number of the Philadel-
phia North American, Mr.. Cary en-
tiers into an extended summary, and
comparison of the time decades, 1850
60, and 1S60-70, the former of which
he ~characteriZes as zone of quiet sub
mission to the British system" and
the latter as one of Protection. Hav-
ing given abundant figures to warrant
his conclusions, he writes as follows:
LAS here is shown the only import
ant advance made in the first of these
decades, that of submission, wa in
the foreign trade, and in railroad con-
struction for carrying raw produce to
the ports and finished commodities
back to the farmer and planter. I'm
profitable TO the country at large, this
latter proved to the capitalist more
disastrous, ruin having been the re-
suit of the maiCr part of the work thus
performed. OF manufacturers, allow
ance having been made for the census
errors of 1850, the growth had been
but little in excess of that in pOpula-
ton. In regard to all other of the
figures We have the great fact that in
20 case, sugar and wool excepted had
consumption kept pace with the
growth of numbers. Nevertheless, to
this decade it was that the country
had stood indebted for the marvellous
increase of the gold supply by which
the world at large had been so greatly
stirred.
"What, under these circumstances,
was the condition of the wOrkingman,
may be inferred from the fact that,
despite the gold attractions of the
Pacific States, immigration had fallen
in 1860 to less than half the figures of
1850.
Turning now to the remarkable
decade which so recently has closed
distinguished on one hand as it has
be- u by terrific waste of property and
life, and on the other by n persever-
ance in the policy Of Protection such
as the country before had never
knOwn-we find that while popula-
ton has less than One-fourth increas-
ed, the customs revenue has almost
quadrupled; the growth of manufac-
lures having meantime been greatly
more th9n had been their total amount
at the opening of the war. So, too, as
the reader sees, it has been with re-
gard to the consumption of nearly all
the commodities that have been here
referred TO. More than all Temarka-
bic, however, are the facts that 20
great has been the demand for human
service, and so abundant its reward, |
that immigration has already almost
thrice increased, and that it promises
now to grow with more rapidity than
it has done at any period we have
ever known.
1.-The difference between the two
periods consists in this: that in the
first producers and consumers were
daily becoming more widely separa-
ted, with constant dimilution in the
rapidity Of circulation and in the
SECRETARY force; whereas, in the other
they have been coming daily more
and more e together with constant
increase in the economy of human
effort, and as constant growth in the
rapidity of the circulation and in the
manifestation of societaTy force
Throughout the one. self respect so
rapidly decreased that slavery was
allowed daily TO grow in power
Throughout the other, ~self-respect has
grown with steady growth as the
equal rights of all have been more and
more acknowledged"