The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-11-16
The Industrial Crisis,
From tho New York World I

| From tho New York World
The country suddenly awakens to thl
disaggreeable fact that the revenue Of ISL
"a and the expenditure already rated ara o =.
likely to balance. Next we find that nv
only reduction in the price of labor ia msSsS
and cheerfully submitted to, but that ~
tual and general want Of employment
now imminent, 1t seems to be but ~
true that while q miserable financial sr.
tenn has made the price of necessar;ss
higher in the United States than In -
In whose behalf and for whose "protections
this vicious system was framed, ara ~.
richer by as much as the macs Of peonss
are poorer.
The fact is, they overdid it. Msnns..
turers who thought they could live secursir
so long as the tariff stood put their r.:
mense earnings, squeezed outof the peopleI |.
factory now feels as much the injury III
the tariff as did the people who were an
liged to consume the goods made in Chad
factory.
The bricks, the cement, the glass. thsl
putty the states, the wood, iron, paint
varnish, above all machinery, cost in sy.|
erage, on account of the tariff and inas.
came dear money, dear material, and des,j
wages. All this went on as long as tbs|
financial balloon hoated. When it W.
pricked and collapsed oil that it foatsd|
went with it.
The fact is, the American industrial sy,.
ten during the last twelve years has been
the production of dear goods for the Am.
erican inflated dear market. A financial
trouble reduces trade and the American
manufacturer has no outlet for goods ex.
cept at home. He now has the home trade
with q vengeance.
An example of this is the carpet trade
This industry employees some Is, 600 hands
and produces some $27, ZOO, 900 goods
Most of these hands are entirely out Of
work a limited number are employed ct
half time and reduced wages.
The protection of the homemade carpet
averages 20 to rs per cent, and of eourss
the American carpet never sought for.
eign market. In fact the exports of Am.
erican carpet was in 1872 $40 yards, valued
at 81 ,342. Now in this lies much of the
present pinching for employment. Had
the carpet trade, producing $27, 900 900
carpets, only had an outlet Of S4,0OO,00O
sumption could have been tided over
without shutting Of the mills.
Another example is the flannel trade, in
which there is much distress. We don't
import any flannel. The duty averages
ITO per cent on cheap fanneis. On Che
other hand, although we produced Sc, $685.
258 yards In 1870, and perhaps 20, 0O0, 900
yards now. we don't export q thousand
yards. The manufacturer wanted the
home market, and the manufacturer has
got it. But that is all he has got. No
outlet, no clearing Of stock in foreign mar
kets, is open to him. In other words, the
manufacturer has for twelve years been
putting all his eggs into one basket, and
the basket 10 smashed. But there are
signs of new times. 1t is quite o commoa
saying among manufacturers that, nov
since labor is coming Dc Nn, raw material
must be made free, and the American ar.
tisan must grid on his armor and fight the
foreign competitors, not only in the home
market, but in foreign countries; and
there are already very sauguine expecta-
tions of victorious fields in India, China,
and South America. Indeed, the crisis
promises to open q new era. Manufacturer
are willing to abandon the blind belief on
the twelve years. worshipped idol of Pro-
lection.
Dear as the lesson of the present crisil
for the time being is, it will be blessing
if it proves the means of opening that fires
trade and competition in foreign lands tina
40, O00, 900 of the most enlightened people
in the world are entitled to. And what I
commentary such a result 80 obtained viii
be upon the wisdom of our legislators ant
the unenlightened selfshuess of the elias
in whose exclusive interest our tariff hai
been framed.