Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-03
rENNEssEE AND THE TARIFF.

Protected iron-mongers and salt
miners paynot one cent more for labor,
either skilled or unskilled, than their
unprotected neighbors in any other yo-
cation using the same grade of skill.
Thus labor is never protected by a tar
iff. On the contrary, the abnormal
profits secured to capital gives it ex-
traordinary advantages over labor,
which greedy monopolists are only toe
ready to use. Practically, protection
increases the power of money, and de-
creases that of muscle and brain, re.
ducing operatives to the "human cat
tle'' of Zadok Jones. Witness
the herding of sixty women and
children in an attic without
windows and with but one door, in the
Fall River mill recently burned, and
which is but a sample of a thou
sand others.
Yet. by some strange fatality, the
laboring masses of New England and
Pennsylvania go on from year to year
supporting by their votes the protec-
ton that gives money increased power
to crush them. The tariff complexities
and intensifes the normal struggle be-
tween capital and labor. The extra
profits of protection are secured indie
pendent of the operative, and indie
pendent of the law of supply and de-
mand, which should regulate the labor
market. Wages are kept down by the
great majority engaged in unprotected
pursuits, such as farming, and the mo-
nopolistgets the beneftof the lowwages.
The latter can afford to give higher
rates whenever labor becomes scarce,
thus in turn Gripping the farmer.
Abolish protection, and the three in
terests of money, labor and land viii
have an opportunity to adjust their
mutual interests according to the laws
of political economy. Protection
places all at disadvantage in the
struggle, except the favored few.
Anticipating that, by the time he
reaches Chattanooga, Zadok Jones
we mean Horace Maynard-will begin
to harp on the beauties of the tariff,
we invite his attention to some facts
embodied in our East Tennessee letter
elsewhere, concerning the cost of
making iron in this State. We will not
repeat the figures here, as we wish
every one to read the letter itself.
These figures demonstrate two notable
facts:
First, that Tennessee's iron interests
do not need protection. The cost of
production is so low, even on the pre-
sent limited scale of operations, that
we can compete direct with European
manufacturers. We have the ore so
cheap and plenty that, if worked up, it
would keep the foreign article out of
the markets tributary to US, as efectu-
ally as any tariff deviceor Chinese-wall
policy ever invented.
Secondly, the existing tariff actually
1etards the development Of Tennessee
ores, and as a consequence all conate-
raj industrial progress. Remove pro-
lection, and hundreds of millions of
Pennsylvania capital would be com
PEELED per force to seek the cheaper
fields in this State, where iron, coal and
fuxing material are found in close
proximity, showing that nature design
ed this for the great Vulcan FORCES of
North America.
Our correspondent is an old and ex-
perienced observer, thoroughly fami-
liar with the subject, and we do not
feel called upon to question his state
ment that, without aatariff, iron can
not be produced proftably north of the
Ohio. We are not looking after the in
terests of Pennsylvania, but of Ten
nessee. If capital and skilled labor
can not wook at a profit in the former
State, they had better emigrate to some
locality more favored. Let them come
to Tennessee, say we. We want
them, and nature calls to them
aloud. Protection is an enormity.
Whatever God put in the ground for
mans benefit, whether it be ore to make
iron, or plant food to make bread and
meat, he designed for mans free use
without any other cost than the labor
expended. Tennessee takes the prece-
dence for cheap iron, and when the
tariff is abolished, the present enor-
nous rates reduced to something like
reason, capital and labor Will flow In
freely, developing our resources, and
blessing this and neighboring States.
Heaven speed the day.