The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-09-13

HoWSHALL THE NATION REGAIN
PROSPERITY? ?

tries2 Why is there no opportunity for
the multitude of our laborers, who ask
for nothing else than that they may have
the opportunity to support themselves by
producing, and are now denied that OPP
pOrtunity? One answer is, that the Uni
ted States for now long series of years
has, in its fiscal policy, denied or ignored
the truth Of the above economic, axio-
matte principles, 1t has not, indeed, in
so many distinct wordssaid to the Amer
ican producers and laborers, you shall
not sell your products and your labor to
the people of other countries; but it has
emphatically said to the producers and
laborers Of other countries, we do not
think it desirable that you should sell
your products or your labor in this count
ry; and as far as We can interpose legal
distinctions, we don't intend that you
shall But in shutting others ont, we
have at the same time, and necessarily
shut ourselves in. And herein is trouble
No. !. The house is too small, measured
by the power of producing, for those that
live in it, And remedy No. l is to be
found in Withdrawing the bolts, taking
of the locks, opening the doors, and get
ting out and clear of all restrictions on
producing, and the disposal of pro.
ducts.
In fact, the country is very much in
the condition of merchant who has a
store advantageously situated, and its
shelves filed to repletion with great
variety Of desirable goods The roads
that lead up to the store are in admia.
BILE condition, with good signboards and
sidewalks and lamps to make sure that
no one goes astray. But when custom
ers come to the store, they find that the
proprietor has taken down the steps,
walled up the door, and make it SO troub-
lesome to get in, that they prefer to jour.
ney by longer and worse roads to pur-
chase elsewhere. Even if it is only de.
sired to get into the store, not for the sake
of trading, but of Conversing with the
proprietor on the subject, and showing
samples Of what the outside would like to
give for what the inside would like to
SELL the outsider las in the case of the
flreign contributors 10 the late Philadel-
phia Exhibition finds to his cost that
even this is very troublesome and yex-
atious matter.
One of the most striking illustrations
to be found in all history-one that is
going to stand and be quoted for all time
in treatises on political economy-of the
evil effects of commercial restrictions in
limiting trade and industry, and conse
Quently national development is to be
found in the history of the commercial
relations between the United States and
the British North American provinces.
Thus, in 1928, in the absence of any
thing like commercial freedom, the ag-
gregate exchanges between the two coun.
tries amounted to only S20,69l 900. The
subsequent year a treaty of reciprocity
went into effect whereby the people of
the two countries were enabled to trade
and exchange their products with little
or no obstruction in the form of import
duties. The result was that the aggre
gate of exchanges rose the very first year
Of the operation of the treaty from $40.
69l 900 to $33 $4,000, which subsequent
~ increased, year by year, until it reach
ed the figure of $55 100000 in 1862 63,
and $4,000 600 in 1865 &c. In this latter
year the treaty of reciprocity was repeal
ed, and restrictive duties again became
operative. The result was that the an.
nuaI aggregate of exchanges Immediately
fell to $jS,U00O00 and in 1875, nine full
years after the expiration of the treaty,
when both nations had largely increased
in wealth and population, the decrease
of trade consequent on the abrogatiOn of
the treaty had been but little more than
made good; the probable aggregate for
1885 having been about $50 100000,
Again, the quantity Of freight mean
ing thereby commodities, transported on
the railroads of the United States, is at
present at the rate of two hundred mil.
lions Of tons per annum (for the year
1876, period of great industrial and
commercial depression, 1877, ,082,000 tons),
If we assume each ton 80 moved to be
worth on an average but $50 Ia low esti
mate), then the value of exchanges at
present annually effected in the United
States, through the agency of railroads
alone, excluding all other means of trade
boats, ships, wagons aud the like
from consideration, is in round numbers,
ten thousand million dollars; or, TO state
it differently, if the present population
of the United States is forty-tour millions,
then every 100000 of its people now
exchange annually commodities among
themselves, through the agency of rail-
roads alone, to the value of thousand |
millions of dollars, 1t is true that much |
Of this freight is transported back and
forth under different conditions and
forms over the same routes, and does not
all represent direct movement between
the producers and consumers; but it is
safe to assume that not one ton is trans
ported a mile except for the real or sup
posed advantage of somebody, represent
ing producer, exchanger or consumer;
and that producer, exChanger and consul
mer jointly and severally know what
they are about, and wherein is their in
terest, better than any law makers can
tell them.
On the North American continent,
north of the United States, there are at
present about four millions of people
(3,276,3l9 in 1871 inhabiting the British
Provinces The line which separates
these Provinces from the United States
is purely artificial and not natural; and
except where lake or river has been ac-
cepted and named as the boundary, no
one can readily tell where one country
begins or the other ends. 1t stands,
therefore, to reason, that were it not for
artificial barriers, arbitrarily set up by
legislation, men and commodities would
pass as freely between the two countries
as they now do between different Sec
tions of the Provinces, or between the
different States of the American Union,
and that the methods and amount of
trade over the whole territory under the
two governments would be uniformly
subject to the same influences. But the
United States, with view Of promoting
national industry and effecting national
development, has been mainly instru.
mental in establishing all manner of ar.