The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-05-22
Official Press of King County.
Wednesday, May 90, 1878.
PROS AND CONS OF PRO.
lection.

torisl citizenship 70 nave the privilege
of "the fence" on most political ques-
tions Of the day. For instance, if
protective tariff and money expansion
creates a great deal of fictitious value
in the centr es Of population, and makes
the semblance of piping times OF
prosperity the refuent wave rolls all the
way across and gives US a sympathetic
participation in the fortuitous felicity.
Our products all are in good demand
and bring good prices, and our labor is
paid high wages II, on the other
hand, tnero is revulsion toward free
trade aud falling market for property
and labor; or in other words, an sppre-
citation of realized wealth in the shape
of money, and tendency to wiring the
water out of conventional values, the
squeezing process infallibly throws the
surplus labor westward. and calls our
latent resources of vacant lands and un.
used material into service to supply the
increased demand for means of subsist-
ence created. Taking either horn Of the
dilemma the result enures in either case
10 the gain Of the new Territory; and
let national politics wag as they will,
the citizens of the rising frontier State
who watch the main chance and attend
strictly to their legitimate business,
have right to be in all weathers as
happy as clans at high water.
AS a suggestive contrast, and show.
ing the results of the ultra protective
policy carried out to the severe extreme
as in 'merrie old England we cite the
following extract from the London
Times. relative to the effects of depres-
sion of the British coal market;
The paralysis of this chief industry
OF South Wales has already produced
wide spread disasters, exceeding in in-
tensity and rivaling in extent the
misery among the GOLFERS and iron
workers after the strike of 1875. At
Cardiff the work-house is thronged, the
boardr and offices have been con-
verted into dormitories; supplemental
stone-yard has been opened for the en-
ployment of married men. and the
applications for admission are increas-
ing at the rate of fifty week. Poverty
in its most degrading forms prevails
among population which not long ago
was well paid and comfortable. The
other day family of seyen persons
were found to have subsisted for DAYS
on pailful of brewers grain intend
ed for feeding pigs. others have fed on
potato Feelings. Men have gone to
work from day to day on dinner of
raw cabbage leaves.
On the contrary, the dangers of
throwing down the doors to the pro-
miscuous influx Of foreign productions
without 3 due regard to protection of
home labor is thus clearly pointed out
in late speech Of Hon. Henry Neal,
on the Tariff. He said:
The healthiest and most desirable
conditions of business is when the
workingman is receiving q fair price
for his labor and the capitalist such re-
turns on his Investment as will en-
courage him TO continue his business
and extend the same as the demand
may justify.
On the other hand, if the merchant
purchases OF the importer, the money
goes abroad, foreign labor is employed,
our own workingmen remain idle, the
country is stripped of Its wealth, the
people become impoverished, they have
nothing to buy With, trade becomes
stagnsnt. business paralyzed, and the
era of hard times and low prices 10 in.
augufated, from which we only emerge
by self-denial. suffering and distress
such as We are now experiencing. Let
me illustrates: If we were to take ell
the representatives of wealth - the
greenbacks, bank notes. bonds and
mortgages-of the country. and make
= huge bonfire Of them, we would not
diminish the real wealth of the coun.
try. because We would destroy nothing
which possessed any intrinsic value.
We would make the Government. the
banks. and the obligors Of the bonds
and mortgages richer, and the owners
OF the same poorer TO the extent of the
value of these representatives of
wealth; but il We destroy property
that is produced by labor, aud is there
fore wealth itself, we make the country
poorer To the extent of the intrinsic
value OF the property destroyed. Pur.
chasing the productions Of foreign la
Dor Is almost the equivalent in its evil
effects to the destruction of property
itself.
Now. of the five hundred aud eighty
six millions of foreign merchandise we
have consumed the past year, if We had
employed American workinpmen 10
have produced say one-half, or three
hundred millions, what would have
been the result! We would have i'm.
ported coin or Government bonds for
the excess OF exports over imports. and
would have paid that sum as wages Ia
American laborers, skilled and unskilled
and so have given employment to about
one million workingmen who have
been idle because no man would EN-.
pioy them. The cry for bread would
not have been heard, and want and
wretchedness, like blight and mildew,
would not, as they do now. cover the
land
In this country the only principle OF
political economy that the great mas.
of our people seem 10 be at all familiar