The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-04-10
PROTECTION.
Fs,iacies of a Tariff for Protection.

Fallacies of n Tariff for Protection.
Nashville North Americana
The American Manufacturer makes a state
ment of the strongest argument 1t is possb bic
to make for protection. First, it quotes from
a British paper this paragraph
The retention OF our TRACE Is a matter
of national life and death to us. America need
not sell iron 10 buy food; we must sell iroa
or suffer want. Ii we did nos make iron Tor
our own use and for others we should De I'M
poverished. But no such calamity could occur
10 America.
Commenting on this, the Manufacturer
says:
We must here correct the error of the state
ment in the last sentence. such calamity
could occur TO America if we did not make
iron for our own use. Several millions OF our
population are directly or indirectly dependent
upon our iron trade. IL employs nunuIeds OF
thousands of workmen, and If they were
would suffer want, the army of producers who
make and of traders who distribute 10 these
men all that they consume would lose their
trade, the farmer would lose a large portion OF
his home mar Set, many OF his products would
decline In value till they could not bear tIans-
portation; the number OF farmers, already
eountrv and TO half Europe beside, would be
augmented till there would be no profit in
agriculture-are not these calamitles?
No more pernicious error was ever held by
any community. The absurdity consists in
supposing that every nation should be self
sustaining as 1t is called. 1t is ignoring the
principle of community and CO relation 1t
is altogether ignoring commerce. The rules
which are applicable to individuals apply TO
communities. The first step IN progress and
civilization is division Of labor and exchange
of products. The more progress made the
more the division OF labor is carried on,
until it is found that one man can most
proftably do one thing and exchange with
the rest of the world for what else lie
needs. 1t is this subdivision OF labor ana
interdependence of men by exchange and
commerce which creates society and c.
ments the social union. This same prin-
ciple applied to the world is rapidly making
it one great market where all the products Of
all classes are exchanged to tae comfort and
advantage Of everybody. For nation to
attempt to foster by protection what it can
not naturally produce is simply the folly OF
going to dear market instead OF cheap
one. OF course it gives US a large
laboring class and q home market,
but we have to pay for it. and we keep
it up at the imminent peril of having it drop
on our hands at any time, and start tramp
ing the country, dead weight. We have
endured that evil once. Protection-stimu-
lated manufacturers have broken down, and
our home market is begging for bread.
Commerce is exchange. Suppose We buy
iron from England, where it can be pro-
duced more cheaply. We simply exchange
advantsgeously oar products for hers IF we
the same S4CLAES5 % DI6ductllilS at
home for iron, under protection we are cut
ting of our foreign market for our bread
stuffs, and paying to keep up a home mar
ket. We had the foreign market without
paying for ii. We have cut ii off by refusing
to exchange, and taxed ourselves to keep up
home market, which may break down ct
any time. Why should the agricultural
classes be hampered IN this way? For the
luxury of being seli-susiaining?-jus to have
manufactures? That We do thus restrict our
markets is clear, for other nations will buy
where thew can exchange, and obviously they
can not buy anywhere else. All possible
commerce is merely some method OF
exchange We have, in practice, mar
kets left abroad because we have not
carried protection far enough to destroy
ourselves entirely. thas brought stagnatiOn,
and upon none more disastrOusly than those
who clamOr for more Of il. Nor does the
growth OF manufacturing depend upon pro-
lection. The growth would, as to some
things. be slower, but it would be surer-a
healthy growth, with no over production and
violent fluctuations. An artificial system
which taxes products of the soil to maintain
other occupations, which ignores commerce
altogether, which bases itself on an idea
belonging to the barbarous eras, can produce
only evil.
But it seems that the iron men have little
to complain of, anyway Speaker Randall
is reported TO have said that the new bill
was prepared by them, that the classification
of iron and steel in this new tariff bill was
prescribed by the Manufacturers association
of Philadelphia; that the rate was changed
from ad yalOrem to specific duty to satisfy
them, and that the portion of the bill relat-
ing TO iron and steel is simply the transcript
of printed slips sent here by the Iron and
Steel association.