Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-08-03

farm protucr-out oil the profits of American
! capital. On a farm il there is 81 $40 nj produce
sold, and 81 ,0H bought. there Is II debt OF S2s
and trouble in store. If there is Sl.s1D Sold and
| ST ,taI bought. there Is $500 over and JOY all
around. In d nation. ii there Is sl.sO, on. or
sold. ami -. 900, t-n. 400 bought. there - n deb,
ut Saun. 90. GO = yeaI and q panic coming. II
there Is All export of 81 .ST. 900. 900 and an i'm
port OF 81 go .UN. go there is Il teeminS prosper
ity that gladdeus the hearts of all. and makes Us
the most prosperous nation on the globe--lSe-
,ialia Times
The democratic party opposes and the
republican party approves high protec-
can paper. takes an isolated paragraph
from an article in the lntelligencer.
on the tariff and proceeds to criticise it,
We think it fairer to lay before our
| readers ourtriend's article entire. We say
nothing above about proving THAT our
workers do not need protectlon;' what
| We do assert is. that when American iron
compete- with English iron in Birming,
ham and American cotton goods compete
| Will lit I-bSlISI Ia ~
chester. the goods are sold cheaper than
they are to American consumers-hoW
| much cheaper We have no means OF as.
certaining exactly, but cheaper. Until
the sewing machine monopoly WAS bro
ken up by the rstusa! of congress to ex.
tend the patents under which they were
- -. l,1 ., s. ,,i1t,r illustration nj
what protection effected. Machines
which sold in this country at 500 were
shipped to Europe. and sold At $45
Here was an article sold at retail, the
price known of all men. In each case
the iron. the cotton goods and the sew
ing machinc-the ~orkmen who pro-
'!uced the goods did the labor at 4 price
which would afford n profit at the low
rates for which they were sold in Eng
land. and the manufacturer pocketed a
fair profit on his English sales. and an
exorbitant profit on his American
| sales. which came ont of the hard earn
ings of the coDsumers-the producing
classes of the country.
Our esteemed contemporary uses an
unfortunate Illustration when it speaks
of securing 10 n paper of a county all
the printing of that county. for it surely
would not follow the line OF argument to
its logical conclusion. and ask for a law
to protect itself in that way; and if ii
did. it would render itself ridiculous,
When our manufacturers are protec-
ted" &c. We hold that the protection
of one class OF citizens. at the expense
of another. is a pernicious practice. II
the eastern manufacturer car buy our
bushcl of wheat at a price regulated by
the European market. we do not see
why. when we go to farming. we should
he required to pay him a tax OF 50 pei
cent on our iron; % per cent. on o
chains; - per cent. on u rasps ant
files; ~ per cent. on u cross cut-saws
&c &c, beside the enhanced prices OF
our own and our wiie's clothes; and, i
we are taken sick. upon the medicine
which are to win us back to health ant
strength. 1t is a system which has lev
led a bounty on the 1898, SOP persons
engaged in other occupations, for thu
benefit of a part of the 2.707. 42l persons
engaged in manufactures. When Mr.
Clay asked for protection for certain
manufactures. he thought that the.
would. in two or three, or at most il
tour or five years, be enabled to stant
alone; and we think he was right. ant
that after a few years OF protection the,
should have been. and really were. abb
~"infant MISUNDERSTANDING after lon
l~ives-still asking for aims at the hand
oi people who have been compelled I
stand alone from the beginnmg-rich
and still mendicants. begging a gratuit
from persons already impoverished b
their rapacity. The censu returns sho,
us that the market value of manufactul
ell products, above the material amount
ed. in 1870. TO SS42 per man employed
while the value of products OF agricu,
ture. which had double the amount {
capital invested. was only S4l3 per mar
This is a crying injustice; is the resu
of n protective policy. and has anriche
one section of the country while it ha
gone far toward grinding the life out
S the others. The total value of manufa,
: tured products, in the United States.
: 1870. was 81. 232. 1925. 442 the averag
rate of duty on imports. 1888 per cen
We are entirely within estimates mad
Z by some of our ablest statesmen an
: deepest thinkers upon this subject whe
G we say that the of the cOuntr
were forced to pay 20 per cent. upo
q one-half of the amount OF manu- acture
, as the enhanced price of the produc
r caused by protection. the bulk of whic
went into the pockets of the manufact,
rers without beneiiting the operative
This gives us the vast sum of 1923, 232
544. which was, last year. paid as
bounty to the manufacturers by II
farmers. tradesmen. laborers. artisan
and professional men OF the country
, tax exceeding. by 1904 co.. 1877, the e
tire internal evenue of the governmel
for the same time.
Our friend claims that protection l
, duces investment. creates competitit
= and lowers prices. What are the fact
10 Protection gives n feverish impulse
~ the direction of certain manufacture
% induces Investment, creates undue col
petition and temporarily lowers pric
~ below a profitable rate; a crash come
and all the little fish are swallowed
Is by the big ones. who Immediately pI
,e coed to put up prices higher than tn
te were before the system was inaug
10 rated.
c. He also thinks that if we do not
r, cheap goods by protection. the foreign
in will force us to pay high prices. III