The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-10-29

way to be SO, in an article which has become
one of common wear and universal use. We
have kept our duty on silk and succeeded; En-
gland took off hers on silk and failed. The
writer above quoted says: Twenty years ago
our supply OF dress goods, ribbons, silk, laces
shawls, etc., came mainly from England and
France. To-day beyond a few fancy and mixed
goods, we buy no silks frsm Great Britain.
The failure of the silk manufacture In Great
Britain was due to the abrogation Of the duties
on manufactured silk. A similar repeal OF the
duties here no doubt would result in similar
disaster. The duty on manufactured silb 10
ab tut sixty per cent, about the Same - the
duty on sugar; yet as q result Of homo compe-
tition silk goods were never lower In our mar.
ket than they are to-day, and the conclusive
proof that this tariff is not prohibitory 10 seen
in the fact that in the lists of the value OF i'm
ported articles silks stand third, being second
only to sugar and WOOL"
Now here are three results for the free trad
ers to explain to the laborers whom they are
trying to hoodwink. A valuable industry
built up, good wages paid, and the manufso-
tured article actually cheaper than it would bs
except Tor this competing nomo industry.
The workingmen are told that although
their wages may 90 mp under q protective tar
III, the prices OF all the goods will also advance
so that they will gain nothing. This is not by
any means the rule, and it is disproved by
many examples Silk has undoubtedly been
cheapaned by home competitions; thousands Of
people can afford to buy this durable and very
agreeable dress material who could never have
bought it otherwise. And besides, the quality
is improved; the American silk Is honestly
made; it is better for wear than the foreign,
for It IS not loaded" and adulterated, as al
most all the foreign silk L. So superior are
some sorts OF our silk that the labels aud trade
marks of our manufactures are counterfeited
abroad; the Cheneys of South Manchester have
been Obliged to issue circulars warning the
trade against foreign counterfeiters.
1t is a perfectly natural thing for prices to
go up ON many articles when duties are iow-
cred. We had an illustration of this not long
ago with regard to steel rails; prices advanced
with lowered duty. The reason II obvious:
II our m .nufactures are crashed out the for
eign made article has q monopoly. Silk In not
the only article in which home competition
made possible by . protective tariff lowers
the price to consumers
We are just now flooded with English argu-
ments, English pamphlets, English advice In
'arious ways against our protective policy. II
this simply benevolent interest in our pros
perity? We think not. The fact is We are too
prosperous, We are too independent, We are
getting on SO well that we compete 10y reason
of our better quality Of goods) in many English
markets. English philanthropists would like
us to be dependent on her for all our manu-.
factured goods in woods, cotton and iron. She
would like, for her own profit, TO see us In the
helpless condition we were before the revolu.
ton and just after. We prefer to be indepen-
dent
England pursues the same selfish policy, or
attempts it with all ner dependencies. Irish.
men know very well how she treats Ireland
with regard to industries. Aud one of the
anomalies in the United States is to see Irish.
born citizens voting here for tariff policy dis
couraging the DEVELOPMENT OF homo industries,
such as England imposes to prevent the devel-
opment of manufacturing industries in Ireland.
The policy towards Ireland is exactly what IL
was towards the American colonies, over Q
century ago, when Franklin pointed out its In
Justice.