National Republican., 1880-10-07
pHorECrIoN TO INDUSTRY.

Professor Bowen, in his great work on |
political economy, makes the startling state !
ment that the labor of one skilled artisan is |
equal to the labor of three workers on n
farm in the amount of relative contribution !
to what are termed the necessities of civil |
lied life, and that the relative value there
fore of the labor of four millions of farm
hands when three millions Of them might
be artisans stands in proportion to what
might be as four is to ten. That is to say,
an exclusively farming community loses
six-tenths of its productive power
The bare statement Of such fact is
enough to show the utter folly of COM
munity in trying to live on agricultural in
Gusiry alone; but an illustration will more
vividly impress the mind with the reason
or philosophy of the matter. Farm labor
is mostly rude. 1t does not require any
learning or thought to weed and pull tur
nips, hoe corn, shovel manure, pitch hay,
milk cows, and so on. Physical strength
is the principal requirement, and the dolt,
the numbskull, the half-witted pumpkin,
can earn about as much, if healthy, as a
man with the mind of NEWTON, or WEBSTER,
or FULTON, or MORSE. If, then, men like
those named should he put to raising tur-
nips and milking cows all their days they
might just as we'll have been born simple,
for they would be put on par with men
ofslender faculties by virtue of their occu-
patton. In doing this there must be n dead
loss to the community of all the difference
in productive power between brains and
no brains; and as a purely farming COM
munity would necessarily doom all its
members 10 farm labor, it would always
remain poor and unprogressye by virtue of
its sacrifice of productive force in the mind
or intellect of its brightest men.
The community rises, therefore, both in
telectually and in the comforts of life
through the development of its mechanical
powers. The farmer cannot construct an
improved fork, or rake, or plow. II he had
the idea of Que in his brain he could not
make one for want Of mechanical training
and want of proper tools, and hence all inn
provements in farm imple ments have come
from mechanics and not from farmers; and
so farming communities have been able to
move forward and upward only by devel-
opng mechanical trades.
At this point the New Y orl, free-tradel
comes along and says: Buy in the cheap
market and sell in the dear Market What
he means by this is that it is more prOfita-
Bile TO raise and sell cotton and wheat and
buy foreign goods than it is to try and
make goods in this country; that the COM
munity will get rich faster in that way.
The tariff man denies this, for the reason
given by Professor Bowen: that in striving
to live by farming because we can buy
things cheaply abroad we are compelled tC
sacrifice so large q percentage of our pro
duutive force and put our best talent tC
base uses. The ree-trader asks, Why man
uflcture articles when by raising corn anC
exchanging FOR articles you can got them a
IN expense of less labor than it would tax,
10 make them? The trouble with tina
question is in the assumption that you vii
get your articles with less labor in tina
way. A dull minded, incompetent anc
bungling person will do better 10 raise corr
and buy his hoe. A pretty good farme
will do better in that way; but when i
comes to q whole community the assump
tion Is glaring uniruth, for the reason al
ready given that tho best brains and pro
ductive force in the community are reduced
to the lowest and most Improbable use.
Another consideration comes in liere Il
upset the free-trade assumption, and i
is; that were it true at the start it coul,
Ill A.
working force Of the community got en-
gagged in farming more produce would b
raised than there is now and the pric
would fall 80 much that tho condition
would be wholly changed. 1t would TAX
so much more corn to buy what the flrme
needs that his goods would cost more in
stead of less, and then tho assumption
would become false.
1t is evident, therefore, that if Profcsso
BOWEN'5 statements only halftru it mus
be great loss to a community as Who'll
10 devote itself to agriculture exclusively
and it is moro than half true This make
il for the general interest that the mcchau
zeal faculty of men SHOULD be developed an
employed, and to this end the tariff is n
essential agency.
The democratic papers argue that prote,
ton docs not protect If this is so why d
tho British manufacturers complain Of il
Why do they subsidzo the New York Wort
and other papers to argue for its rC
neal Certainly the tarit heads off forcig
competition, and that is protection 10 honl
IN ,chanics and labor. II gives American
work that otherwise they would not have
that is protection.
Mr.. Carson, manager Of large iron work
in England, says; 81 find your rate
wages just double what we have to pay'
Those mechanics who earn two dollars pc