The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-01-27
The soun,,,rIe, of monouo,t.t..

An ancient dogma of the prohibitory
protectiOIistS has been brushed up and
recalled from the retired list to active
duty. II still realms much OF the mold
amt odor of antiquity, and these evil
dences OF age are its only title to re-
spect. Briefly stated, thl, canon of the
monopolists' sanhedrim is, SO long as
all men have the right to manufacture
there eau be no monopoly Ia mauufac-
lures.
That reads smoothly and sounds
well. 1t might he quite satisfactory
to grammar school, Dut it will not Go
for men. And especially will it not
do for the men OF this generation who
have felt anu are feeling the grievOus
grind of mOnOpOlies.
Let us see how the luminous logic
operates in actual experience. We
take the case of a farmer, who, having
sold his wheat to free trade England
for British gold, desires to lay out a
homo consumption. Protection has
not augmented the price Of his wheat,
and he really ought not to pay tribute
to American manufactures. But he
has to do 80, and at a tremendous rate
He goes to a crOckery store to buy
hundred dollars worth of queensware,
on which he is compelled to pay pro-
tective penalty of $40. the price of forty
bushels OF wheat. Being an intelll-
gent man, he knows the robbery to
which he is compelled to submit, and
he naturally INDUCES in q few emphat-
ic remarks on the subject of mOnopO-
lies. Thereupon q learned pundit in
t"e mOnopolistic interest proceeds to
inform our agricultural friend that
there can be no monopoly, no oppres-
sion i'll this matter, for every man in
the United States has right to set up
a pottery of his own! Blessed boon
There must be no more grinding of
the farmers on the price. of crockery,
or every we'll regulated farm will have
its pottery behind the COW -slied.
Musing on the beauties of freedom
As thus illustrated, the rural investor
proceeds to IL hat store, where he pays
two prices for twenty or thirty dollars
worth of hats for himself aud boys.
VenturinY to drop n remark against
the injustice of a prOhibitory duty on
hats, he 10 again assured that there Is
no monopoly, and goes away cOnvinc-
Ell that there il no law OF the land
which prohibits him from setting up u
hat factory in the basement OF his
piggery.
Desiring to obtain few large plates
of glass, he is impOsed on most out
rageously in the matter of cost. He
remembers that Mr.. DePauw, of Indi-
ana, is a manufacturer of this COM
modify, and he lets slip an inverted
benedietion on the head of that
wealthy monopOlist. But, here, again
the old argument is wheeled out and
pushed at him: "There is no monop-
oily in plate glass. Every man has a
lawful right to make it," So he goes
on his way, rejoicing in the blessed
boon of freedom from monopolists.
Even he, plain farmer, has the legal
permit to set up plate glass factory
behind his cider mill.
Wherever he goes he meets the same
great argument. There IL entire free
dom in this land of the brave: He
can put up cotton factories, wooden
mills, potteries, glass works, salt fac
tory-anything, everything.
The proposition that competition
will keep down the prices of manufac
turers, under a prOhibitory tariff, is
false. Large investments of capital
are required for buildings, machinery
and material. Only men Of means can
engage in such enterprises.
They find that combination to keep
prices up pays better than combination
to keep prices down.
A dozen or twenty great corpora
tions, banded together as one, are a
dozen or twenty times more oppressive
than one. A prohibitory tariff is the
most cruel phase of tyranny.-[Wash-
ington Pest.