The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1881-02-24
THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM.
What II Costs the American Farmer.


peiss The Tisss Part Of Urahsn nsAAan.s Ossns
Tract On That Subject.
THE YARMER's POSITION.
Tho protective system has rcla.
ton TO agriculture which II has 70
few other interests. Agriculture Is
the great unprotected industry. Tho
growers OF wheat and beef. OF cotton
and tobacco get none OF tho foster
Ing they help pay for. They nre
not shielded under the wing or
Protection" wherefore should they
render tribute? Surely not for graf.
itude on their escape. What then IL
tho reason! It Is this: The very
essence Of protection Is the support
Of week Industries by a tax on the
lusty industries. Agriculture Is d
lnsty industry.
Agriculture Is strong, Il can walk
without baby jumpers. 1t needs no
protection; It cannot be protected.
Therefore, 1t must dciray the cost
Of protecting other, industries.
Is 1t not &c? Manufactures, says
the Protcctionist, cannot live In this
country Without the tariff. We do
not believe Il. It IL I'm assertion ut.
tcrly without foundation. But It Ia,
nevertheless, the prOtcctionist's POSI-
ton. Manufactures cannot live
without the tariff. That IL TO say.
they are naturally Improbable IN
this country. I'VE could not soil our
goods In the competition Of an open
market. But put q duty on foreign
importation, SO TINT We can raise our
prices twenty-five per cent. higher
than those OF the open market, and
we shall flourish bravcly." It IL
done. Whence comes twenty ilvc
per cent? Whence comes the bonus
to make good the constant loss on
improbable business? It does not
come from the protected manufac-
turers, since to them II Is paitl. It
does not come from the foreigner,
since tho duties collected from him
are turned over to the Government.
Whence, then, does It come? It
comes from the unprotected indus
tries. What other source Is therc?
None. obviously. And II, as the
Protcctionist say, Agriculture Is tho
sole naturally profitable business In
the United States, then Il Is Agricnl-
ture which foots tho bills for the
pretty experiments Of tho cnterpris-
Ing manufacturer.
In anticipation OF a criticism
which II Is quite easy to make
namely, that scientifically" tho
customer at large Is tho patron who
bears the Losses, / beg leave to OBJ
serve: 1. II this were practically
true. 1t would not change matters
much, since the consumers engaged
In agriculture nnd other unprotected
industries OutnnmbOr tho protected
consumer four to one. 2. II II prncti.
cally untrue. since the protected
classes do not consent to the lump.
ing-in OF the results OF thoir un.
profitable business with the rest, and
tho division Of the aggregate profits
on an even average. On tho con-
trary, they have been constant In
their pleadings for higher and higher
duties, in order not merely to sustain
thoir profits ct the average rate, but
to run them Tar above. Such eases
rs may be drawn, for example. from
the wcllen trade, where the ruling
iproht II no profit ut all on the or.
i9lnal plant, arc conclusive OF moth.
ling In this connection. A high marg'
In Of protection will draw u flood Oi
capital aud labor into the protected
industry. and by the splitting up ol
the custom. cut down the manulAc
turer's profit to nothing, and yc
leave the price Of the goods, AM
. hence the burdens on the consumer
exactly where they were before.