The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-10-26
4 Protective Tariff Not the Remedy.

Protection Nv tariff is in the nature
OF monopoly, and hence is opposed to
the teachings Of the National party.
| There is nothing palmer or more true
than that every human being is entitled
to IN equal chance in life. and that any
| law which gives to one an advantage
over another ii wrong IN itself. and can
only be excused when it il granted A. q
/ palliative or offset to those who are m
Justly Disseminated against in some
manner which the law anot reach or
remove, and we qiestSh if this ever
occurs. 4 protective tariff is wrong in
principle, because it says to the one,
/ You may charge more than the natur-
nj price for your products and the Gov
eminent will see that your would-be
competitors are kept ont Of the mar
ket;" and 10 the great mass Of the peo-
pie, "You shall not buy the article Of
him who will sell it cheapest. but only
of this man who is especially privileged
to manufacture it, Being wrong In
theory. it cannot he defended on the
] ground that il is palliative. because the
evil for which it is partial remedy Is
the result OF laws which it is eas.er (and
much cheaper) to remove than It is to
pass and enforce the tariff laws: neither
I requiring other than "bc it enacted
i by the Congress Of the United States.
| II is not true, on the contrary it is a
barbarism, to argue that it is necessary
] TINT one people or one nation must pro-
gress in material wealth ut the expense
of another people. Yet no argument
for protective tariff can he ANYTHING
more than such a proposition. 10 Tor
! bid the English laborer who works for
two s,illings day to exchange his
products with the farmer Of this coun-
try, because he works for two shillings
day is not logical, neither is it Chris
tan, rs Chris. taught Christianity.
Neither is it necessary to do % i'll order
/ to protect the laborer Of this country
from being forced to work for the
wages Of the English laborer. Evil
IDENTIFY the object Of the tariff laws is not
to protect Anne lean workmen from be-
ing brought into competition with the
cheap labor of Europe. for the manu-
fact,irers who are loudest in their de-
mand, for protective tariff are con-
stantly importing this cheap labor and
employing it at European prices, to the
exclusion, as far rs possible, OF native
workmen. The manufacturers Of South
Bend and Evansville, and doubtless ut
other places in the State are known to
be aiding in the importation of this labor
every wear. and to have thus forced tn,
American laborers into direct compete
ton with it, and ut so low Il price that
the wives and daughters of the foreign
laborers are forced to do the work oi
brute cattle in order to enable the fam
liz to snbsist German and Swedish
women. the wives Of workmen ut til,
South Bend manufactures, regularl,
carry on their backs distance of from
one to two and three miles the fire
wood which they pick mp and will
which their wretchea huts are kept
warm and the coarse food cooked
: Inch their husbands can buy with til.
90 cents per day received IS wages
after paving 81 to 81 per month rent
and among the londest advocates 81
protective tariff are the employers a
these laborers. who starye on 80 cents
per day while their ,mployers live in
elegance aad make pleasure trips to
Europe ON the profits secured from the
consumers hy aid Of the tariff and the
imported labor.
The remedy is to be found not in
putting more tariff on foreign manu-.
features; neither in forbildlng foreign
laborers to come TO our shore, but in
taking the tariff. first. off of the medium
l.v which all wealth is eAchangeable
that is money, and by inviting ali
wealth-prolucels everywhere to come
here anu produce or To send their pro.
auctions exchange for what We have
produced.
This i the natural law: that every
one has a perfect right to exchange
whatever he creates without wing for
the privilege, and any seeming necessi.
ty for siol ting this natural right OF man
is only seeming necessity and arises
Fl III some other wrong Legislation
which should he sought out and re.
peal,d instead of committing still other
wrongs and complications OF wrongs by
endeayoring to balance the evil effects
Of the first by committing second
indianapolis Sun.