The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-10-21

an enormous tax for protection on every
pound they use, and thousands of dollars
to delegations kept in Washington city.
Abolish protection, and their WI be relief
ell Ground, specially to the millions OF
consumers Let us look at this by an illus
tration of wool hats. Assume that 90
apiece Is laid on foreign hats, and that the
home market is one-half supplied through
home production, the market taking 5000,
600 hats. Thus SIC. 0O0.0 are paid by
consumers just to encourage hatmaking by
few hundred in this country. Is not this
an iniquity? Yet, because they and some
few hundred others in the wooden manu-
fe curing business have protection, the
raw material men insist that they must
have It. And then the machinery men
must have it through the same argument.
And so, too, the iron miner must have it,
end so on ed infnitum. But the poor far
mer must pay all these in the buying of
bis instruments and tools and implements,
while he is left out in the role of the beau
tiful protection business, as his wheat
and other grain and cotton have no
manner of such aid, for their
values are assessed in foreign
ports. No, this thing of protection is an
Infamous wrong, because, first, it is no
part of the proper province of government
to undertake to redistribute the rewards
of industry, every man havjrg the right
to the returns from his own toll; second,
because it is q matter Of fnesse, for if all
interests were protected" and protected"
alike, the issue OF all distributions and re-
distributions would be that all would stand
relatively as before, but worse Off by the
losses of the processes which are waste
full way to reach the end ostensibly pro-
posed Because, third, it gives birth to
smuggling and all other frauds upon the
revenue. Because, fourth, it introduces
and fosters antagonism between the diff
ferent interests of the country, just as ex
amreled in the wool interests above named.
Because. fifth, it gives an unnatural stimu-
lus and leads to over production, stagna-
ton and failure, extending promise it
never redeems. Because, sixth, it dimin
ishes the legitimate revenues of the gov
eminent whilst it levies its heavy tax on
the people. Because, seventh, it tends to
demoralize and corrupt the national legis-
lstion where purity should prevail. Each
and every one of these propositions can
be here proved to demonstration if we had
space by actual facts and figures
Judge Hancock is broad-minded, honest
hearted statesman, and he knows all these
things. When in congress he intends to
strike this robber outrage, and he does
not propose to be inconsistent and COM
promise himself in this contest. The i'm
preston that because the manufacturer in
Ihe north has grown rich under this
scandal, the south may become so likewise,
Is fsllacious. Cut off all this ''protec-
sion"(0. and as aforesaid you equalize
.hings all around; and then the south with |
1er coal beds in nearly every state of this
lection, with her iron mines. and above
III with her raw material, cotton and wool |
IN the spot, and the north could not be- |
y.n to compete with US. As for labor. it 1
5 only small per centage of the value of |
he product, the census showing about as |
ollows: Labor twenty per cent. value of |
he materials fifty-seven per cent while /
he remaining twenty three per cent. is for |
he buildings, profits, etc. All honor to |
Tobn Hancock for his brave and intelli |
rent stand against this genius of evil that |
lid itself behind sopbistries and seeks to !
;o.rdpt even our section. The cloyen foot |
will one day be seen. and the people of the |
and, while they will thank their honest |
will scourge those who played |
lpon their credulity and duped them by |
ush lights.