The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-09-14

they do with its costing the present
price. 1t has been noticed by every OBJ
server that the great fortunes which
have been made in manufacturing in
this country have been realized through
protected articles. Nine-tenths of the
successful manufacturers have growR
rich through patents. 1 maintain, there
fore, that most of the successful MANY
| facturers have been injured by the prE--
tectiVe tariff, and that if they consulted
their best interests they would favor its
reduction to revenue basis.
1t must be remarked that manufactE-
rers generally imagine that the tariff
gives them more of an increase for their
articles than it actually does. If the
| duty upon the foreign article is 40 per
cent. they suppose that 40 per cent. rep
resents the protection to them. If they
are enabled to charge 40 per cent. moro
for their goods they think that is all
profit. This would be the case if there
were no other persons receiving prOtec-
tiOn but them. 1t must, however, be re-
membered that to get the increase for
| themselves they had to consent to an in
crease for others. In this way largo
| part of what protection gives each other
is taken away in the Increased prices
which protection cOmpels him to pay to
| Others. A manufacturer of wooden
| goods said not long ago that if the Gov
ernment would take off the duties on
| building material, on coal and iron and
machinery and wool, he would consent
that the duty might be taken off of what
he manufactured. What was that but
to say that all the increase of price pro-
lection gave him ii took away in in
creased prices of the articles he was
obliged to pay. l would have every
manufacturer examine this subject
carefully, that he might learn Just how
much of net protection the tariff gave
him. And here l would say that i'll re-
Yising the tariff 1 would leave to the
manufacturer all the net protection he
now receives.
OVERsTOCKs THE MARKET-PLOWs
Let us now inquire more particularly
of them who have the protection of the
tariff alone. When tariff is first ley
led it undoubtedly gives profit to those
who then happen to be in the business
prohibited, or who Immediately after
ward go into it. Soon, however, every
one sees that such enterprises are pro-
fitable, and capitalists crowd into them
until the business is oveTdOne sooner
or later the market IS OverstOcked,
prices run down tenn lily, until the
smaller men are crow, TO the wall.
In the meantime, the l4Yaer men are
annoyed. Many go into bankruptcy,
panic occurs in the trade, and much of
the profits made at first are lost in the
subsequent embarrassment. This, with
in the last ten years, has been the expo
rience of nearly every protected indus
try in the country. The trouble in such
a condition is that they are unable to
sell their surplus abroad. The theory
of protection is that the manufacturer
shall have the American market. To
give him this the foreigner is kept out.
Having this market only, they must
reach the, point where it is supplied, and
the surplus, unless they can find a for
9 market for it, remains to stihe the
sources of its production. They cannot
l sell their goods abroad except at loss,
3 because of this increase of price of pro-
3 ductiOn, which protection always Occa-
D siOns. To illustrate Suppose an Amer
: lean and an Englishman, in their re-
: spective countries, start at the begin
= ming to manufacture plOws. The Amer
' lean constructs his buildings from the
v laying of the foundation stone to the
s final stroke of completion. He fills it
o with the necessary machinery, and gets
g together all the raw material ready fOr
J. manufacturing. Suppose that the ma
g terial has cost him 100000. The Eng
= lishman, who has brought himself like
d wise in readiness to manufacture, has
h paid only $4,000 for his material, be
l cause the American has had to buy his
s material increased in price by tariff,
s while the Englishman has bought his
r under the policy of free trade. The
9 work of manufacturing begins. The
3 difference in the price of material used
s in operating the machinery and in max
ing each plOw continues. The result is
J., that where every plOW costs the AmeTi
, can 500, it will cost the Englishman
y only $14. We Will now suppose the
l point reached where the American has
f entirely supplied the home market. II
!, is OVer-supplied. He turns his eyes to
4 the foreign market. He loads a vessel
: with plOws and starts it off from New
|, York to Australia. After a successful
Z voyage it enters the port of Melbourne,
5 and is ready to be unlOaded. Just as he
f is about to effect sale the EnglishmSH
1 comes in in vessel loaded with plOws
Q and unlOads them for sale. The Austria
4 lian purchaser finds that the English
s plOws are selling for little over $14,
s while the American plOws, in order to
: make profit, must be sold for more
8 than $50. He is not long in determining
: what to do. The Englishman sells all
his plOws and the American must bring
Y his back, or seek a new market, or sell
them at loss there. The illustration
@ demonstrates that the high cost of pro-
2 ductiOn which protection makes disa-
!, bles the American from selling his plOws
> abroad at profit.
= PROTECTION CAUSES BANKRUPTCY.
t The effect of the prOtt ctive tariff,
: therefore, is to stimulate protected in
! dustries to over-p production, and, by dis
d abling them from selling their surplus
! prOftabIy abroad, to bring them into
It embarrassments and bankruptcies, and
: the country into panics, in which bust
y ness languishes and all interests decay.
n There is no better answer to the argu-
2. ment that protection benefits manufac-
It turing than is found in the history Of
J. England since it accepted the policy ol
: free trade. Before 1884, under prOtee.
l. tiOn, manufacturing had reached its
: lowest ebb. Many of the largest estab-
T, lishments were closed; their employees
70 had been turned out to starye. The
is poor houses were full. Bread-riOts weNi
y threatened in many cities of the king
'e dom. At that time a few men began tht
agitation of the question of free trade
After stupid opposition from man1
- classes who were determined to be mos
5e benefited, they succeeded, and in i84I
= England repealed the most ObnOxiOu
II features of her protective system, ant
= = in short time the policy of free trad