The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-07-22

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WHEELING. ". va, JULY q; 1857.
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Mr.. Y. u. Turner's Late Tariff Article.
Mr.. Turner devoted his late letter 10 quo
stations from Mr.. Abram Hewitt, n member
FOL Congress from New York city. We had
quoted Mr.. Hewitt us far back rs 1878,
when he was n young and growing manu-
facturcr, and when he laid down MS prir.
4 ciple that VIC should always have tariff In
this country that will protect the difference
Gin wages paid in this country and in
Europe, Mr.. Hewitt had not abandoned
Sthis principle us late ms 1870, for on tho
Y 27lhofJanuary oithat year he wrote letter
5intwhich he reiterated the principle. lilo
said
The fact Is that steel and iron rails can
B be made In suitable localities In this cOun.
.:try--and notably on the line Of the Eric
Z ruilway-with rs little labor as in any part
,sof the world and the only reason why We
I; pay more for American rails Is because we
\ pay n higher rate for the labor which Is re.
sQnired for their manufacture, but for no
( greater quantity OF labor. Fro trade pill
q simply reduce lie trdgcs Of labor 10 The foreign
7 standard, which will enable us TO sell our
Z rails in competition with foreign rails; but,
Z us u matter OF course, the ability Of the
Y laborer to consume will be reduced, and n
( serious loss be inflicted OIL commerce,
4 general industry, and the business OF the
8 railways especially. The only reason why
4 q tariff Is necessary Is to supply the laborCr
with such wages as will enable him 10
travel and consume not merely the neces.
saries but some Of the luxuries Of modern
civilization
Mr.. Hewitt was 4S years Of age when he
wrote the above letter aud in tho full ma
turity Of his powers. II he hns in any wise
arecanted the sentiments then expressed
he has not shown wherein the principle
s laid down is defective. Without reference
40 Mr.. Hewitt, We put this same principle
lat Mr.. Turner, n few days ago, in answer
kto his plea that free trade would enlarge
1 the scope OF the American manufacturer
and enable him to sell in all the markets
sof the world. We made the point TINT
such an idea was chimercal, from the fact
THAT, It would simply result in see.saw oil
attempted reduction in cost, and, prirnar.
sily,a reduction in the cost OF labor; that
Sis, a constant reduction Of wages, first upon
\ one side and then upon the other, the
lend lof which would be pauper labor in
5gboth countries. And then, at last, it would
7 be defeat for us, for it is not to be supposed
that we could hold the European markets
4 against Europeans. They have cheap cap.
sital and cheap labor. The capital aud labor
must both be employed. They would not
Il suffer themselves to be dispossessed Of their
own markets. 1t is quite rs likely that they
would dlspossess us Of our own home mar.
4ket as that we could safely invade their
home markets. There is, therefore, moth.
ling whatever in such m idea. When the
worst comes to the worst, they would lock
us out, Us Germany has recently done in
sglass and leather, especially leather, with a
4 protective tariff. Nations will not stand by
3!and see their industry destroyed when i'm
post duties on foreign made goods will pro.
;stect them. Seli-prescrvation is the first law
sol nature and OF nations.
In this matter OF free trade, England
pipes unto all nations, but they under.
stand her policy, and they will not dance
TO her piping, pipe she ever SO cnticingy.
& France will not respond and Germany will
not Germany is more protective to-day
than at any previous modern time. France
Inns lately refused to renew her commercial
treaty with England. She believed that
she was getting the worst Of it and con-
scluded 10. quit. Canada has entered on
protective policy, and the administration
that inaugurated it has Just been over
swhelmingly sustained by the people, SO
popular after brief experiment has it be-
Scome. 1. z 4 III
s; Mr.. Turner is purely tlieorist in this
matter! He has no experimental facts with
(which to vindicate free trade ideas. There is
no free trade among nations. England her
Sseli raises nearly slOO,OOO,OOO from impost
duties. She is selfish in all that she does.
She does not permit m American made
locomotive to be run on her railroads. She
forces free trade on weak nations at the
Ecannon's mouth, just rs she did on this
country in colonial days, and Just us she has
3done in Ireland, India, Turkey and Japan.
She destroyed tho prosperity Of Ireland us a
manufacturing nation. She would not SUI
Sfer Ireland to become IN iron producing
country, notwithstanding Ireland has e1-
ported to, this country in one year over
10000 tons OF iron ore. She destroyed The
cotton manufactures Of Dublin that once
employed $4,000 operatives. Ireland has
5000, 900 less people to-day than she had 10
years ago. Her once prosperous blanket and
flannel manufacture has been destroyed.
The people have been made scris Of the
soil. AS late rs lSlG, Lord Brougham pub
slicly advocated tho breaking down Of
American manufactures by: exporting 10
this country at a loss, Sin order by the glut
4 to stillc in the cradle those rising manulac.
lures in the United States which the war
S(oflsley Inns forced into existence contrary
TO tho natural course Of things" NJ
Notwithstandingal all that Mr.. Turner says,
sor quotes, about the farming interest, he
does not touch the following important
point made by. his friend, Mr.. Hewitt, in
the letter Of 1870, from which We have
quoted at tho outset Of this article, wherein,