The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1883-03-29
Unwinding the rarIrf.

The match manufacturers are in /
arms because of the new tariff law. /
They have been relieved of the inter-
nal revenue tax, to which they really |
had no serious objection but they |
have been bereft of protection, and
timber is still protected. They usea
pine upon which there is protective
tariff, which puts them at a disadvan-
tage in competing with foreign makers.
Thus, the manufacturer of matches is
interested in depriving lumber of pro-
lection. The eastern manufacturers
of woolen goods succeeded in securing
terms by which they could obtain their
raw material at cheaper rates at the
expense of the bounties to wool raisers
under the protective tariff. These are
two fairly typical cases, but there are
many such cases. In most cases the
finished product of one man is the raw
material upon which another begins
work. The western steel men were
bitterly opposed to the tariff on iron
ore, and the southern iron men were
quiescent, and not concerning them
selves greatly about the tariff on steel
rails 81
Here, then, is the beginning, per-
haps, of the unwinding. The protect
i've system may now unravel itself by
the operation of the same motive in a
reverse process. It was woven gradu
ally by interest after interest growing
and demanding protection. Whenever
one of these interests produced an ar
ticle which was needed by another as
his raw material to manufacture his
finished material, the protection boun-
ty was paid to the first by the second,
who had to be reimbursed by the CON
sumner paying bounty to the last
producer. Thus the man who made
shoes had to pay a bounty to the peg
maker, who had to pay bounty TO
the lumber man. 1t was, at least,
likely that system like this would
after q while get wound up so tightly
that strand would break somewhere,
and the whole thing turn backward by
the way it was wouhd up and unwind.
Something like that point has been
reached, and the unwinding has begun
The sugar planters want protection,
and they are willing that the refiners
shall be protected; but the refiners
want sugar, and they have done their
best to secure it, as cheapIy as possible,
The lumbermen have no objection to
the protection of matches, but the
match maker-not being one of those
who manufacture matches in heaven
but on earth, under exceedingly ter
restrial conditions-wants cheap tim
ber. The iron ore man, whe owns the
ore bank and not the furnaces, has nc
objection to protection upon pig and
other higher forms. but the man who
makes pig wants cheap ore. The pig
iron man, while he wants cheap ore
has no objection to protection upon the
various manufactures in which pig il
used, provided he is protected and gets
"some of the chicken pie,n but tht
various iron men who use pig in theil
manufacturing want it as cheaply as
they can get it. The farmer who
raises sheep is not opposed to protec
tion on blankets and carpets So long az
he is protected, but the men who make
the blankets and carpets want cheaT
wool. Thus reason is furnished why
this system should unwind. As te
quite a number of these interests it il
actually unwinding. The actual pro
ducers of raw material are really the
only men who are not interested il
attacking some other protected indus
try. The rest are all interested in do
ingiso in order to get their raw materia
at the lowest possible rates. The ore
men, the wool men, the sugar planters
and others who produce strictly raw
material have no such interest. The
rest have, and their interests coincide
with those of the consumers of all fin
ished products, and thus the unwind
ing is likely to go on.
Now that the consumers have been
reinforced by the consumers of raw
material in other manufacturing,t there
is chance for an early settlement O.
the question. The class known gen
orally under the vague term of con
sumers was really not so formidable a.
it seemed to be. Most consumers arc
also producers, and, if in protected in.
dustries, no complaint was made. The
wool raising farmer was not going to
quarrel about protection en plows, mails
reapers and other implements used in
his husbandry when he was amply
protected Oh his main product. He
saw what came in and never looked
closely at what went out, aud partly
he did not plain of the one lest be
might lose the other. Now the matter
comes up in p different shape with two
kinds of consumers considering the
question from the standpoint of inter
TCinoinnafi