The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-17
AN AMENDED FABLE,

very cOnclusively in favor OF free trade. He
begins his argument by effectually demolish
ing all grounds of ''hatred of the British on
the part of Americans" phantasm of his
own brain, havingno existence in reality. His
attempt to prejudice the people by charging
not entertain is so patent to even the casual
reader as to defeat its purpose. He might with
equal justice charge that it was protec-
tionists who fred the Ephesian DOME and
then proceed to argue how wicked they were,
and that they should not have done so, but
should consent to free interchange of COM
merce between nations. The premises are
false and the labored conclusion wholly irrele
want The remainder of his last article is
paragraph alone he descends to something
like honesty of purpose, and apparently with
the idea of accommodating himself to the ca
pacity of his less erudite readers, he renders
his argument in very simple language, as fol
lows:
eff John buys of James barrel of -four
and gives him 81 barrel for it, that being
then the market price, both believe them
selves to have made good trade, and both
are generally right. John has family of wife
and children; he and they want to eat; they
cannot eat silver dollars; hence the -four is
worth to him more than the dollars and he
gladly parts with them to get the -four.
James, on the other hand who is a grocer,
e l,
what he owes for this -four to the miller OF to
the wholesale merchant for other groceries, or
to buy his clothes or his shoes. Hence he
gladly exchanges one barrel of -four for 81.
After the sale and purchase-that is, after the
exchange of -four for silyer-both parties are
better off than they were before; both parties
have gained"
A very pretty fable But suppose We in
troduce a third character to make the story
even palmer. John and James are Americans,
while Jacob is an Englishman. John is en-
gagged in the steel business at Pittsburg, Jacob
in the same line at Birmingham. james is
al Indiana farmer AS a matter of fact,
John, in business at Pittsburg, is
much better patron of Farmer James than is
JdCOu, Vi birmingham. Inc llIltr buys
much of his breadstuffs from Austria, Russia,
Egypt and even far India. The supplies he
draws from this last-named source are in
creasing in volume with every year. The
steel man at Pittsburg buys all his food of
the Indiana man. Under existing laws John
is enabled to carry on the business of manu-
featuring steel in western Pennsylvania, and
to continue to be one of the
American farmers best patrons
But somebody is dissatisfied because
John'is enabled to charge little more than
Jacob would, and proposes that the latter
should be put on the same plane of competi-
ton. So much for one fact and its circum-
stances. Now it isa fact as well known as
the foregoing, that the steel manufacturer at
Birmingham can make steel at less cost
through the advantage of lower wages and of
larger experience than can the American
manufacturer at Pittsburg Evidently,
then the latter must go down
and close his mills if com
PEELED to cut-throat competition But here
the free traders argument ends; he has secured
steel at lower figure secured the differ
ence to farmer james, and that Is enough.
But there are those who are not content
with this, and want to follow the subject to
its legitimate and inevitable conclusion 1t
may be admitted that, for time, the price Of
steel would decline under open competition
with the mills of England, and to that degree
would American steel-consumers be benefited.
But what becomes of steel maker John, of Pitts
burg! Beaten at his business by corporations
that can hire men for less than he can, he is
obliged to shut up his establishment, send his
men adrift, and seek some other employment.
Now, if he can no longer manufacture,
nothing remains but for him to turn producer,
and he at once enters into competition with
farmer John. The latter has saved narrow
per cent on the steel he buys, and, in return,
has lost his best customer (for John now
raises his own food supply, and
has made a competitor in a market
that is annually becoming less valuable
to him. Under the circumstances it can
hardly be expected that the account at the
end of the next year will show favorable
balance. Briefly recounted, the case is as fol-
lows; Jacob of Birmingham, is so situated
that he is obliged to manufacture or starve.
In the grip of necessity he is compelled to un-
derbid John, of Pittsburg, and to win his
trade from him. Jacob, meanwhile, buys
proportionately less produce of the Indiana
farmer. When, therefore, the last-named
succeeds in establishing free market for the
benefit of the Birmingham man and TO a less