The Wilmingtonian., 1884-10-18
n Market Needcd-Not Protection

-'ihS0r ever seen tn Ameria.
| a Market NeedCd-Not Protection.
One morning, re emily two prominent Re-
publ cans Of this city were riding down town
in the street cars. They unconsciously at
tracted the attention Of their fellow passen-
gers by the pronounced manner in which
! they expressed their opinions in regard to
the subject which happened to engage THEN
attention.
Beth gentlemen are commonly credited
with being strict partizans One is 4 lead
ing iron manufacturer and tile other d stal-
wart dyed in the WOOL" whom further
definition would perhaps too readily disclose.
1t was easily apprehended that they were
deep in the tangles Of the tariff question.
stalwarr, (hot!y turning to lis compall-
ion
81 presume, of course, that you ale in
i"'oi " g i'Sh pioteCtlNe ltIlH :
Iron Manufacturer, (calmly)-No, sir, on
the contrary ] lam in fauar of frse trade. >,
"Why, thought that you'' -''No," We
hemently interjccted the manufacturer,
what we manufacturers must have, first, last
and all the time is a mai ket-a market Gem
phatically). My patty, the Republican,
represents business in the wrong light. as
business men we are independent of, and
care nothing about politics, when our pock-
cts are touched. You can pile up protection
just as high as you like-but what we man
ulacturers must have and will have, is a
market, an uninterrupted, well sustained
demand. Give us that and you may legis-
late as you please. Now it is a fact that the
past legislation OF the Republican party has
limited the market (and tends to d. so) TO a
lluctuating, restricted, home demand. That
has been supplied and we must look else
where to sell our goods. As it is, our ware
houses are packed from attic to cellar with
manufactures awaiting demand. There
is no call for them. Now the logic of the
point, aside from all tritling and equyoca-
tion is this. | am business man, manu-
facturer, your politics in that connection,
are of no account to me or my fellow IN IN
ufacturers. We could get market for
our surplus abroad if the high duty on the
goods of other countries were abolished, and
commercial reciprocity, suitable to our
you reterate the argument that the home
market is sufficient for us. We can exist OF
| live within our own borders, but we cannot
thrive. No, we must trade with the world
| You say there is no constitutional restriction
upon exporting goods. That statement is
true but in its action, as influenced by Re-
| publican legislation, is most ridiculous
fallacy. 1t is true that our laws do moi
countenance an export duty. But it i,
! equally true that the retroactive logic o
| protection upon us is this, that foreign mer
chants finding that we tax their goods, re
fuse to buy ours, or to exchange with us
Commerce, i'll its worldwide sense is mu
tually dependent condition. Those mer
chants are not entirely dependent upon us
They consequently do their barter, exchang
or commerce with those national ties who
barter or exchange with them. We are "pro
tected" or in reality prevented from ex
changing with them through our legisla
ton. And right here is the source of uh
block or stoppage in manufacturing. W
are excluded from the market-the demant
for our manufactures is stopped. Our OF
der books ale closed-we will have to clos
our mills. As business men we cann0
carry on trade without a market. What
the cause of this? Whom are we to blame
Foreign merchants? No, no, no-but HON
egislatiou-protective egisation-Republ
, can Legislation.
: 1t is a shameful, unmauly subterfuge t
: to tell the workingmen, the factory and mi
help, that protective legislation will kee
them in work. How can it when there is n
t market, Or will soon be none, for the fru
of their daily toll. Manufacturers mu,