Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-03-14


me highest plane on the subject. En-
gland is usually regarded as a free
ofaoe nation because she advocates it
DIS d theory. England levies q tariff on
wines, spirits, tobacco, and other arti-
cles. TO an extent that gives her a reye-
nue. nom this source about equal TO
"hat this country receives from all
sources. There i not, in practice, a
lfee-trading nation in tho civilized
world. And within the past twenty
years, in building up her commercial
marine, England has emplovel%t the pro-
'ecuV2 or subsidy principal so strongly
as % compel France, Italy and Germany
10 ADOPT the same policy. SO it is an
utter absuralts to claim that Engllnd
or any other is Il free-srading nation.
She simply wants free trade where her
interests call fer it, lAit net anywhere
else.
8, We utterly deny that free trade
chei'pens the markets. This point has
been practically. tested in this country
over and over. We have had SO MANY
changes liz our. tariff laws, from protec-
1--WE tariffs to practice free trade, that
this question has been tested several
times. Our fathers, on the formation
Oh the government, started out to pro-
tectenr Industries. .Anumber of yea
elapsed before they could ascertain lust
what would be a protective duty. In
the competitive struggles that ensued
prices were marked down. When at
last we had Protective tariff prices adj
vanced, no doubt, but that Of labor adj
Eislced at least in equal ratio. When
the tariff was taken off and the panic
of 1887 followed prices were low, but
tiattof labor VAS lower and intense
suffering was general. When the tar
ltf Of 1912 Was adopted manufactures
revived, and While prices advanced
that of labor was again more favored
than by any other. Under the Sliding
scale, by which We driftel back again
lnto-the nd valored tariff, labor suffer-
el as Industries went down. The pan
lc OF 1857 found the nation PROSTATE.
The point here ist.at the cheapness or
DEAFNESS OF Il market is not absolute.
but relative. What labor will purchase
is the real test-not how much a pound
each OF several articles ma cost. If a
mans work in q week will. in a high
market, purchase more comforts for
his family than it will in a1ow market.
he is benefited. .Anditisa well-settled
fact that labor can not be well remun-
Grated when our markets are cheapen-
ed through the competition of foreign
labor.
But this point admits Of absolute
demonstration. 1t has been found that
when our industries have been protect
eel lcng enough to get on their feet our
manufactures do compete in cheapness
and quality with those abroad. We to-
day manufacture cotton goods against
the world. England has been compel
led to adulterate her cotton mannfac-
lures in order to hold the oriental mar
kets against us. And She has ever
forged the trade mark Of American
houses. and coarse cotton cloths,
which before the tariff Of 1924 sold at
q cents per yard, We're under it rcduc-
ed to IA cents. Before we had deyel-
oped the manufacture of steel rails the
price was Sl5O per ton in gold, equal
then to ss2ll5 in ctr currency. Now
they are ss335 per ton. The tariff on
steel rails is what brought up this in
dustry in this country, AID the uniform
experience has been that when our tar
IFS have been reduced and the enor-
nous capital Of Europe has succeeded
in Gripping, or destroying Il manu-
features the prices have been largely
alvadcel. We have always boon COM
PEELED to pay the cost ofourruln. .Itlst
as tire successful nation in war makes
the defeated nation pay the expenses,
so has il been With our tariff. Germa-
ny made France pay a thousand mil
lions OF dollars for the war Sedan.
Who lsnoWs how much England has
taxed us on broken industries?
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