The Wilmingtonian., 1885-03-21

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English party for "fair trade or protection
to native industry and if it were not for
the bearer bankrupt condition of Russia,
some way would be found Tor England to
back out Of the threatened trouble with
that country, for she is financially unpre-
pared for war.
No, the protection policy has nothing
whatever to do with the worldwide depres-
sion of business that now prevails. Itcomes
from a combination of causes that no policy
can control, and Mr.. Gibbons is too we'll in
formed a man not to know them, or if they
have escaped his observation it is because
he has been captivated by the symmetrical
theories of free trade, and shows the evil of
starting from a false proposition and pur-
suing an agreeable system of abstract rea-
souing instead of being diciplined by the
hard facts of general experience. The
whole theory and defense of free trade re-
mind me of the algebraical delusion which l
learned at school and well remember from
the lesson it taught me. 1t is this:
s-S=4-4.
Falseas it is nothing is more reasonable,
and apparently right. But you can do
more. By process of division and cancel
lation you can prove that
So with the free trade proposition, you
can prove that nation will grow wealthy
and independent bp pui suing the unthrifty
policy of SPENDING as much as it earns.
The whole burden of Mr.. Gibbons's lee
ture is that the poisonous theory of pro-
lection is responsible for the obstruction of
our oceah carrying trade. In other words
that the generally higher standard of values
prevailing under protection makes the car
rying trade Improbable. This is only par
TALLY true, but greater truth overshadows
it, for without protection we never should
have had the manufactures, beside there are
many articles that we now export which
have been cheapened by competition and
improved methods of Gabrication-the very
things that protection fosters and sustains-
and with which one can uudersell the
world.
We have seen what protective policy has
done toward developing a gigantic manu-
featuring industry, and in point of wealth
raising this to the rank of leading nations
OF the world, with an ovei flowing treasury,
but we see how far it contributed to the dc.
cay Of our merchant marine. At the out
break of the Civil War the Government was
confronted with the obligatory task of
blockading the whole Southern coast, and
with no vessels in the navy adapted to that
service. The only alternative was to. sup
ply itself from the merchant marine of
which it pressed nt) the service 497 vessels
and privateers soon destroyed the rest. If
anyone asks what became of our merchant
marine, no American need be ashamed to
reply, sit was taken to save the country"
But it might be asked, but what became of
the capital, skill and enterprise after the
war that was formerly employed in ship
ping? "It went into the land commerce"
Take any railroad map and look at one vast
network of railroads and you will see the
evidence of a commerce greater than the
ocean commerce of the world.
Starting with only 81, 600 mi es of railroad
nearly all single track, in 1861 we now have
10000 miles, one-quarter which is double
track-an actual gain of $4,000 mies-but
counting the double track, practical gain
of over 100000 mlles-more than all the
railroads of Europe combined, if not Of the
world. The estimated value of all this i'm
mense land marine is $4, 200, 600 900, aud its
gross earnings in 1888 was $500, 600 900 or
"cnough it is estimated to buy the whole
merchant marine Of Great Britain.''
Just think of it, 1t is a result almost too
marvellous to comprehend And all this CO.
existent and cO-extensive with the astonish-
ing manufacturing growth under the influ.
ence ofa wise policy of protection. Mr..
Gibbons's inference that this result, SO great
as to command the admiration of statesmen
and historians of every country, might have
been attained by leaving the development of
our boundless natural resources to the intel.
lgence, skill and enterprise of our people
and the operation of the natural laws of
trade in their crude state, unimproved by
science and in competition with the improy-
ed policies ofothe nations, is too specula-
tive to receive much attention from the prac-
tical people of this age but the intelligence,
skill and enterprise Of our people. Does
Mr. Gibbons suppose that the principle of
protection foster the growth of but one
thing ?-materlal wealth. If he does, then
he does not fully comprehend what science
that great principle is, Intelligent as he is on
other subjects
But there is another reason for the decay
OF American shipping. Owing to the un-
wise or rather no policy of studied neglect
which this country has always pursued,
with one or tow feeble exceptions, the loss of