New-York tribune., 1886-06-06

price> are now lower in England than here inc uil-
ference measures the burdens that our people pear
The more dishonest conceal the truth that we couiu
gain nothing. in prices \ very many cases, py
| closing onr works and going abroad for goods But
| Mr.. George is careless enough TO put both the ia-
| lacy and the refu,aton into the same book
| It is scarcely necessary to add that he Is at
times quite reckless IN his assumptions. FROM ne
| ginning TO end he takes it for granted that there
can he no protection without raising prices; 'h"'
1.-The only way in which protective duty can IN
| creese competition in the production of any COM
modify is by so increasing prices TO attract pro-
ducers TO the industry" P. 96'. He repeats the
same false idea in an hundred forms. Yet at times
| he has glimpses of tho truth that 1t is really the
| control of the great home market undlsturbed pE
the fluctuations Ill other courtrI where uincion'
states OF labor or forms of government exist "on
constitutes the boon chiefly desired by nome pro-
ducers He questions whether any OF our pro-
tected industries are less clamOrous Tor protecuoh
| now than they forty years ago Cp. 90 anu
| vet he must be aware that soma mannfactnres
| formerly established here under the inilnence or
protection, are now exporting cotton goods 70 Man
chester and cutlery to Sheffield, for Instance lie
assumes p 1Os that "no tariff could encourage the
growth of grain because we export it, and gener-
ally that the tariff cannot protect the farmers. and
vet he sees that farmers the Canadian border,
but for the tariff would be exposed 10 direct COM
petition with producers living under very dIi-
ferent laws and subject to very different local tax
! alton.
The worst of this book is Its wanton assumption,
which runs through nearly all its pages. that the
condition of the laborng classes of the United
States has been slowly but steadily sinking to that
Of the pauper labor of Europe" P. 22O. 1t would
be of no use to refer Mr.. George to any such docu
Inents as the Massachusetts labor reports. For
with the usual excuse of men who know that they
are ignorant of facts that facts are against then
he eschews statistics as devices OF the evil one,
which can be "got mp" on either side to order
There can be no more stupid form of folly in this
age than to imagine that denial ignorance of as
certained and recorded facts can be covered by an
ary belief that figures may he made to prove any
! thingv The "spuriOus free trader" finds 1t neccs-
sary TO take this because al the records are
against him. But Mr.. George could with more self
respect have admitted that the records do establish
beyond question the fact that there has been
great Improvement in the condition Of labor as
whole in this country, and greater improvement
since the protective system was adopted iii 1861
than during any other quarter of century in this
or any other country.
The point of Mr.. Georges contention is thai 1t
really makes no difference to labor whether free
|
vate property in land. That permitted, abolition
of protective duties he with great force
will not really benefit the working people 1t
would only offer them more goods, where the great
complaint now is of over reproduction. In one way
or another sums must be raised for the support OF
government If by the British method Mr. George
shows that the burdens there fall chiefly on the
working people, and he might have made that part
of his argument far convincing if he ned less
unfriendiness for statistics or were better able to
| handle them. The only true remedy. he argues, is
| to abolish all other taxes and to tax only land
! values-not merely to the entire amount required
for the support of government of all kinds. but to
much greater amount. The tax, he insists should
be heavy enough TO destroy all property IL land.
leaving only its use. fol which the tax should be
levied instead of rent.
II is a marvel that man so right and shrewd
as Mr. George should imagine that this change
would make workers better OFF than they arc now
in this country. The worker here can enter Gov
ernment land without other charge than small
fee or can buy farm i'll many localities at a low
price and on favorable terms, and then he Is freed
from nearly the whole of the tax which, under Mr..
Georges theory. he would have to bear. IL the
worker cannot use the land now. when 1t is vir-
tnaly free how could lie it better, aud pay ont
of it all national, state and local taxes besides
creditors and owners of improved estates who are
made enormously rich by their rents. to pay no
taxes at all except the bare land they may own
For Mr. George holds that the value Of any I'M
provements on land "prOperly belongs to the indI-
| vdual aud cannot be taxed without lesSening the
! incentive to prod lcton.' The theories of Nr.
George have in them many grains of wheat out 1t
is no easy thing to get at them when concealed in
! such mass of chah
| 1t is good thing for the country that farpers
are to be tanght by this book tlat the only logical
alternative of protection is taxation on land; tax
alton so heavy as to be virtual confscation. There
IS not spurious free trader revenue reformer
in the country who will not industrousy labor 10
pail down the mask again which Mr.. George has
| lifted. But fraud will be more difficult hereafter.
For the only part of Mr.. Georges work which l.
| irrefragable i'll reasoning and convincing Ill clear
ness is that in which he shows to protectiOnlsts and
free traders alike that the only alternative. If pro-
lection is to be abandoned, is the concentration of
ali taxes upon the land.
|