The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-10-18
MYSTERY OF THE TARIFF.
A Discussion of Free-TradeT Theories Evolves
q Curious Principle in Politics.

A Discussion of Free-Trade Theories Evolves
q Curious Principle in Politics.
Rev. DAVID Swing. in Chicago journal.
The young mau, and now, since the education
OF girls has set in, the young woman, also, find
early life clouded by the mystery Of the tariff.
Once In four years at least this political enigma
returns to vex the young and the old. the infdel
and the Christian, 1t is TO be regretted that wa
must all live 10 n perpetual turmoil, that when
the theolocians quit talking the physicians be-
gin, and when they are resting for new breath
the politicians rush in and their tre-
menious chatter. After theologiais bad argued
that man was given a free will, so as not TO
make God the author of any sin which might
possibly spring up, they befogeed the mind by
making the will Of Mr.. Adam 90 the free-choos-
ing of the far-off England and America; after the
physicians had ordered US all to go to Colorado
in search Of dry air, they then directed Us 10
put q pan of water in our furnaces. SO as to
make the air more moist To persons anxious
to find the paths of truth and duty, these intel
lectual uni are painful But when, as
though to seek . change and rest, the distracted
soul passes over to the political field, il is soon met
by the principle of t.rif and free trade aud all
Is confusion again.
Tariff for revenue only does not bring any
great mental distress. 1t 10 In the idea OF free
t-ade as promulgated in these late years the
most OF enigma or cont ndr I'm Is found. The
frse-trads philosopher may be the conse1tra-
ton of all wisdom, but If so he should say q
little more ia one direction at least. as will prss-
emily appear. His main spesch always runs As
follows:
Suppose the nation Y furnish s each year a
thousand tons OF spun cotton TO the nation Y.
Why does Y buy this cotton instead OF spinning
IL itselfl Because the manufactures OF y are
so located and organized as TO produce spun
cotton in better quality and at q lower price
than il could be produced by the factories Of Y.
Were il not SO the factories OF Y would produce
the epnn cotton. Now, can the statesman make
the country Y produce cotton yarn AZ cheaply
s9 u. a III he an 10 &c 60 ave
the cheap cotton yarn Of Y from being sold in
the nation Y. Thus, all who buy cotton in Y
are forbidden from buying it cheaply."
Thus runs the Grafton, and .he theory would
find a few more adherents were It not tor q kind
OF political curiosity that in this country stands
attached TO II. IL the things made By labor
must come freely from y into Y, then the per-
sons who have labor must come IN freely, and
our street-cars and cable-cars sholld be man
aged by Chinese drivers and gsipmen, 90 that
the millions of rides each day may be bought at
2 cents apiece instead OF NJ 5 cents; for can the
statesman OF protection proclivIty make in
America as cheap q carride as the Chinese
could make for the lsndi No. verify. Should
millions of Chinese be ad mitted into the West as
agricuiturists, they would soon bring -four down
TO 81 a barrel and thus bless all those who must
buy food: and thus be a still greater blessing
than free trade, which brings spun cotton within
the reach OF al.
IL should be perceived by Mr.. Cleveland that
we are paying too much for our street-car rides,
aud for all forms Of labor. He should climb up
to the top Of his lofty science and declare that
If the nations OF Europe. Asia and Africa can
so send in laborers that we can all got a street.
Car ride of 5 cents for l cent, can hire q good
servant girl for 81 q month, and can buy or q
Chinese farmer a turkey for a dime, then the
gates Of immigration must be flung open at
once. This ia not Mr.. Harrison who welcomes
the Chinese The seeker after truth will per-
ceive the vague outline of quite another person.
The free-t-ade thinker says that be has the
~ ~ g. -. II a. 49,
find tne cheapest goods. Just so; then if a rail-
way builder or manager wishes 20 buy labor he
must have the world for his market and may
employ coolies or Africans; for If not, then freq
trade IN goods, aud not in labor, would protect Q
class Of buyers, and this would be protection.
with all the world for q market prices would
stand at the absolute point of value, and there
would be less fiuc,uation, aud, therefore,, fewer
panics.H This philosophy applies also 10 the
market for labor, and with the understanding
that employers may import laborers from any
land. the wages of a workingman would not IN
dergo much change. A days work would be
wo.th about 20 cents, aud would not change
much in a hundred years.
These are the reflections which make the cur
rent teachings about free trade such a political
curiOslr7. They seen to be only the one half
OF a philosophy universal principle with a
limited application. IL the exclusion OF foreign
iron builds up iron men in Pennsylvania. so the
exclusion of Chinese agriculturis:s enables tho
farmers Of Iowa to get q dollar and a quarter for
wheat, and thus have we a class legislation. IL
the calico makers of New England are protected
by tariff on goods, go our carpenters who get So
or 81 a day are protected by the exclusion oe
cheap labor.
MIR. Harrison, in his letter Of acceptance. lie
capable of seeing a principle; the general prin-
ciple OF making n continent which contains
everything minister to its own wants. IL Amer
lea wers a township or a little island he would,
no doubt, advocate some dependence upon for
eign powers, but the Nation being a continent,
he would rather IL would follow its own best in
terests. His principle possesses at the least the
advantage of being intellieible aud applicable.
while the ideas of fres foreign goods and ez-
cluded foreign labor are absurd. The true pro-
lection is that which shall discourage, not only
the importation of foreign goods, but also OF
foreign labor: and the only free trade which phi
losophy can sanction is the free purchase any
where of English iron and muslin and Chinese
labor. This is free trade. The man who
wishes to buy work ought. according to Democ-
racy; to find it at the lowest possible price, but
the Wing motto is still Two dollars a day and
roast beef, it not being desirable to have wages
fixed by the whole worlds market
Senator Morgan, in the North American Re-
view, says that Mr.. Harrison's protective IDEAS
make the poor Dakota mother pay extra money
for the blanket which is TO wrap no her child,
and thus Mr. Harrison would interfere with the
goodness of Trovidence; but does Senator Nor
gan confne Providence to the Territory OF Da-
kota9 Have the Chinese no Providencei Sena-
tor Morgan is bound by his agreement to let the
Chinese and coolies migrate to where the cheap
lands OF America can supply them with abund-
ant food and warm clothing. Thus free goods
and free labor are one and the same idea, and
the statesman who is anti protectionist cannot
defend for a moment a tariff on foreign work.
men. The Republican theory of protection
must be quite valuable if the Democrats are
compelled to borrow it for the exclusion of ORR
entail laborers.
Apple sauce is much improved by the addi-