Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-26
PROTECTION ANALY2eD.
CLARK Irvine of missouri on the Subject of
Protection.

Protection.
"a tsriR is tax on foreign commodi-
ties. II this tax is SO high as to restrict
the importation, it is protectiVe;if it is so
low that it does not restrict, it is rev.
enue tariff. If We will adopt Lord Ba
cons advice and snalyze each separate
instance, we shall have no difficulty in
understanding this Or any other matter
that seems complex and confusing. Just
as this tax operates on one thing, just so
does it Sct on all. Let US go TO the
origin:
"A new country, the people are natur-
ally producing from tn. earth the raw
material-wool, hides, grain, cotton, to-
bACco, meat, etc. NV let US take any
one OF these-for convenience We will say
tobacco. The grower sends it to market
and receives money or other things that
he wants; vessels come from foreign
countries with goods, and load with to-
bscco in exchange. This tobacco is also
manufac ured in some foreign land and
brought back and traded for more raw
leaf All is satisfactory, and life is easy;
as it was on our Atlantic coast till taxa
ton began to annoy.
Gre long, some person who has some
spare cash suggests that this thing OF car
rying tobacco far away to manufacture
and return it here, is a waste OF time
AID money. 'Let US encourage nome
manufactures So he starts to manu-
FIGURING tobacco in the very fields where
it is grown. But labor is naturally rather
high. Now, also, he finds that if he could
buy the tobacco cheaper, and get cheaper
labor, he could grow rich. But these
ships from abroad are carrying aW2y all
the tobacco, and bringing in all manner
of comm dities in exchsnge. He prevails
on the Legislature to put tax on manu-
featured tobacco that is imported, high
enough to protect him. Now he thinks ne
can manufacture. But he soon finds thst
he is mistaken. For the ships bring from
abroad SO many things the people want,
and carry away so much raw tobacco,
that the price of the raw is raised. So
he gets the Legislature to put g tax on
every kind OF import. Now he can msnu-
facture tobacco. So can others. Several
factories and 8 town grow up. The
city and splendid factories are pointed 10
with pride, as the product of protective
tariff. Competition reduces profits, and
then trouble arises; more legislation is
thing directly. Examination shows that
the business has been created by indirect
ly diverting the profits OF other business
towards these manufacturers. A was
producing yearly 100000 pounds of to.
bacco, which he eXchs nged for $4,000
worth Of things; that is, his tobacco
bought that much.
Snow, II the tariff puts charge or
the thspgs equal to 100 per ceut.-lhen
the $4,000 worth were raised to $4,000
in price. Whist does this m9snf Il
me ans that the tobacco of A will buy
only half as much as before-its purchas-
| ing power Is that much less. So A Is
paying this tax instead of the importer
Add that is Just the effect oft Long age
1t became On axiom that war on imports
| is really war on exports; tax on imports
slides off on to the exports. II Johr
and George are trading, wheat of Johns
for cotton of George's-and George he!
to pay tax on his cotton before he car
deliver it to John, this tax is added &c
cost of cotton, and it takes more Of
Johns wheat to get the same cotton.
"But m.y not John raise on the price
of his wheat2 Not if George can ge'
wheat elsewhere. II protection to homt
manufacturers is the object, this raise il
wheat won't serve the millers, and i
GeorgeIceases to bring cotton, and brings
other articles to trade for Johns Whekt
the millers will soon demand tsLEF or
all ar icIes of import. Our cotton trade
with England is fine illustration. Tf
encourage the New England cotton spi$
ners, we put tax on articles OF imp2ff;
England had to have cur cotton, anatht
home price was very slightly affected
But England has ransAcked the globe fol
cheaper cotton, and now gets half of hel
enormous supply elsewhere. But fol
this we could now be proftsbly raising a:
much sgain Of cotton to-day.
HWheneyer manufactures are thus un-
naturally stimulated by restrictive taxes
the manufacturer needs cheap raw ma
terisl as much as he needs cheap labor.
Chow does one person grow richel
each Year? Simply by raising surplus
But Il be can't sell his surplus, it mus
rot on his hands. So OF whole nation
If it cannot get lid Of its surplus grain
meat, fruit, cotton and manufactures, i
grows no richer. Hence the exports OF (
nation. are the measure Of its incremen
of wealth-for they sre the surplus sold
II unsold, the prices decline continually
II auYone will ASSERT that they don't de
cline in some instances, then retort tina
they are not surplus.
"Just as you may argue about one pro
ducer, you may srgue about million
Nothing better exposes the utter madness
Of protection, as it is falsely called, thsr
this snalyzing. We have built up splen
did factories and towns, but 1t has beer
by preventing the development Of som;
100000 cotton growers and Of NOR:
ship builders and nsvigators sthsn ar
now engaged in all Of our protected fac
tories.
"Just as our tobacco tax finds US pro
ducingno more tobacco now t0sn we pro
duced in 1859; just SIS cur sugsr tariff II
aid Louisiana sees her now producing NJ
more hogshesds of sugar than shes4fi
forty years ago, in just the same measure
ere we exporting less than We should
yet with population trebled and railwa!
extension Incredibly stimulated. "a
chow is it that protection hiss not "a
tied railroad building? Simply beesnse
the producers of the iron, ETC., sc the
consumers, and the roads becoming pub
lie necessities, they forced the people tC
pay for them. Every rail mill long age
became the property OF the railway
stockholders. So when Congress talked
of removing the tariff, the great railroad
msguates, Vanderbilt, Gould, Garrison
| n aur