The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-09-07

| tcYfUtS.
Before we had any tariffs on tho American
continent, even before the Colonies separated
/ from England, we had successful woolen and
| linen factories. We made paper, pig iron bal
iron, hats, shoes, furniture, ETC., successfully
/ and paid wages which were twice as largo as
they paid in England and we were not only sue
/ cessful In controlling the home market
which our protectionist theorist talk so much
about, but we exported pig iron to England
| and in 17b0 so important, successful and menac
| ing to England had become our manufacturing
| activity that she passed q law prohibiting the
| erection Of any rolling mill or steel mill in
| America under penalty OF f200 sterling or 81 /,
| 900 OF our money. Remember this was when
| labor was twice as high as 1t was in England
| and when we had absolute free ira do with hel
and yet now after having had protection for O
| few weeks over 100 years we can not control
| even the home market without tariff of over
| 80 per cent. op the actual cost OF the iron. We
began, too, with an average tariff tax of about
| s per cent, and instead of building up and
| strengthening our factories to-day they ask
over five times as much, so that the moro tarif
| they get the weaker they grow. The average
amount of labor in manufactured articles is
| now In the United States less than 20 per cent.
and II labor was even 40 per cent. higher here
than in England, to equalze IL u tariff tax of s
per cent. upon goods would only be needed to
put our manufacturing upon an equal basis
with foreign competition and this would still
leave our manufacturers the advantages OF ma
ture in more abundant supplies of iron, lumber,
COAL cotton, etc, and yet with 4? per cent, or
six times the amount they could under any
theory claim, our factories have the ricketts, and
are unable to give steady employment to labor.
We also find that whom we had low tariff taxes,
like those from 1916 to 1860, that all general
manufacturing interests prospered most for
from 1850 to 1860 under this low tariff our manu-
factures increased at rate more than double
that from 1870 to 1850 under the exhorbitant
tariff taxes OF that period So wonderful in
fact was the prosperity of the manufacturers
under the tariff of 1916 that in 1857 Congress
still further reduced IL and many of the Repub-
lican members from the manufacturing States
of the East voted for the reduction, indeed the
reduction had no intelligent opposition. Again,
while from 1913 to 1850 the iron furnaces were
almost steadily prosperous, except for very
short perio d in 1857 and 1858, now according to
the last report of the protected Iron and Steel
Association of the United States over one half
of all the iron furnaces in the United States
were out of blast on June 80 last.
Our experience has not been singular in this
either, for England since she adopted the
American system of n tariff for revenue only.
has increased in manufacturing more rapidly
in 42 years than in any 100 years of her protect
i've tariff history.
But there is under our own eyes the most re-
markable recent example OF the ability Of n
people under absolute free trade to built up
manufacturing in direct competition with the
most slillful manufacturing nation in the
world. 1 refer 10 the South. At the close OF
the war they were poor. broken down, bankrupt
and without any manufacturing experience,
and with no ocean. not even an unbrolSen rail.
fence between them and the great manufac.
turing North and yet, without any tariff what
ever, the South has made the most magnificent
strides forward us a manufacturing people
during the ten years past that the world ever
-s,Elt~ g,14.
worlds universal experience that manufacture
ing prosperity is greatest and soidest when it
is the outgrowth OF effort, enterprise and
brains, unembarrased by tariff taxation.
England has two Colonies side by side in
Australia, one is New South Wales and the
other Victoria. One has low revenue tariff,
the other n protective tariff and in the one
havingno protection manufacturing has grown
much the fastest and is now in far the strongest
ana most prosperous condition
Every illustration, however, drawn from the
history OF the world would but tend to estab-
lish the truth OF the declaration that what we
must do is to protect our manufacturers from
protective tariff
1t should not be forgotten, either, that those
industries which have had the least or no pro-
lection at all are most prosperous, for really
very few of our factories actually get any of the
crumbs OF protection to Offset the damage 1t in
ficts upon them. The greatest single industry
trnry, every thing entering into its develop
ment and operation has been and is taxed and
rendered largely more costly by protective
tariff. refer to the railways OF the land. An
other immense, perhaps the most important
single manufacturing industry in the land
which has not been and can not be really pro-
tected is the -four mill industry; and indeed 1t
is very hard to find any line OF American man
ufacture which would not be larger, more pros
porous and in every way better on, If there had
never been line of tariff legislation upon the
statute books Of the nation. Look at the
effects of protection carried to absolute per-
fection, which means prohibition. We have
several cases OF this kind We can not import
coun erfeit money, lascivious books, and
ships ~. What has been the effect upon ship
buildingG According to the tariff theorists 1t
should have been hourishing like a green bay
tree; but, instead 1t is about dead as a |
mackeral America used to build the finest |
ships that sailed the seas, but after nearly |
thirty years OF perfect protection she has be- |
come builder OF canal boats and coastlng ves- |
sels and various kinds of wooden tubs and she |
occasionally builds an inferior iron boat of |
defective plan, whereas, but for this glorious |
tariff system OF ours. with the start we had, and |
Ihe superior skill were acknowledged to have, |
We would to-day lead the world In ship building |
md our commerce would crowd the seas. In |
1850, under our Democratic tariff, we carried |
ibout 20 per cent. OF our commerce in American |
quilt vessels, now we carry less than 20 per |
cent. AS against this example of the blight of |
perfect protection we see what absolute free |
rade applied TO manufacturing produces. A |
ew years ago we had a heavy tax upon quinine, |
which enriched a very few manufacturers. and |
made ague an extremely expensive luxury. In |
pite OF the predictions OF ruin to the manufac- |
urer, after which we were told the British |
would put the price up to $40 an
ounce, qunine was put upon the free list and to-
lay the industry is more prosperous than it
,yer was. ana the poorest man can now indulge |
II malarial shake, or even an old-fashioned |
,gue without ruin staring him in the face, for
luinine costs about 80 cents per ounce. whereas
indcr the old protective tari it often sold as
high $40 per ounce.
To take off tariff taxes for manufacturing
means prosperity. Let me give you an astounding
Instance OF 1T: The highest protective tax the
zig iron makers OF Western Pennsylvania ever
lad was over $50 per ton. This protection, too
vas in addition to the customhouse protection
VI Sl0 per ton. This wonderful, almost fabulous
/ speak OF was In the shape of
reight charges on pig iron from the Eastern
,art OF the State by wagon. The building of
always has cut this down to less than 81 per
on and yet, instead OF running the Pittsburgh
md Western makers OF pig iron, this industry
las never thrven as 1t has since this enormous
has been withdrawn. / suggest that
his is q case for earnest consideration and
,rayerful study by the ablest OF protectionist
heorists.
But, gentlemen look about you. Do we real
y need any increase OF manu- featuring? Ask
hose engaged In 1t and they will tell you we have
90 many factories. that we make too many
oods that over production is their curse. that II
II our manufacturers run on full time they can
make twice as mauy goods as they can SELL