, 1890-01-08
THE GLADSTONE ARTICLE.

troVerteo ne says: International CON-
merce is based. not o arbitrary or Ian
ciiul considerations, but upon the unequal
distribution among men and regions Of
apetuoes 70 produce the several commod'
tiles Which are necessary or useful Tor the
s~ustenanoe' comfort and advantage oil
human lie. 1t every country produced
all commodities with exactly the same de-
greo OF iaclhty or cheapness' 1t would be
contrary 10 common sense to incur the
charge OF sending them from one country
70 anotner' but the Inequalities are so
great mat Itor region A can
supply region b with many articles OF
iooo' and region ID can IN return supply
region a vita many articles oil clothing
AT such rates that, although In each case
the charge OF transmission has oil necessity
oeen AIDED TO the hrst cost the respective
articles can be sold after importation at a
rate than II they we're home grown
or nome Manufactured In the one or the
o'ner country respectively. The
oil the Tree trader IS That the
legislator ought never to interfere, or only
to interfere 50 lar as imperative hscal
necessity may require 1t, with this natural
Jaw oil distribution All interference with
II py a government IN order TO encourage
some dearer method OF protection at
home' IN preference 10 cheaper method
OIL production abroad, may fairly be
termed ARTIFICIAL. And every such inter
ference means simply a diminutlon OF
the national wealth. In my
view protection' however dlgnihed by the
source from which 1t proceeds, Is es-
sentaliy IN invitation to waste promulRa-
ted VT the authority OF law. 1t may he
more violent and prohibltory, or 1t may
Of less out up to the point to which 1t
RoeS II sa promise given TO dear produc-
tion' 10 snieid IL against the competition
Oh cheap production or given to dearer
protection TO mold lt harmless against
cheaper 70 secure Tor 1t a market 1t
oouiu no. otherwise mold, and to enable 1t
70 exact from the consumer a price which
Nc "ouia not otherwise pay
i"eu JUG oArrier erec'ed oy a protective
'u's % 30 hiRn mat no foreigner can
o'er-eap H. tna' duty enaoles the nome
manufacturer not MY TO charge a high
price Out 70 ioroe on the consumer a bad
Article.
"eAitn nS umulat ana the az
KreRa'e Oh accumulation depends upon
Tue net surplus iei' oV the prices OF IN
uus'rial products after deiraylng out OF
them the cost OF production. 10 make
luis surplus large Is TO raise national
wealth 10 its maximum. 1t Is largest
"hen we produce what we can produce
cheapest IL is diminished and the nation
S 50 lar impoVerished whenever and
wherever ana 10 Whatever extent, under
tue cover oil protective avs men are In
uuoeu 70 produce articles leaving a smaller
surplus instead OF articles leaving a
larger one. But such is the essence OF
protection. In America it makes you
produce more cloth and more iron at
h'gh prices instead oil more cereals and
more COTTON at low prices. The conten-
tion oil the protectlonist Is that n greater
aggregate proht results from what you
call keeping labor and capital at home,
than from letting them seek employment
wherever IN the whole world they can
mod 1t most economically. But il this is
really So IL there be this Unborn fertility
In the principle itself, why are the several
states OF the Union precluded from ap
plying 1t within their own respective
borders
Ii protection be, as Its champions Tor
Victims) hold In itself an economical good,
then 1t holds IN the sphere of production
the same place as belongs to truth in the
sphere OF philosophy or virtue in the
sphere OF morals. In his case YOU can
not have too much Of it; SO that while
mere protection is economical good in
embryo such good hnds its full develop
ment only In the prohibition of foreign
rade'
without then, absolutely deny
ing 1t to be possible that in some isolated
n exceptional cases there may be a re-
lation Detween protection land all prOtec-