Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-01-16
Free Trade or Protection
A DISCUSSION BETwEEN MIR. GLADSTONE
AND MIR. BLAINE

From The North American Review for January
MIR. GIADsToNE's ARGUMENT FOR FIRE
There was an evident title thus to cal
upon me, because | had. many wears since
given utleranCe To an opinion then an
now sincerely entertained | thought, sn,
each OF the rolling years teaches me NOR
and more tixedly to think, that in interna
tional transactions the British nation 70
the present enjoys a commercial prlmacv
that no country in the world shows an,
capacity To wre>t it from ", except ii b,
America that, If America shall frankl,
adopt and steadily maintain ii system o
free trade, she will BY degrees. perhaps no
slow degrees. out.trip w. in the race. an,
will probably take the place which st pres
sent belongs to u. but ~hc VIII not in
jure u ~ thr operation. ON the contrary
>hc wili dp u good. licr freedom oI
trade vii! add 70 our present commerce
aud our present wealth, 80 that We shall b,
better than are NOW But While We uh
tain th> Increment she will Obtain anoth
er Increment. - mich larger thsn our,
that ii via both cover the minus qualit,
W !llA u tt'tih III Hllt al Itf>fH
exhibits 10 international TRANSACTIONS an,
ai>o establish Il positive excess. pos-ibI, ,
large excess, IL Arr own favor.
PROTECTION AN INVITATION To WASTE
All interference with ii (tle natural lsv
Of trade By Government iu order 10 en-
courage some dcarer method Of production
81 home, IN preference 70 cheaper meth
% Of production abroad, may fairly b.
termed Artificial. And every such inter
ference means simply diminution of til,
national wealth. II region A grows corr
4; home for hfty >hiilings with which re
.jon u can supply Ii AT forty, and rcsiot
b. manufactures cloth al twenty >hiliiu.-
with which region A. can supply il at ff
teen. the national wealth of each i dimin
i>h,d by the ten and tie fiyr shilling, RS
>prcliy,.y
And Tie capitalist. and laborers in racl
~ these countries have - much the les L
divide INTO thcir respective shares, in tha
competition between capital and labuI
which determines the distribution bctwecI
them Of the price brought IN the mark e
BY commodities.
In my View. and | mas say for my couD
trymen in our view, protection. howevel
dignitird by the source from which il pro
Cecds, l. essentially an invitation 10 waste
promulgated with the authority of law |
may be more violent and prohibitofy or i
may be less: but, up TO the point 10 which
II goe-, i Is a promise given Ia dear pro
duCtiou to sAltld II against the competition
Of cheap production. or given TO dearel
production to hold ii harmless again>
cheaper; 10 secure for it a market it coult
not otherwise hold and To enable IL TO eX
act from the consumer a price which b,
would not otherwise pay.
If protection could be equally dis,ribut
ed all round then IL would be fair as be
tween class and class. But It cannot pos
-ibly be thus distributed in any cpun,r,
until We have discovered a country whicl
Will not ind it, interest IN exporting some
commodity or other. For the price oi
that commodity at home must be deter
mined y its price in foreign or unprotect
cd markets. aud therefore, even if prutec
live duties are Inscribed on the statute
book at home, their effect must remain ab
>olutely null, 30 far as this particular arli
Gle j. concerned 1t j. beyond human " i
and power to secure 10 the Cottop-gruw er
or to the grower of wheat or maiz.
10 the United States, the tenth par
IF cent per bale or per bushel be
yond what the price in the markets ol
export Will allow to him. II, under thes,
circumstances, he i. required TO pa,
toa the Iron-Inaster of Penn.y lyania o
t6'the manufacturer at Lowell, an eXtri
price on his impl, ments or on his clothing
for which lie can receive no compensation
whstcver, such extra price il at first sigh
much ike robbery perpetrated by law.
'.FREE TRADE ToII.EKs" ALL OVER TIL
UNITED STATES.
Let me assume, for the purpose of try
ing the issue, that one half of the saahl,
products of the United States are agricul
tural and one-half manufac tured. and iha
the manufactured moiety are covered b.
protection, while the agricultural half
since they are articles of large export, bea
only such price as is signed to then
by foreign competition i'll the market
where they are sold. take this rough es
innate for the sake Of simplicity and il
the same view ! overlook the fact that tn
sugar which you grow is still covered, ii
it used to be covered, by an operative pro
lection. One-half, then, of American la
Dor enjoys protective wages; the othe
half Of the products of the United State
is furnished by mere free trade toilers.
Now, | want to ask whether the wages 0
the agricultural half are raised by the ex
istence Of protective laws which cover th
artisan half This you cannot possibly af
firm, because it is an elementary fact tina
given the quantity Of labor in the market
they are governed by the prices Of tn
commodities they produce and that thos
prices are free trade prices. You hay
free trade toilers" all over your country
and by their side you have protected arts
ans. | ask, then, next, this question:
the remuneration of the free trade toll
ers", all things taken into account, equi,
aleut to that of the protected artisans!
it is not. why do not the agricultural me
pass over into the provinces of demand TO
manufacturing aud mining labor, and b
augmentius the supply, reduce and equa
ize the ratef Which is like asking, iio,
comes il that man is content with on
loaf when two are offered him? The al
swer would be: He is not content wheI
ever he can, be takes the two aud leave
the one. 1t follows that in this case ther
exists no excess of wage for him to al
propriate.
AMERICA TIES HEAVY CLOG UfoN He
FEET,
will. then. proceed to set forth SON
of the causes " hich, by giving exception
al energy and exceptional opportunity I
the work Of production in America. seel
to allow (iu homely phrase) Of her NAL
ing ducks and brakes Of a large portion q
/ what ought to be her accumulations, an
| vet, by virtue of the remainder of then
| to astonish the world.
| |. Let me observe, first, that Americ
produces an enormous mass of cottoI
/ cereals, meat, oils, and other commodtie
! which are sold in the unsheltered marks
of the world at such prices as it will yielt
| The producers are fined for the benefit {
| the protected interests, and receive notl
ing in return; but they obtain for the
country, as well as for the world, II
whole advantage of vast natural trade-
that is to say. trade in which produetio
| Is carried on ct minimum cost in capit
and labor as compared with what the re.
of the world can do.
Q. America invites and obtains in r,
markable degree from all the world one {
the great elements of production, withol
tax Of any kind-namely, capital.
g. While securing to the capitalist prt
ducer q monopoly ID the protected trade