Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-07-18
PROTECTION SOPHISTRY.

NV IN to' f1Ot -
10 all the foregoing arguments that
| have employed to show the fallacious
character of the claim that protection,
in this country, expands the farmers
home market in degree more than
commensurate with the disadyan-
tages il entails on him in other
ways, must be joined the negative
evidence derived from the worthless
nature of the arguments used by pro
teetionits to establish that PROPOSE
ton. They never rise above the dig
nifty of general assertions; they ignore
causation except that Of the most
proximatc character Any attempt to
resolve them into their elementary
componcnts, shows them to be pure
mental fabrications intellectual bub-
bles that can only maintain their in
tegrity when screened from hostile in
tluences When you attempt to firmly
grasp them they suddenly burst, and
vanish into thin air They commonly
assume the form: that diminished i'm
portation increases domestic activity
that goods habitually imported from
abroad, if prohibited, must be made
in this country, thus giving employ
ment, at remuneratiyc wages, to more
worllmen; thus enabling them to pur-
chase and consume larger share of
home products, including farm prod
ucts In this manner increasing the
demand for and price of the latter.
Let us prick this plausible looking
intellectual bubble, in the region of
its first proposition, and observe the
result Diminished importation of a
commodity demand remaining I'M
affected immediately raises the home
price Of such commodity The fact
Of its having been imported is demon
stratiye proof that the goods made in
this country, and exchanged against
it, cost less labor, than must have
been expended to make the imported
article ut home. Then, as concom-
liant Of diminished importation we
have Il lessened demand consequent on
the increased cost The labor form
erly employed in fahricating goods
exchanged for this commodity, must
now be employed in making the com
modify itself, under the double disad-
vantage Of being able to produce less,
with the same amount Of labor as be
fore, and less amount being de
mandtd by the country.
Let Us adopt the assumption most
favorable to proteetioniSts, that these
drawbacks are, in sense, compensa-
tory, and that the labor formerly oceu-
pied in making goods to exchange for
this commodity will be equal to the
task of manufacturing the lessened
quantity of the commodity required at
the advanced price Then the total
coutent Of the operation, is that no
more labor has been employed; less
commodities have been produced; and
the consumers of these commodities
obtain less for the same amount of
money, or can procure the same guam
tity only by expanding larger sum
OF money; and neither the foreign
nor domestic market has been en-
larged; on the contrary, they have
both been diminished
Now, let us suppose that the pro
tected articles are of kind admitting
OF no reduction in the demand. In
this case, the price will immediately
advance to the duty limit. Labor
previously employed in manufacturing
other articles, will be impressed into
the business OF supplying this demand.
To the extent that more labor is now
required to effect this purpose to that
extent must it be withdrawn from
other occupations; thus rendering them
all less efficient, including agriculture,
and slightly increasing the cost of all
articles, And the result is narrowed
down to this complexion; that to
maintain the supply of one commod-
ity constant protection has diminished
production of all other things, includ.
ing farm products.
products.
There las been no extension of the