Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-05-09
THE VERMONT PHGNIX BRATrLEBORO FRIDAY, o. 1890
A Good Le,,cr on ,he Tariff Que.,iop.

A Good Letter ON the Tariff Question.
James H. Walker, a Chicago merchant,
recently wrote a letter on the tariff to one
Capt lockwood of Kansas, which attract
ed a good deal of attention in the West,
and was considered 10y the ree-traders a
great card for their side of tho argument.
In answer to il AN Old Farmer" sent a
letter to the Chicago lnter-Ocean which is
worth reprinting. 1t shows up free trade
fallacies and illustrates the underlying
principle involved in the protective policy
in a stronger way and in fewer words than
any thing we have lately seen:
1T is not to he wondered at that man
whose business is importing, and who il in
addition Democrat should he found blow
ing his own horn aud asking that the old
| Democratic doctrine he lived up to. Buy
where you can buy the cheapest and sell
where you eau sell the dearest Carry
| this idea aud We can make nothing in tins
country until We can bring the people down
| to the same position as the people that
make the goods We import Another queer
| thing is that at the same time that these
large importers are yelling for free trade
the booming cities of the North, the South,
and the West are making offers of money,
lands aud buildings, bounties in every form,
| for manufacturers to locate near them he
cause it will boom these cities, raise the
price of their lands, make a market for the
produce of the farmer, make money plen
ty by keeping it at home and paying it to
| one another.
''Mr. Walker says buy your goods in Eu
rope. That will boom the country. Send
your cash out of the country, where it will
| never trouble YOU any more, and keep on
doing this until the last dollar is gone di-
vded between the foreign manufacturer
| and the James H. Walkers of America
But the remark that Mr.. Walker consider
ed smart was silly. 1t is an old saw, and
was worn out before he was born. Hear
him He says: Our mercantile clerks,
our black smiths, carpenters, masons, and
such trades mon prutectedl, are better paid
than the protected trades Now | will say
to this when these importers begin to i'm
port stone walls, brick walls, finished build
ings, churches, stores, etc. when "A farm
er can get out Of bed fifteen minutes EARL
er than usual and send his horses to Lon
don to shoe and get them back without cost
or DELAY when James Il Walker can step
to his office and speak to clerk in one Of
the stores in London and say 4 can use
/
without cost in ten minutes, then is the
time we will ask for protection for these
trades Mr. Walker tells the story quite
well when he says The trades that are
protected by law are poorly paid | will
say they are the best protected when they
are protected by iniposslbilities like those he
calls unprotected and will fare as well when
there are no imports, AS in the case of stone
or brick walls.
Another thing If we import goods free
into this country, England, France or Ger
many would find themselves far nearer
New York than all but a small portion OF
our own country. Any kind of goods car
be brought from Europe to our distributing
centre New York, for less than 100 mile'
of travel ON our railroads, aud Americans
must compete with them IN New York
American manufacturers are taxed at ev
cry turn they must give, give TO every
cause, support our government, pay take
10 state, county, town, city, etc, and NEE
the English that pay none either here or a
home, for the English government taxes NJ
capital engaged in the business Of manu-
featuring.
Il will show here how the carpet trad
was at one time manipulated 10y few i'm
porters The carpet trade in this country
wa, nearly all foreign up Ia lS4S or 1870
aud even a. late as 1860 our American
mills did not at all check imports in car
pets The cost of ingram carpets in New
York ituglish was from 1919 to 1870. L
the importer, 81 yer yard, sometimes lat
tie less. The price to the consumer all thi
time was - 30, never less, and not Otter
more. But about 1872 the American car
pet mad cut its way To the public, and tn
prices began to come down from - % /