Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-09-24

ket-How Protection Has Failed.
Some of the cherished ideas which pro-
lection sets out to reach is to provide a
home market for the produce of our
farms. Impose a high tariff, say the
protectionists, and men will engage in
manufactures, will give employment to
large numbers of laborers, and thus
great home market will be built up to
consume all that our farmers can pro-
duce. 1t is upon this basis that they go to
the farmers to seek support for our high
tariff system, even trying to persuade
them that they get greater advantages
from it than anybody else.
This thing has now been going on for
thirty years, and it would seem that by
this time protection ought to have ac-
complished something substantial in the
way of building up its home market.
Let US see what the result so far has
been.
By taking wheat as the most impor-
tant of our farm products, and finding
out how much of this years crop will be
consumed by the protected classes, we
can form an approximately correct esti-
mate of the Importance of projections
home market.
How many people in this country are
subject to foreign competition, and
therefore benefited by protection? In
answer to this question three eminent
specialists in the employ of the United
States government have made estimates.
These are Worthington c. Ford, chief of
the bureau of statistics of the state de-
par 5ment; Professor Simon Newcomb,
superintendent of The Nautical Alma
nae, navy department, and E. B. Elliott,
the United States government actuary.
These three authorities reached slight
ly different results. According to Ford
the number of persons subject to foreign
competition is 40 per cent; according
to Elliott, Al per cent, and according
to Gewcomb, $50 per cent. For our
purposes here let US take D per cent,
who is little above the average of the
three estimates.
Now the average population of the
country for the fiscal year now passing
is given at about 65,0O0.000 and the
party dependent on protection by the
above estimate is, therefore, $3.50, 900.
This is, then, the dimensions of protec-
tion's home market.
Now let Us see how much of our wheat
crop this boosted home market will eat
this year.
According to the agricultural depart
| ment at Washington the average per
capita consumption, of wheat in the
United States is now about AZ
bushels. At this rate, our protected
81
| bushels Of our present large wheat crop.
At the same rate the farmers themselves
| and ether unprotected classes Of our
| population viii require 2SS, log, 900 bush
| els, al amount which dwarfs into utter
| insignifcance the consumption of the
! protected classes.
The wheat crop of the present year
has been placed by the agricultural de-
| partment at "a, 900, 600 bushels, though
some authorities put it higher. Besides
this, a surplus Of 10000 coo bushels was
brought over from last years crop. The
| total supply this year will, therefore, be
not less than $40, 600, 900 bushels.
The entire home demand for this
wheat viii be about as follows:
| Bushels.
NOnprOt scted home fnarket..-...... IS. lG6 900
I Protected home market.............. l5,266G1
FOR seed 55,DUON0
Total. 3t3. l32 OO
This leaves for export TO the foreign
market over 2l1 100000 bushels, or a
quantity sufficient to feed, at our own
rate Of consumption, population OF A.
| O0O. COO
This Is a most astonishing result after
thirty years Of effort IN creating home
! market. According to these figures our
farmers viii have to sell thirteen times
as much Of their wheat abroad as the
! protected classes Of this country will
consume.
If protection had carried ont its boast
ed scheme Of creating a home market
large enough to eat all our farmers
wheat, il would have had to bring here
$4,000, 600 people and put them into some
form of protected manufacturing
With such figures as these before them
| our farmers viii see what an enormous
contract ut market building protection
has taken upon itself. Do they believe
that it viii ever finish the job?