Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-07-23
Republican Free Trade.

Mr.. Blaine's Chi icago organ discourseS
ofwhat it calls republican free trade" as
follOws:
Its fundamental doctrine is that any article
required in this country and which can be
produced here with the expenditure OF no
more hours of work than it would require to
make it elsewhere should be made in this
country in preference to being imported and
paid for in gold. Iii ittakes an hours work to
make ten pounds Of iron In America and as
long time to make it in England or Ger
many, then it would be economic to make
that iron here, even though an hours work
costs in money wages more here than it does
in Germany or Britain.
This fundamental doctrine is as un-
sound as any other doctrine of that nom
existent thing called republican tre trade.
1t Is not necessarily economical fer every
man, or every community, to produce
at as small an expenditure of labor as any
one else would have to make to produce
as much and of as good quality.
A shoemaker may be able to make a
suit of clothes for himself as quickly and
as well as his ncighbor. who is a tailor.
But if he can make shoes enough to pay
for making four suits of clothes in the
same time that it would take him to make
three suits himself it would be poor econ
omy for him to stop making shoes while
family. If he has to spend four days in
making the clothes that he can get made
for the product of three days work as a
shoemaker he saves day out of the four
for the supply OF other wants by employ
ing the tailor to make his clothes and
and sticking to his last.
In like manner it may be bad economy
for community to produce within its
limits everything that can be produced
there with as little labor as elsewhere. A
hundred pounds OF tea can be produced in
Georgia with as little labor, probably, as
in China, Japan or India. Probably the
same number ofpersoEs working the same
number of hours could produce the mum
dred pounds of tea in Georgia as easily as
in any other part of the world. And yet
none but the most insane obstructionist
will say that it would be good economy
to produce tea in Georgia. The reason
why it would not be good economy is be-
cause the people of Georgia, in the same
time that it would take them to produce u
hundred pounds OF tea, could produce
enough cotton and other products to ex-
change for three hundred pounds of tea.
And so it is in any case. The fact that
exchange is made proves that there is
profit in ii, no matter if the article OBJ
tanned by exchange can be produced with
less expenditure OF labor in this country
than elsewhere. The fact that it is nee
essary to put tax on the foreign product
to prevent exchange proves conclusively
that it is to our advantage to make the
exchange; and the amount of tax neces-
sary to prevent the exchange is the meas
ure of the profit arising from it. If the
necessary tax is 60 per cent. as In the
case of many articles, when the COY ern-
ment lays and collects that tax it depriyes
the American purchaser of just that much
profit.
1t Is not to the purpose to say that it is
bad economy topag fol transportation, for
the pi oft is the gain over all costs what
ever, including the cost of transportation.
If a tax OF 60 per cent is necessary to stop
the trade it is because there is profit of
60 per cent after transportation and all
other charges incident to trade are paid.
Therefore the fundamental doctrine of
republican free trade'' is that trade
shonld be destroyed, and that tie Ameri-
can who wishes to trade should be de-
prived of all the profits oftrade. 1t is the
same under the Blaine formula as under
the Mckinley formula. .-C Chicago Herald
Children Cry
l.