The record-union., 1892-03-23
COMMERCIAL TRUTHS FOR EVERY
ONE TO PONDER,

ment of this State that must be consid-
Reinforcement of freight toward this
coast, movement Of State products from
it to market.
1t needs no argument to show that the
policy of the Eastern manufacturer is to
shut off California manufactures: 20
crush them in their incipiency. He
stands ready to do whatever will reserve
this market for his wares; lhe is, there
fore, the natural foe of our home manu-
featuring. Every reader will be able to
recall evidences and instances of the fact
that where an Eastern manufacturer has
had trade with US, and we have later es-
tablished mandatory here in the same
line, the Eastern house, in order to main
tain its trade, has sold goods in our mar
ket at cost in order to break down the
home effort and leave the field clear for
the Eastern establishment and in subse-
quent sales to recover all it discounted
in the rivalry.
Now let us suppose that the railroads
relating the coast to the great East 5oin
with the Atlantic side manufacturers by
giving them low rate upon the theory
that if our cloth is woven at the East the
wool will cross the continent twice, once
as wool, once as a manufactured article,
what will be the condition of an inter-
ested California manufactures under such
q system?
Suppose Eastern leather manufactur-
ers, for instance, in order to strengthen
their own hands, resolve to close the tan
neries in California; and suppose that
they are enabled to accomplish their de-
sign by the railroads granting them low
rates on leather west hound, the result
must be the throttling of every home in
dustry into which leather is worked.
These are simple, understandable, unde-
niable propositions, and instances in fact
are numerous with which to establish
them by illustration.
The California manufacturer, and to a
considerable extent the California grower,
has to contend with certain welI-settled
conditions at the East, which give the
Eastern manufacturer and grower an ad-
vantage. Chief among these are large
population, enabling the volume of man
ufacture and production to be so great
that the percentage of profit may be
small upon the articles produced; Sec
ondly, a wide. diversified market area.
But to confine the consideration to the
case of manufacturers alone, let us sup
enjoyed by the Eastern manufacturer,
the railroads conspire to carry freight
so low to this State that Eastern houses
can crush out the homo establishments,
how can California manufacture be pos
sibly developed?
The propositions we are stating present
situation analogous to that occupied by
the high protectionist. He tells us that
the social, industrial and financial condi-
tions of a foreign country with certain
manufactures that it desires to send to
us are such that when they come into
competition, through the introduction of
their product, with the social, financial,
industrial and commercial conditions of
our own land and our industrial output
under them, that we are unable to meet
the competition. The high proteetionist,
therefore, demands that the difference
~.
conditions shall be negatived by a high
protective tariff. That is, that there shall
be effective modification of the influence
which, normally, the conditions in older
countries exercise upon our industrial
development.
Now California's relation to the East is
analogous to the relation of our country
to foreign ones with which we have init
mate commercial dealings, but with the
production of which we cannot compete.
AT the East labor is cheaper, the cost of
materials lower, artisans are more numer-
Gus. there is larger patronage for man
ufactures, and there is greater volume
in the quantity which one can manu-
facture. We remember a notable in
stance in which famous wagon manu-
facturer in the East, employing from 1900
to 5000 bands, announced his intention of
closing certain wagon factories in Cali
fornia by selling his products here at cost
rather than lose this market-and he sue
ceeded in doing so, because of the volume
of his manufacture and the breadth of his
patronage.
So the result of all of it is, that if to the
advantages already enjoyed by the East
in the competition of manufactures be-
tween California and the East there is
added the determination of carriers by
rail, expressed in low freight rates West
bound, to force the people to buy Eastern
manufactures = because whatever we
would buy in that way would pay tribute
30 the freight earnings-then we can
can never hope for the development of
manufacturing industries in this State
But low rate on the commodities and
products which we send out every one
desires. Cheap outgoing of products
helps US find a market for them. Now
what will augment desirable population?
Unquestionably profitable industry only.
To achieve that we must produce the con-
dition of competition between ourselves
and the manufacturer at the East that
will give US low transportation rate on