Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-04
IMAGINARY MARKETS.
The Wide-Open Marts of the World
Described by Free Traders
HAVE NO EXISTENCE In REALITY.
A Complete Exposure Of the Common Demv-
cratic Delusion.
SOME VERY PRACTICAL EXPRESSIONS

To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Should the Democrats be successful in
the coming election (but hope they won't
be- they, having pledged themselves in
their national platform In favor of a tariff
for revenue only, would no doubt make
short work of protection for our country.
But would that compel Russia and Ger
many to remove their protective duties?
Would it compel France to remove her
from so per cent to 100 per cent duties?
Would it compel Spain, the West Indies
and the South American republics to re-
move their protective duties? II SO, how?
To say that it would is equivalent to say
ing that if one man were foolish enough to
tear the roof from his house, then every
body else would have to do likewise.
But even if it were true that BY sur
rendering our markets to the world all
other countries would be obliged to do the
same, where would be the gain?
A Most Unequal Bargain.
Would not we be giving the best market
in the world, where the best wages are be-
ing paid, where the greatest consumers an
the largest and most able buyers are, tor
the poorer markets, where less wages are
being paid, and hence smaller and less able
buyers are? And would not the inevitable
result be that the balance of trade would be
largely against us, instead of being in our
favor as it now is?
But some advance the absurd theory that
it makes no difference whether the balance
of trade is against us or whether it is in our
favor. If that theory were correct we
might import everything we wanted and
would not need TO export anything, because
it would hold good in large as we'll as in
small amounts, if it would in any. But the
free traders fail to tell where we are to get
the money to pay for he"cheap necessaries
of life" which they tell us can be imported
if this wall of protection is taken away,
and, as the issues of State banks would not
be any more desirable in foreign countries
than in our own, we could hardly expect it
to come from that source.
That the theory is rotten was shown in
free trade times when our imports had been
more than three times as much as our ex-
ports, thus draining our country of its good
money which should have been paid to
American workmen, and would have been
had our people had protective tariff
A Benefit to the British.
But as it was the British reaped the bene-
fit, as was shown by the utterance of
speaker In British Parliament that ''They
had conquered the United States as COM
mercial dependencies, and that they were
contributing more to the wealth of England
than they did before their independence
but their gain was our loss.
How different are the conditions to-day,
when we no more hear the British boast
that nearly one-half of their worklngmen
are engaged in manufacturing goods that
are sold in the markets of the United
States, but instead that a very small pro-
portion OF their workmen are engaged in
making goods for our market and that the
success of the Republican party means the
retention of the Mckinley bill, and that the
retention of the Mckinley bill means 80 per
cent of their already small market in the
United States will be taken from them.
But here, instead of supplying from
to 10 per cent of our own market in manu.
factures as was the case under a tariff for |
revenue only, our manufacturers now fur |
nish from 90 to 100 per cent, and that, too,
at about half the price that the British |
charged us when they supplied our market l.
and controlled prices; while wages have |
been largely increased and much more |
steady employment given TO our people, |
thereby enabling our laborers to save or to |
purchase four or five times as much as |
under free trade, while our farmers, whom |
Colonel Mcclure says "get the worst of the |
bargain every time" find q market st home |
for their products, receiving cash for them /
instead of high-priced foreign-made goods |
was the case under free trade. And the |
great ma jority of the farmers who have |
lived under free trade In this country, not |
only know, but show by their votes which |
is the better for them.
Interdependence of Industries.
People who see the interdependence of
the different industries will readily under
stand how one industry affects every other
industry. If the men engaged in making
iron In this, our country, were thrown idle
by foreign competition, not only would
they have to crowd into the other industries,
with certain reduction in wages, but those
employed in furnishing the oil, coal, ma
chinery, timber, and hundreds of other
things which are used in connection with
the iron industry would also have to find
work in the already overcrowded industries,
thus greatly reducing the opportunities for
laborers as well as their wages, which would
hit us much harder than the
high tariff which the Democrats claim we
pay, and which England, Germany and
Canada claim they have to pay if they want
to sell In our market If we must nav the
protective tariff we certainly would have to
pay the tariff for revenue only which the
Democrats propose to give US if put in
power.
And if we get what they promise to give
we will have to work for about two-thirds
of our present wages and have employment
about three-fourths OF the time we now
have, earning just half ss much as at pres
ent Then, when we would come to buy.
even if we could get for $40 what we now
have to pay S14 for (as the Democrats claim
we could, we would have only 81 with
which to pay it, thus showing clearly that
the cheapness of goods does not depend
nearly as much on the price as on the op-
portunity afforded and the time required to
earn said price.
A Decrease in Prices.
But instead of the price of goods being
raised by protection it has been greatly re-
duced since 1860, when the price of calico
was from 25 TO 80 cents q yard but which |
we now buy for from to Is cents If that
is the way protection increases the neces-
saries of life, then let's have more OF it.
But the free traders claim that the re-
ductions in prices of manufactures are due
to our free institutions, superiority In skill
and to our inventive genius Yes.
But did we not have free institutions
prior to 1860? Ii not it would seem that 1
good, stiff protective measures and free in
'titutions go hand in hand, and that when
we have protection free institutions in
crease and prosper as thev have
never done before. The truth is
Is oxygen aids our fires in bringing out the
atent heat which is contained in the fneI
10 protection helps to bring out our latent
powers and to develop our natural re-
sources by insuring large home market to j
,ur manufacturers who either directly or