The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-06-29

those articles, for the manufacture of
which we have none of the natural
adaptions While the smoke of burning
corn, sacrificed simply because it will not
pay for transportation, rises from the i'm
poverlshed home OF our western farmer,
you lind the fires extingulshed and the
wheels mononless IN many an European
factory. why deprive these suffering peo-
pie OF the mutual advantages of an inter
change of their respective products? Re-
move the sitting obstruction, "a tariff Tor
protection with Incidental revenue" ard
they will at once make each other COM
Portable and happy.
However, 1t has been held by MANY pro-
tectlonists that the advance in duties, as
provided In our present tariff bill, is only
an incident to this decline in our foreign
trade, while other causes really produce
the undesirable effect. In reference TO
these evasive arguments l submit the fol-
lowing table tai from the report of the
Austrian consul:
EXPORTS FROM AUSTRIA TO THE UsrrED STATES
Free Of duty .-.......-.....s 3,.65 Isl 77,y,
IAeuuceu uutY-............-....... 5ZlSJI Al OIl
Advanced duly. 6Osl.T53 3,4I7,g3j
This simple statement needs but little
calculation. While the trade in articles
AANO Va NUAN las hiOlt lDhu uUuUlGu llbEll
within wear, that in goods with the in
creased duty has sunk TO almost one-half
OF Its former value. can see no reason to
doubt any longer that the operation Of the
Mckinley bill is tending toward a rapid
reduction in the exchange of all those
articles that 1t directly affects II the
long accepted principle that Exchange
benefits both buyer and seller" is true, if
the greatest duty of our country is 10 en-
large the area of our foreign trade. then
the Mckinley tariff bill, acting in direct
opposition to this fundamental principle.
lie in the greatest degree detrimental to the
more important industries of our country.
Have We Been Compounded?
Has there been any compensation for
this loss OF foreign trader Has there been
an increase in internal commerce sufficient
to neutralize the evil effects in interna-
tional exchange? Have the increased
duties been able to raise up new industries
sufficient to supply these products at the
same cost and consume those products
that would be exchanged for the dutiable
goods? These are questions often an
swered in the affirmative by protection
lists, without any attempt at verifcatlon.
But on closer inspection these affirmations
are found to be on very i'll terms with ex-
perience, figures and facts. In BrddStreets
weekly review OF the business situation
from September, 1891, 10 February, 1892.
find more than two-thirde of the articles
begin with statements similar to the fol-
lowing: THE general business situation
throughout the country has as yet
shown no signs OF improvement"
In the review of Oct. "a we read
| the following: "Great activity was an
ticipated as the fruit of bountiful harvests,
but the outcome does not meet expecta-
tions, and the buying power of the people
seems to be exhausted" In that of Jan
g: The prophets were all wrong six
months ago. With the great crops loom
ing in A august whose size were underesti-
mated by the most eXtravagant predic-
ti0ns, q boom in trade seemed certain.
Prices were to improve. trade to revive
and speculation to run rampant. None
of these things came. There has been no
boom. Prediction has been wrong at ev-
cry stage" While in the article that has
Just come to hand l notice the fol-
lowing statement: Cotton has
dropped during the past week to
the lowest price ever known
since lS49. and it is perhaps fair to say
that II is questionable whether the cents
per pound quoted in 1919 meant less than
cents per pound quoted today. While
nature with lavish and bountiful hand
has filled our granaries to overlooking,
yes, has even gone further than this: she
has withheld her usual store from our
xxi 2cross the sea, ;" and yet our trade is
dull and our agriculturist realizes no
higher prices for the bountifUl reward of
his labors. Why this seeming contradic-
ton of the law of supply and demand?
Legislation has Defeated natural law. It
rrnfifo foru,ar him, TO
most abundant harvest if the government
deprives him of the privilege that nature
intended him to nJoY-to exchangelit for
the product of his felloWman. The mecca
stiles of society demand that this per
version of the powers OF government
should be abolished.
But this is not all. The total number OF
business failures IN the Uuted States dur
ing tue past year is fully 10 per cent.
larger than in 1890. while the grand total
of liabilities is the largest since the threat
ened panic OF 1884. However, the most
remarkable and interesting feature in ref
erence TO our present discussion is the
fact that an unusually large per cent. of
these failures have been in New England
and the manufacturing states. This, to
many who accept the popular belief, that
the highest tariff is productive of the
RredteSL ROOO 10 the manufacturer, seems
peculiarly puzzling. Yet it is not difficult
to discover the cause. The Mckinley bill
transfers a large number of articles in
crude or partly manufactured condition,
absolutely essential in the process of man
ufacture from the free to the dutiable list.
Any branch of industry that will pay 0per
cent. profit on the capital invested will at
tract capital and will be at once estsb-
lished. But now add tax on the raw
material that will amount TO 10 per cent.
of the finished product and you have at
single stroke swept all profit, and the in
dustrY is ruined. This is what has befall-
en- many of our New England industries.
How bout Inter State Protectiong
An active competition is sprInging up
in the West and South against which New
England can have no protection. Prox-
unity to materials, saving the cost of
double transportation, give southern and
western manufacturers a marked advaut-
age. This is a condition that is not in the
power of New England to alter. She can
not bring her raw materials from Texas or
the West, and transport them back again
and compete successfully with the south
ern or western producer. In skilled labor
she undoubtedly excels, but in the cost of
her crude materials, she is at a marked
disadvantage. for on these she is now ru-
inously taxed. Remove the duty on iron
ore, which now costs the New En-
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