The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-23
Protection and Free Trade as Seen by
Portland Machinist.

PORTLAND, Me-, Aug. ~.
To the Editor Of the Press:
Free traders tell us that the American
manufacturer can compete successfully
with the manufacturers of Great Britain
or any other foreign country.
As far as production or workmanship
is concerned, the statement is correct.
But whether the American have as many
comforts and privileges, whether his
family will be aswell clothed, whether his
children will be as well educated, as am
bilious and as likely to succeed in the
world, when he and his children are
obliged to compete with the poorly clad
and meanly fed laborer in the old world,
is the question for us to consider. The
competition is not so much in the guam
tity or quality of the goods, as in the
amount of happiness enjoyed by the diff
ferent producers.
Our first congressional district of Maine
is composed of two counties. Let us
suppose that in the eastern county there
is large population who are engaged in
manufacturing the same kind of goods
as are manufactured by the people of the
western county. The people of the east
ern county, we will suppose, are not am
bilious; they have few wants and are
content with very poor living; their wo-
men and children work in the fields or
factories; they have little or no desire for
education either for themselves or their
children. On the other hand, the people
of the western county are producing an
,o1 IF ho ri nd of
Here the women are in the enjoyment of
cheerful homes, the children are in the
schools gaining knowledge that may fit
them for the highest places of honor.
The question is: Can these western coun-
ty people have these privileges and com
pete in prices with the unambitious peo-
pie of the eastern county? Either the
western county people must lift the peo-
pie of the eastern county up to their level
or the eastern county people will drag
the others down to their level. The free
trader answers: HWe do have these I'M
ambitious people from foreign countries
coming in and working alongside of us
in our own workshops" To this we re-
ply: 1--WE can lift up part, and must not
be asked to lift up the whole of the cheap
labor of the world at once. The latter is
the plan of the free trader, but we will
uOI TlSk Jul llOluco Ill COluP0ulLlOA lOI
cheapness of living and meanness of
privileges. With regard to the importa-
ton of cheap labor, we insist it is time to
call halt BY the coming of such we
have seen enough of what free trade
wouldput us in competition with"
The cost of transportation is one form
of protection against foreign manufac-
turers, but cheap transportation las
brought the Old World very near to our
shores. To illustrate: The price for
freighting pig iron from Glasgow to Port
land does not exceed shilling per ton;
it has been brought for 5shillings per ton
of twenty-five hundred and forty pounds.
So, had we iron mines as near Portland
as Black Strap, we should need extra
conveniences of railroad to compete with
the producers in Scotland. who can send
pig iron nearly 1000 miles for 5 shillings
per ton. AS it is, the products are as if
produced on ship board in our harbor,
and the great freighter under the British
flag is Great Britain, touching against
our wharves.
It seems clear to me that but for pro-
lection, the manufacturers of the Western
World, would be on level with the
cheaper labor of the Eastern World.
PORTLAND MACHINIsT.