The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-07-11
PROTECTION OR FREE TRADE.
"a ColloouyO

CA coiloquy)
Protecuonist-'I wish to manufacture In
this country certain staple articles. and
can not do 50 unless our government levies
a protective tariff on the articles. owing
10 the fact that the foreign wage scale IS
lower than ours"
Free Trader-"You admit. then. that YOU
can not make and sell these articles in
competition with the foreign importer. not
withstanding your clear advantage in the
matter Of location. freights and other
shrlnkage incident TO long transportation
Pro.-"Exactly; the foreign wage scale Is
so very low that
r. TT you wish 10 enter into the
causes OF the low wages in England and
the continent you should take into account
the dense poulation OF those countries, the
close labor competition growing out OF this
condition, and among other significant re-
suits. the enforced econ omy Of the people
and the vastly reduced cost OF living. You
should also consider the causes which en-
able US 10 pay a higher scale Of wages than
they do. and the cost Of living in America.
as compared with Great Britain and Eu-
rope"
Pro.-"As statistics prove little beyond
the skill Of politicians and theorists, per-
haps il viii be sufficient 70 call TO your at
tenuon the fact Of Americas greater gens
eral prosperity. That surely means some
thing"
f. T.-"Yes; It means that we have a
country vast IN extent. exhaustless IN re-
sources. and practically undeveloped. Our
prosperity is assured without the aid OF
special legislation looking 70 the interests
of a comparatively small per cent of our
population"
Pro.-"But we protectionists hold that the
policy Of protection. when carried out te
Its legitimate ends, brings about general
Increase Of prosperity, finally reaching all
branches Of trade and all classes Of oui
society"
F. T.-"Let US examine this position We
have had a good deal Of protection IN our
country since the revolution. We have also
had our financial crashes. our civn war;
arising from the fact that protective lawt
favored one section at the expense OF tna
other. our strikes and labor troubles,
and"
Pro.-''wait a moment. Our civil wal
was brought on mainly by the presence Of
slavery in the southern section. Slavery
created a non-produclng ollgarchy and de-
graded labor. The South produced nothing
but cotton. upon the free expectation OF
which depended their prosperity. The South
naturally wanted free trade, for two pur
poses: % To enable them 20 bring ia
The cheapest foreign markets and sell II
the highest without the fear OF retallatory
restrictions. and CD 20 keep tho Noru
from outstrpplng ths South through the toa
rapid development Of the formers resources
These we're the active causes OF the civn
war"
+. T.-"Granted that slavery was prlmar,
ily the cause OF the war. and that the IN.
sttuu0n was curse 10 the South. But II
was on their hanas. and % get rid OF i
seemed impossible, even II the slave-oWnerl
wished O.. Most Of The South's property
was represented IN human chattels. This
10 the North, and one we were not slow
20 seize. Not satisfied with this advantage
the North demanded more IN tho shape Of
protection. Naturally as You say, The
south opposed H. Meantime. our northern
slavery agitat'or,s dld every thing IN In sthel
power 20 precipitate a conflict Tho Souu
was between the devil and the deep sea
and the northern devil Of selhshness pushed
s seS"@ unfortunate brethren INTO the deer
Pro.-'Bgt the South were VIGOROUSLY IN,
Is THAT question goes back OF the as
sault on Fl Sumter. IL goes even furthei
back than John Browns attempt 20 con
rectlon and massacre. The original cause,
OF the civil war lay IN a condition %.
things for which the South were no more
wandered from the issue. We were dis.
cussing the utility or a protective tariff
from the American standpoint For ms
part. don't think we can AFFORD 10 adopl
protection as national economic policy
Tor the reason that IL tends inevitably L
favor certain classes and 20 bring about az
unreal and merely temporary state Of pros
Prot has always made times better
and the last protection period lasted from
the close Of the civil war TIL the accesslof
state Of prosperity continues growing for a
quarter OF a century, that Is the practical
TEST OF lls WISDOM. free trade theorists
twenty years ago loudlS predicted immedi-
ate calamlties as the sure fruits of protects
i've legislation But they were disappointed.
Times kept growing better TIL free trade
politicians got the ascendency, and then
f. This appears plausible, and IL
should assert that the distress was sure
TO come speedily, no matter which party
won in 1872 you have the event 10 oppose
my philosophy. But let me ask you few
questions. First, does protection cause
wages 20 rise?'
Pro-'1IOst certainly"
+. Tt. rise above what? The natural
wage level?"
Pro-'T win say. the existing state Of
+. Very well. The existing wage
scale In the United States is either normal
or above the normal, as affected by past
tariff legislation. In either case IT would
seem dangerous to raise the scale by legis-
lauon. RMS IS particularly true since your
special legislation can nor possibly affect
wages favOrably In any other branch eN-
cept the one specified by such act of law"
Pro.-"You free trade economists have al
ways told us that protection benefits only
the manufactures This We can easily
ures flourish operators extend their works,
giving employment To more wOrkmen. The
same sane cause Use en@oles I9e 10 pay higher
increase of the wage scale, means a thrifty
home market Our WOrkmen are the best
consumers in the world. That Is why the
English and Europeans manufacturers are
50 eager TO command our market"
+. T.-"Let US see about that You say
protection brings about this state OF things
OF course, You will admit that our superior
natural advantages have much TO do with
the increase Of wages and our general pros
perity. Whatever IS done by protective
legislation, then, is artificial. that Is. not
natural fictitious wage scale. like a hc-
utOus prosperity, can not last Both must
end some day in disaster. But let US get
directly at this. question by asking who
pays the tariff2'
Pro.-'Ihe foreigner, OF course"
+. T-"Nou began this colOQuy by stat.
ing that you could not manufacture Ger.
tain articles without protection; that is
special tariff legislation favoring your par
ticular industry. This means that the tariff
must be high enough TO enable YOU 10 re-
ceiVe higher prices from your own country
men than they have been in the habit OF
paying for the foreign product. Does il
uot2"
Pro.-"Yes; but you must be logical and
follow the transaction beyond its imnedi-
ate effect. Under protection the industry
quickly begins 10 flourish. Many capitalists
are induced 70 invest, and thus competition
was paid for the foreign product The
Americans are ingenious and resourceful
Under the new stimulus they invent ma
chnery that turns out the article much
more rapidly. thus enabling American
manufacturers to keep up the scale OF
wages without sacrificing their original
pront Their patents also help 70 protect
them against foreign competition. This is
what causes an increase Of prosperity under
protective laws"
+. T.-.Does all this enable the pro
tected manufacturer TO pay higher wages