The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-10-03
PROTECTION
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
BY ABBOT KINNEY

| hr. DdIIOWS stateS tudb q taA ioFioN
and given to laborers to increase their
wages direct and without Intern ediaries
is not deserving of serious consideration.
1t is difficult to understand how Mr.. Bar
rows can reconcile his opposition to taxes
| to be given directly by the government
| ss bounty to laborers and his his advo-
| cacy of such taxes delivered in the name
| and for tie advantage OF laborers to the
| richest, most energetic and most nhuen-
tial men of the county. At present the
oily excuse offered for bounties from
general taxation or the delegation OF the
taxing power to powerful men or corpor-
ations is that such sacrifice by the Who'll e
people will maintain or increase the
wages of laborers. 1t is manifest that
the protective taxes direct or indirect
cannot be as surely enjoyed by the la
borer when turned over for division anu
distribution to the within or generosity Of
wealthy corporations as these taxes would
be by direct distribution from the gov
eminent. The plausible pretense that
these protective taxes are for laborers en-
ables the levying of them for the rich
No beneficiary ever proposed a protective
tax for or bounty TO the poor. Mr.. Bar
rows admits that prohibltlve tariff, the
extreme of protection, as in ships, is un-
wise and disadvantage. The correct pol
icy, according to free traders, for our
shipping interests, is 10 give sailors and
shippers freedom to buy ships where they
wish and to modify or abolish the whole
obsolete and destructive navigation laws
We have no foreign com merce in our own
ships because of our own stupidity. The
American flag was prohibited to the sea
by prohi bitive protective law. The re-
suits of violating an economic principle
is perfectly illustrated in our shipping.
Out on the free ocean the mask falls off.
Our ocean shipping Is now practically
confined to few coasters. These are. for
the most part, antiquated tubs manned
by Swedes and Russians. An American
can travel in floating palace from his
own country to any important port in
the world, so long as the port is not in
his own country. He can go TO Liver
pool, Hsvre. Hanbu the ports OF the
Mediterranean, Hong Kong, etc., with
the maximum of comfort, security and
speed. When he wants to go from one
port to another in bis own country, say
from New York to Charleston or to New
Orleans. he is obliged to take distinctly
inferior type of boat. This condition of
affairs is due to protection. The pro-
tectionist proposes to cure this degrada-
ton, in fact annihilauon. of our ocean
shipping bv more protection. To cure
the dogs pite with the dogs hair. The
protectionist proposes bounty to ship
owners. The bounty system. however. is
; not approved of by Mr.. Barrows and l
should be glad to learn what remedy he
proposes for the condition of our ship
ping interests which is deplored by every
American. The free trader advocates
freedom. He Gays break the fetteIs.
knock off the ball and chain and see what
that will do. The presumption isreason-
able that the American on an even foot
ing with other nations would hold his
own against them as we'll in ships as In
yachts. II is not unreasonable to proph-
esy that ten years of freedom and the re-
| moval Of the handicap shippers are now
| crushed with would result in hundred
| shipbuilding and lifting yards where
| there is now one, a thousand ships where
| one now floats the flag, and ten thou
| sand sailors where we now have single
| Russ or Swede. Freedom could not give
| worse results than protection has given
| in ships. The flag has been driven off
| the ocean and kept off the ocean and
| trial of freedom has no foreign shipping
| interest to hurt. The bounty for ships
| has already been tried in this country
several times. as in the Pacific Mail, with
| the result OF lobby scandals and de-
Perforated service. 1t effected no remedy.
| Speaking of ships and ocean commerce,
| the Los Angeles protectionlst is in very
| bad predicament. He, like everyone IN
Los Angeles, wants deep sea harbor.
Los Angeles is unit for a harbor for
| large ships engaged in foreign trade. The
object OF such a harbor is to reduce
marine insurance by increase of safety
| to the ships. to enable ships to reht or
| lay up and in general to facilitate com.
merce and to SO reduce the charges on
handling merchandise as to place us on
an even footing with Victoria, Puget
sound ports or San Francisco. To do
this effectively will require from five to
six millions OF dollars. Every citizen
| heard from deems the general govern
nlent justified in expending that amount
| of public taxes to facilitate the exchange
| of our products for the products of ether
| coun tries. All the harbor expenditures
of the general government rest upon the
| principle that trade and com merce are
for the general good. and tnat conse-
| auently public money may be properly
| spent to remove natural barriers and to
| increase trade facilities by reducing their
cost and danger. The construct on of
| highways or railroads rests on the same
| principle.
But the protective scneme is fatty op-
posed to this. 1t levles taxes to stop trade
and commerce and sets up artificial
| barriers where natural ones do not exist.
A Los Angeles protActionist is practically
in the predicamsnt of advocating arti-
fetal i'm pediments to trade by taxes and
tariffs on the one hand and of advocating
the removal of tariffs due to nature
| snort COmlngS on tine Otner. lie would
set up an artificial barrier to trade out of
one pocket and pull down natural bar
rier TO trade out of the other. The pro-
ective system demands the destruction
of harbors, not their construction.
Some time ago it was figured out that
the tariff taxes collected at San Pedro
were Just about equal to the additional
expenses of llghterage. ETC., imposed on
commerce by the absence on this coast OF
good harbor. 1t was proposed that
pending the construction of deep sea
harbor San Pedro be declared free port.
In that way Los Angeles would have been
placed on an equality with San Fran
need of the expenditure of six millions
would have been avoided.
1t may seem sensible to some people ia
employ an expensive staff of customs
officers to EN- barrass or stop trade and a lso
an expensive staff of engineers to facili-
tate and promote trade, but other sens-
BILE people think that to expend money
to do thing ana to expend money no,
! to do it at the same time is not as wise
as it might be.
Passing these and other incongruities
any of which would be ridiculous if they
were not so serious an economic aB0
moral injury to the nation and so indi
Yectly tending towards socialism and the
destruction of individual freedom. ",
! nm discuss for moment the question
fwages.
Wages depend upon three conditions.
First, security. This comprises safet,
against foreign and domestic robbers