St. Paul daily globe., 1896-02-03

| IlSIt lS d pIOUlSIu III HyoTOSldlICS lOf
political engineers to solve. a and B
represent two tracts of land enclosed
by stone walls. In each there are res
ervoirs, on the same level, connected by
pipes to eoualize the water. In each
the pipes run from reservoirs B to S
and from S to w, and reservoirs w in
each have pipes running through the
respective stone wall enclosures to the
reservoir VIM on the outside
The problem is this: Will the con-
nection of the w reservoirs through
VIM equalize the water in the two 8
and the two B reservoirs; or to do
this, must there be a pipe laid directly
across from one to the other on the
dotted lines?
Vary the problem by calling A the
United States; c, Russia; the stone
wall enclosure, protective tariffs or OBJ
structions to trade; all the space outside
the two enclosures, the rest of the
world; the reservoirs B, and w, the
barley. sheep and wheat industries.
respectively; the reservoir VIM, the
World markets; the connecting pipes
competition. The problem would then
De: VIII the equalization of the price
OF wheat in the United States and Rus
sla, through competition in the worlds
markets. equalize the price of wool and
barley in those countries. or to eoualize
the prices of these commodities noust
each enter the markets of the world
anu there compete, Or must each have
Tree access to the markets of the other
countries in order to do this?
folltlcal engineers will readily agree
of
OF the problem, because in its solution
there is no political superstition to
warp thelr judgment or cloud their I'M
oeis.aholhS, and no tenure to special
privilege or an office at stake. Ouite
dlIIefent is it with the solution of tba
Second statement; however, the law
WHICH governs in the second is as nm
err1ng and universal as the law which
governs In the first statement. but cor
rect solution by majority of the vot
ers OF the United States would result
IN the retirement of the party which
advocates interference with trade hv
tar1f1s, for the purpose of Iesseping If
vi pi stopping 1t altogether. It's political
hlgh priests would be out of ioh and
the means by which a few overgroyvn
monopolists have been able to enrich
themselves at the expense of the
masses would be gone and
they would accumulate no more s1r-
plus rat to be fried OUT and used to
make that party's wheels go round.
WIN put slight knowledge Of nat
ural philosophy one would say the con-
nectlon of reservoirs w w throueh
w NJ with no other connection what
ever, would equaliZe the water in the
TWO Il and the two S reservoirs. and
with no greater knowledge of public
economy or the laws of trade. one
would answer that the competition
w oic,oI
United States in the markets of the
world, which regulates and euuaIizes
the price of wheat in both countries.
operates, also, to regulate and equal
ize the price of barley and wool in
ooth countries, although there should
never be bushel of the former or
pound of the latter exported from eth
er country so as to directly enter into
competition with a like product of the
other country.
The law of competition which gov
erns may be stated in the form of an
axiom, thus: Like products of two co11n-
trles which respectively compete in their
home markets with another product of
those countries which competes in the
markets of the world compete with
each other
10 an unprejudiced mind this is as
self-evident as the axiom in mathemat-
les that quantities which are respective
~ equal to any other quantity are equal
to each other. Barley and wool are
common products of Russia and the
United States, which compete. each in
its own country, with the common
product, wheat, which competes in the
markets of the world; hence, the bar
ley and wool of Russia compete with
the barley and wool of the United
States, tariff or no tariff, even though
neither country exports a pound of
these products.
To further elucidate let us suppose
the United States places a high tariff
on wool, then should any considerable
number of people believe that the duty
would raise the price of wool in this
country, it would have that effect. for.
being Influenced by this belief they
would buy wool on speculation to profit
by its rise In price. This demand for
speculation would temporarily increase
the price of wool and would make the
business Of wool growing more profit
able than that Of wheat raising. Now
the universal law determining the di-
rectiOn of production is that man seeks
to satisfy his desires with the least ex-
ertion, and when there is greater profit
in wool growing than in wheat raising
agriculturists will turn from wheat
raising to wool growing, and this pro-
cess will continue until the profits of
wool growing are as low, if not lower.
than the profits Of wheat raising; and
the profits of wheat raising in the
United States being determined by the
price which would still be fixed by
competition with Russian wheat in the
worlds markets, the prices Of wool in
the United States would also be regu-
lated by this competition of wheat.
But suppose that, although the price
Of wool growing and wheat raising
has been equalized in the United
ifxr ic
by an average Of profits which has