The record-union., 1897-04-01
DAVID LUBIN'S PLAN.
Declared to be Dangerously Near Free
Trade.

Trade.
The New York Evening POST edi-
torially comments on David Lubin's
plan as follows:
David Lubin and his associated
ington, Illinois. Missouri, Virginia and
Pennsylvania are still pushing their
bill for the payment of bounties on the
export of agricultural produce, in order
to put the farmers on an equal footing
with manufacturers in respect of favors
from the public treasury. They have
presented a memorial to the Senate on
this subject which has been printed as
a public document. They begin by say
ing that the idea upon which protec-
tion was originally based chat of
temporary means of building UP new
iindustries) has been abandoned, and has
been suDplanted by the new and diff
ferent conception that it should be per-
manent means of excluding foreign
competition in particular trades. OF
course this system cannot be applied to
industries whose products are exported
and must be sold abroad in competition
With the products of foreign labor. The
price in the foreign market fixes the
price in the home market. Selling the
surplus as we do at international
prices says the memorial, "compels
US to sell the greater quantity for home
use at the same price, for the export and
the home price is always the same" 1t
follows from this that the American
farmer is Handicapped by the protective
tariff, and that he can only be
recouped by bounties on his exports. SO
Mr. Lubin and his fellow grangers ask
that law be passed to pay to any ex-
porter of agricultural products grown in
the United States at the rate of 10 cents
per bushel on wheat and rye, 80 cents
per barrel on flour, ) cents per bushel on
corn, l cent per pound on cotton, and ,
cents per pound on tobacco and hops.
In order to encourage shipping it is pro-
posed that when these products are
exported in American bottoms the boun-
ty shall be increased 10 per cent. Incl
dentally the memorial criticises severely
the Elkins or Sewall bill for discriminat-
ing duties in favor of imports in Amer
lean bottoms. This, it says, would be
simply an additional tax on the farmer
without any compensation whatever to
him.
The great advantage Of this plan is
that it would give to the farmer much
more money than it would take from the
| treasury. Mr.. Lubin and his associates
show that the cost to the Government
OF the proposed bounties on wheat, cot
| ton and corn would be only SAL 100000
per annum, while the enhanced price
of the same articles retained for domes-
tic consumption would be at least $140,-
0O0,0O0 OF course this would have to be
paid by the consumers of agricultural
products, who are the whole people of
the United States. The memorial ac-
knowledges this fact, but insists that
the same is true of the protective duties
on manufactures. Whatever increase of
price takes place must be paid by the
farmers, who cannot, under present ar
rangements, recoup themselves for this
loss. Mr.. Lubin lays down the broad
principle that all the money raised by
protective duties ought to be distributed
to the classes who are not protected
Failing this, all protective tariffs ought
to be repealed. The memorial concludes
by saying:
1.-The abolition of the protective tariff
factures would do away with the claims
for protection by an export bounty, but
SO long as moneys are received on i'm
ports for the protection of manufact-
ures, these moneys, or portion thereof,
should be paid out primarily, not for
Government expenses, but for export
bounties to protect the staples Of agri-
culture, and thus equalize protection by
extending it to agriculture as we'll as
to manufactures, protecting thereby the
farmers and manufacturers in the
United States against the farmers and
manufacturers of foreign countries, and
thus do away with the injustice of the
present system, which protects the man
ufacturer at the expense of the farmer"
Really, Mr.. Lubin and his granger
frineds are coming dangerously near to
free trade.