The record-union., 1897-11-07
GOVERNMENT BOUNTIES
David Lubin Addresses the New England
Free Trade League.
The Sacramentan Argues for Protection for the
Agricultural Producers of America.


Cal, on the subject of Government
! bounties on exports of American agr1-
cultural products Mr.. Lubin said
| Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: First
| of all l desire to thank you for the
honor of this invitation and for the
opportunity of meeting in debate on the
question before us the talented gentle
man who is to speak for free trade ana
| against this or any other kind of tariff
protection So far as superior ad-
vantages in presentation are concerned,
these 1 must freely admit are with the
gentleman on the opposite side. We
! know that the Hon. John E. Russell is
an eloquent speaker and a learned man.
| / am neither, and were it not for the
strong conviction in the justice and eX-
| pediency which the followers of this
cause believe is centered in it l would
not for a moment presume to cross
swords handicapped by SO able an OPP
| ponent. 1t is my purpose tonight to
| show.
| First That restriction of foreign
| trade Cor protection as it is called is
at this time in our history a matter OF
political expediency and highly condu-
Give to the national welfare, provided
always that its operation between citi-
| zens of this country is equitable
| Second-That restriction or protection
| limited to a tariff on imports must be
| unequal and unjust SO long as we are
| exporters of the staples of agriculture.
Third will try to show that the
4 present inequitable and unjust protec-
tion system can be made equitable and
just by supplementing it with meas
ure which would produce the same pro-
| tective effect for agriculture that a
tariff on imports gives to manufacture.
Fourth-That this supplementary act
should be by an export bounty on the
staples of agriculture.
Fffth-That such an Act would be
constitutional and practicable.
Having proven this, / will further
show why an equitable system of pro-
lection would be preferable to free
trade, not alone in this nation, but to
/ the other nations.
| In starting out in this discussion, l
may Well hesitate in making a choice
| of roads. Past experience has shown
| the advocates of this proposition that
| however wary the attempt, the speaker
| soon finds himself in the middle of the
road and under the car of Juggernaut.
with band of sturdy Republicans
threat ening to pull the car over him to
the frontward, and an equally sturdy
band of free traders and tariff reform
ers threatening to run the car over him
to the rearward. The sturdy Republican
says: 'All this talk about equalizing g
protection by an export bounty on ag-
! g a iS a
not put the staples on the dutiable list
Are they not therefore, protected"
Working himself up to high pitch of
Indignation, he wrathfully exclaims:
Whoever says that the present pro-
| tective' system is not just or equitable
is Populist, a liar, a scoundrel, a So
cialist and an anarchist"
NO, indeed says the free trader;
these export bounty people are neither
Populists nor liars nor scoundrels; they
are simply consistent protectionists.
They are quite right when they say
that protection limited to a tariff on
imports is inequitable and unjust. They
are furthermore correct when they say
that while tariff on imports raises the
home price of manufactures, it cannot
do this for the staples of agriculture
no matter how high they are placed on
the tariff schedule. SO long as they are
exports. They are also quite right in
claiming that an export bounty on ag-
ricultural staples would elualize the in
equality and the injustice complained
Of but why have protection at all?
What need is there for system which
is calculated to rob Peter to pay Paul
and then turn around and rob Paul to
pay Peter back again? Why not stop
the robbery at its source by free
trade?"
And right here the Republican high
priest takes up the thread and brings
into play his astonishingly wonderful
erudition. His chief reliance, however
is in his resourceful methods of ma
nipulating figures. in which he is
equalled only by those skilled in the
art known as "three-card monte" Now
| hgures are respected because they are
. proverbially known to be honest. We
may rest assured that this is correct
and that figures try hard to keep ur
their good reputation. But once the
} poor innocent figures get into the hands
of high priest advocate of a one-sided
protection system, they get into the
nix of the servant girl. who, having lost
her letter of recommendation, COM
plained bitterly that she had lost her
character" The high priest will now
compel the unwilling and erstwhi!e
truthful figures to demonstrate beyond
, shadow of a doubt how '.the fellow
on the other side is through the soper
alton of, protective tariff turned int
a perpetual motion bargain giving ma
chine, this, whether on straight good:
or whether on job lots Knocking the
: grandaloquent pretensions of the de.
I partment store advertising man" into
: a cooked hat when judged by his eff.
I fort. He will make the astonishing as
sertion that by reason of the protective
tailff and its wonderful operation tn,
English, French, German or Austrian
manufacturers are compelled to sell II.
: goods at from % to 100 per cent. cheap
r er than they can afford to sell them ts
. the most favored merchants In theil
own country.
Should any one inferpose the obiec
tions that the low rate Of interest IL
n Europe would preclude the possibilit,
r of such enormous differences in prices
i or. that commercial experience inva
riably demonstrates the fact that buy
ers of equal quantities transacting bust
; ness and living closest to the sourc,
of supply can, as a rule, obtain ths
lowest prices, because the risk is les.
hazardous and the competitive strair
more constant. Should these and many
. more valid reasons be offered, they viii
: be met and promptly dissolved into thir
, nothdngness by the authoritative ant
, most learned high priests OF protection
f1x- - Il