Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-02-17
THE COST OF TARIFF PROTECTION.

new policy. IN bermhny Tue iHrHe'
was to hepsft equally With the manu-
facturer, tho shipping with the factory,
tue colonlst with the stay.at home.
France, Italy. Austria, and Rueeia,
ostensinly 10 solf.deience. but In reality
as an act of commercial war, followed
the example set hy Germany, nnd for
nearly 20 years the process OF tariff
framing has been thu nO1t active OF
home Industries throughout continental
Europe. Every now and then the pro
Gems would receive a check, through AN
effort OF one country TO secure TOO great
an advantage over its neiRhbors, threat
eniug an actual suspension OF com
mercial relations, and oven resort to
actual war. Occasionally the demand
OF one interest would be SO extravagant
as t1 lead to the resignation Of a minis
try rather than the endorsement Of a
duty or even prohibition that must
open up foreign complications of a
serious nature. OnGe embarked upon
policy of pleasing all interestH and Of
aiming ar system OF obtaining revenue
at the expense Of no one hut the
foreigner, the increasing requirements
OF new protection, compensatory duties,
bou3ties direct or veiled aud all the
complicated fiscal machinery of the
list century, faced every ministry and
threatened it with disaster unless
Rrntitied. Twenty years OF experiment
have brought Eurupe-where?
Not since the disastrous years which
followed 1878 has there been so general
a failure of wheat in Europe as
occurred in the last crop. The short
age was aggravated by the remarkable
Rbsence OF outside supplies, usually
counted unon TO make good a de-
ticiency. The plague and famine in
India practically removed that country
from the wheat markets, and vista
tion of locusts in Argentina was so dis
astrous as TO cripple the wheat exports
to an extent hitharto believed TO be i'm
pussible. Australia did not have any
exportable surplus Of wheat for Europe.
Take tho English market, TO which
free supplies Of wheat naturally drift, as
that is the largest and most uniform
market available. IN 1895 the imports
from Argentina were II, 400, 800 hundred
weight, but in 1897 less than 1000, OgU
hundred weight FROM In1ia 5. SOB, 600
hundred weight we're obtained in 1895,
and only 572, 760 hundred weight in
1897. Australia sent 3 1856, 620 hundred.
weight in 1895, and not a pound in
1897. Russia, which has held tho
second position 10 the English market
contributed 90, OF, o3j hundred weight
IN the earlier year, and 5000, 600
hundred weight less IN 1887. From
the United States anu Canada only
was the supply larger in the last year,
and even those countries could hardly
have supplied the wants of England
without marked increase IN the price
Of wheat, had abe imported in 1897 on as
large scale as 10 1895.
In the English market the market or
commercial price OF wheat represented
the cost to the buyer, unaffected by
any artificial enhancement due to de
sire to give the home market to tho
home consumer. Even thus limited,
the G2, 7i3, $50 hundred. weight i'm
ported III 1881 cost f23, 1858, joi, or
nearly ESQ, 900 more than did tine
| 81, 100, COO hundred weight imported in
1888. In every Continental market the
wheat obtained from abroad reaches
the consumer increased by protective
duty. At the very time when relief
from burdens is needed, when the cost
Of one of the great necessaries Of life
has been nearly doubled through
natural causes, the consumer feels the
full weight of the "protectiyem duty.
lie may be conlforted by the politicians'
assurance that his suffering ipures To
the benefit of the farmer, but up.
fortunately, the farmer does not receive
any such compensatory benefit. He
has little or no wheat to sell, and the
failure OF his crop leaves him with nc
product on which 10 obtain the in.
creased price. Every bushel of wheat
imported is made more costly by a sum
that benefits no onr. exccpt the
Treasury, and even the Treasury would
prefer not to collect such a tax which
it realizes must weigh heavily upur
the consumer and prevents him from
paying other taxes or from maintaining
that standard or scale of living which
has come TO he normal and is necessary
TO his strength. Tho more costly il
wheat, the less the margin for er-
| penditures in other directions.
Before 1854 the duty on wheat i'm
ported into France was GO centimes the
quintal; in that year it was raised 10 /
france the quintal. in 1894 to . frapce,
and it is now I francs. The price OF
wheat in France has always been
higher than the price in London nv
| the duty and something more, and the
lowest estimate of the increased coz,
10 the consumer under the two earlier
duties was 500, 900, 600 france, or si6o.
600, 600, while the Treasury obtained
only $40, 600, 600. For this sum, levied
as tax on the consumer for the benefit
OF one class OF producers, there ia
nothing to show. The acreage under
wheat has been maintained, hut the
recurrence Of short crops at intervals,
1879, 1892, and 1897, has imposad an
additional charge upon the consumer
that is far greater shan any pousible
benefit derived by agriculture from the
duty. In the II montns ending with
November, 1897, the imports of what
for consumption into France we're moro
than two and one-half times greater
than they had been in 1866 Austria.
Hungary and Italy, too, have fined
their populations for the failure of
crops for which they could NOT be- held
responsible and through which tbey
had already suffered enough. The cost
to Europe of agricultural protcction''
will amount to millions for which only
a dead loss can be shown,
What applies 10 wheat in Euroue
applies to articles of common rop.
sumption in tine United States--rav
wool, blankets, Knit gooda, and any
manufacture Of the textile fibres
hindered from free entry by our
protective tariff. While sunpIyine
Europe with wheat, we exclude her
products as much as possible, disturb
ing trade, and this leads to retaliation
in one form or another. IL the direct
losses OF this policy are millions. the
Indirect losses are tens of millions
| besides retarding the advent of a