Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-04-14
PROTECTION AND IMPORTS.
How Production Stimulated by High
Duties and American Wages
Increased.

fall in imports may result from in
creased defense and expansion Of home
industries, or from general prostration
of industries and trade. An increase in
exports may result from such depres-
sion of business and of prices here that
products are forced upon the worlds
markets for what they will bring, or it
may come with rising prices as conse-
quence of increased foreign demand.
Since all these things are obvious,
sound differences from changes in for
eign trade can be formed only in the
light of a due regard for the nature and
circumstances of those changes.
But this does not alter the fact that
protective duties do tend to diminish
imports of certain kinds, and would
rot be perpetually denounced if they
had no such tendency. The restriction
of imports, when it stimulates home
production of corresponding articles,
may and often does result in the pay
ment of millions OF American laborers
for their products instead of the pay
ment of millions to foreign labor. 1t
would be hard for the most stalwart
free trader to deny that the duty on
tin plates, for example, had stopped
the payment of $15,OOO,O00 or more to
foreigners for their product, and
caused the payment of sundry millions
to Americans instead. If that duty and
others of similar influence tend to
lessen dependence upon foreign indus
tries, to build up here a larger demand
4 l., i,
ports appears TO be a good thing for the
country. ls anybody prepared to deny
it?
So heavy imports may either mean
that the country is borrowing money,
as the government did borrow S2G2, ,000,-
600 during Mr.. Cleveland's term, or that
il is pressed to liquidate foreign indebt-
edness previously existing, as it was
when stocks and bonds came here from
Europe in large quantity after Mr..
Clevelands election, or that domestic
industries have made such progress
tnat they are now able, with profit to
makers and fair wages to labor, to send
steel rails and other products abroad
TO markets which foreigners formerly
controlled. 1t does not require much
intelligence to determine whether the
export movement of pig iron, rails
plates, machinery and other products
for which the country was once
wholly dependent upon foreign sup
plies has materially swelled the
balance due to this country from
others within the last year. Nor
can it be denied that this result
of steady or long-continued defense
and development of home industries is
but the ripened fruit, the checking of
is by none assumed thatiall protective
duties entirely succeed in their object.
But the fact that many have succeeded
cannot be denied, in the presence. of
current events, except by one who has
unusual Indifference to truth.
Other causes are all the time in
fuencing foreign trade, quite apart
from the operation of protective duties.
That is not disputed by any intelligent
protectionist, nor does he think it nee
essary, unless writing for children, al
ways to repeat in connection with every
statement of the effect of protective du-
ties the obvious truth that other causes
are at the same time constantly at
work TO increase or decrease exports or
imports. Such other causes, not de-
pending upon the national policy as to
tariff, are necessarily assumed in all
discussion. They do not in the least
alter the plain fact that duty which
checks foreign imports and fosters do
mestic production of tinplates, Cor in
stance, tends to lessen the amount
which the nation has to pay to foreign
ers for their work, or the other fact
that completely successful establish
ment of industries by protection does
send millions worth of iron, steel, ma
chinery, rails and other products into
foreign markets, adding to the amount
which other nations pay this for it's
work k-N v ri