Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1903-12-17
PROTECTION RIpIcuLEp
Leader Williams Tells What Il
Is and How It Works.

Leader Williams Tells What It
Is and How It Works.
THE GREAT BANANA INDUSTRY.
Protection Robs Many to Produce
Artificial Prosperity-The Way to
Raise the Price OF Banauas-Hot-
houses Cannot BE Expected to
Compete With Tropical Sunshine.
The Hon. John Sharp Williams, the
new minority leader in congress, is
making his Republican opponents I'M
comfortable whenever he rises to speak.
which Is quite often. In his rafting
speech on Cuban reciprocity he said in
part:
Protection is Il system of taxation
whereby many are robbed in order that
few men may be hothouscd by lesis-
lation into artificial prosperity. As a
supplementary definition protection is
system of taxation whereby capital and
labor are detected from naturally prof
table pursuits and enterprises into the
channels Of naturally Improbable puI-
suits and enterprises. AID as Il corol-
larry the method whereby they are de-
lected is by the enactment of laws
forcing the consumer to pay TO the arti-
fetal hothoused enterprises Z: higher
price than with free commerce the
consumer would have to pay.
"That brings Inc, Mr.. Chairman, to
my favorite banana theory. There is
not in the United States, suppose, a
hundred acres of land where bananas
can be grown in the open air. and yet
could were the legislating body of this
country or were the car. with abso-
lutte power and disposed to make people
pay the price for it, create 'great
American banana industry could
put tax Of dollar apiece on bananas
which are now selling at three for
nickel. and inside Of five years l could
with good custom house service have
created and exploited vast banana
industry. 1t is true that great many
people who formerly ate bananas could
not buy any bananas at all, but 1t is
also true that great many people who
are plutocrats and aristocrats would
eat them because the common people
dagoes, Jerscymcn and Mississippans-
could not.
III continued that system of taxa
ton in existence for twenty years ut
the end Of that time there would have
come to the front new generation
that knew not Joseph nor cheap ba-
nanas. and the moment sensible peo-
pie came into power with the idea of
revising the banana schedule these gen.
tlemen who knew not Joseph and had
gone into the American banana bust
ness and perhaps formed banana
trust would come to the committee
ing upon the doors all the time and
giving utterance to cries of unGtterable
woe: Are you going to strike down the
great American banana industry? Are
you going to reduce the duty from
dollar apiece on bananas to 80 cents?
We can't stand it. 1t will ruin us.
Are you going to make the people ell
gagged in banana raising go to the soup
houses: Are you going to discriminate
in favor of pauper tropical sunshine
against self respecting American hot
house laborers.'
"Let us stop a moment and follow
| the banana theory little further be-
cause am fond Of bananas. What
would have been the result Of estab-
fishing that industry? Merely this.
that you would have DETECTED GER
| tain amount Of American labor and
capital engaged in the general hot
house industry into a different chan
mel Of dollhouse proceedings. and in
stead of having their lighthouses for the
| purpose they have them now they
would have converted them into ba-
mana nurseries. and the consumers
would be paying dollar apiece or per-
haps 80 cents apiece for bananas be-
cause the protected interest would have
| to undersell somewhat the foreign mar
kets.
"After fifteen or twenty years home
competition would have reduced the
price of bananas in the American mar
ket to, let us say, 40 cents apiece. and
then Republican orators and politicians
would say privately, in newspapers and
on the stump and within these walls
with due solemnity and without mu-
tual smile: 10 and behold! See how
q protective tariff has reduced the
price of bananas from 80 cents apiece
in 1850 to 40 cents apiece in 1865. near
" so per cent decrease in price to the
consumer. Protection did it,
Eyes; reduction from superlative ex-
tortion to comparative extortion.
"But in all this picture keep in mind
one thing-while protection lasted Da-
nanas would never reach three for
nickel, because IL they did that public
enemy, tropical sunshine. would be
| master.
"What would you have accomplished?