, 1922-06-23
First Consideration Is Production

and free traders are resurrectiup
IL arguments used thirty years ago ard which
have been disproyed by actual experience mean.
while, with reference TO the operation of the protec.
tive tariff system. A sample statement taken at
random is that a protective tariff forces the pay
ment of excessive prices for goods The plea is
always addressed to the consumer@the producer
be damned-so far as Democratic theory goes.
Those of experience and observation note that the
first great Essential to prosperity is profitable pro-
duction and that there can be no satisfactory con-
sumption without it. A consumer has no interest
in prices of commodities if he lacks the purchas-
ing power production at home affords. The cheaply
made commodities of Europe and Asia brought
into America duty free, at the cost of idle fac
tories and unemployed American labor are ex-
pensive enough at any price when the wherewithaI
to buy is totally lacking.
The price of pauper-made imported articles in
competition with extensively made American
articles is proposed to be increased by a protective
tariff duty to bring their cost to the consumer on
a level with our own articles made by labor work
ing eight hours a day at living wages. Then 1t be-
comes a question as to the purchase OF home made
or foreign made goods at practically the same price
with the American people receiving the final bene-
fit rather than the European or Asiatic people.
The Democratic policy is "buy where you can
buy the cheapest" That means, in actual practice.
that we should buy our wool in Australia or South
Africa, our silk goods II the Orient, our hides in
Mexico, our beef in Argentina, cotton and wool
manufactures IN England cutlery, optical goods,
and various other commodities in Germany, glass
ware in Belgium, lemons in Italy, and so on down
the list If we are to maintain our American
iidh VI ilfluS- III autTlCd. DrO0uCerS can
not successfully compete with the prices foreign
producers are able to quote, and the American pro
ducer, under a Democratic tariff would, in normal
times, sell only what the foreigner could not sup
ply.
IF We buy abroad as the Democrats would have
us do, in the interest of the consumer, then the
American producer must either close down entirely
or greatly %curtail his production Every producer
who diminishes his operation, reduces the number
of his employees and the market for American
goods is thus further abridged.
1t is an economic fact often repeated but not
appreciated, that a dollar spent for productive
purposes in the United States changes hands ten
times in a year. The wage Garner spends the dollar
for food, the merchant pays it over to the whole
turer or packer, the manufacturer uses it to buy
from the farmer, and the farmer buys clothing, and
so on. If that dollar be sent to Europe or Asia il
circulates there, doing the service it should do in
Records of the Democratic administration show
that when the Underwood tariff law went into eff.
in 1918, we had a balance of merchandise trade
April, 1914, when we were actually buyinr
more goods abroad than we were selling abroad. 1t
seems incredible but it is true that this, the great
est producing nation in the world, was buying more
than it was selling, and for the simple reason that
Democratic tariff law made it easy to import for
eign goods As a result, American mills were
closed and there were millions of men out of en-
and created an unprecedented foreign demand for
American goods.
In the fact of these records and the indisputable
that we must have prosperous producers be-
we have consumers it is Incredible that much
IF anybody, will be misled into voting for the priv
1ege of buying goods in foreign lands at prices with
which American goods cannot compete.