, 1922-06-21
The Provincial New England idea

MEMBERS of the senate finance committee have
LII received 4 telegram from the New England I'm
porters and Traders association which sets forth
a resolution adopted by that association and which
is as follows:
w believe tine present time very inopportune
for the enactment of any new tariff Legislation
whatsoever. We are of the opinion that all tariff
changes should be delayed until world conditions
are more settled and the-tariff requirements of the
country are known. = : There is no telling at the
present time how any legislation is going to effect
the domestic export and import trade in view of
the radically changed and more complex trade con-
ditions as compared with prewar years"
This is very typical of the argument that is now
being used by all influences opposed to the enact
ment of an American protective tariff. Free trad
ers, importers, international bankers and other in
terests opposed to the enactment of a protective
tariff are flooding congress and the newspapers
with literature and arguments ali to the effect that
now is not an opportune time to protect American
industries 1t is urged that we should wait until
business conditions in Europe are normal before
we attempt to write a new tariff.
It is difficult to be patient with such illogical
and un-American argument. In the first place the
time to protect American industri.s is when Amer
lean industries are the most threatened, and there
never has been a time in the history of the world
when relative costs of production in this country
and in Europe were farther apart and therefore the
menace of European imports was greater.
The individual, the business concern or the group
of interests which argue at any time that 1T is
not opportune to protect American interests are
themselves m-A1;ferican and are influenced by,
if not actually controlled and financed by, Europ-
CtII 1ntCIcSIc AiiNh pIOi1b ny tut . . OhhOu
of American industry.
The argument that no tariff should be written in
this country until world conditions become normal
is asinine. No student of history and no observer
of European conditions but knows that it will be
at least a generation before conditions become nor
NAL. No great upheaval such as the world war
which absolutely wipes out all economic landmarks
and remakes the map Of the world can take place
without leaving in its wake at least a generation
of reconstruction.
History is positive upon this point 1t took
Europe over 80 years to approach anything like
normally following the Napoleonic wars. An ex-
ample nearer home and within our own time: The
Civil war in the United States ended in 1865, yet
conditions did not resume what might be termed
until 1879 with the resumption of specie
payment, a period of IL years from the time the
Civil war closed. The best students of world con-
ditions today estimate a half a century necessary
before economic condition viii approximate nor
lmalcy. 1t is conservatively estimated it will be at
least ten years before currencies which now are
greatly deprecated in scores of European coun-
tries Will approach the normal rate of exchange
that prevailed prior to the world war.
This estimate is based upon the supposition, that
everything will work together for the reconstr de-
-tion of Europe. If, however, evil conditions con-
tinue to prevail in Russia and in other parts of
the world, this period of reconstruction will be
much heightened and conditions will never return
TO what might be termed normal within the life
time of any adult now living. In view of this it is
'preposterous to talk about postponing the enact
,ment of a tariff until conditions are normal. 1t
cannot be done. It is the sheprest folly even to
propose it. 1t is greater folly to contemplate the
proposal seriously.