Year: 1870




futility of the assumption whereby the policy
of Home Markets is contested-they must be
seen in their naked absurdity to be credited.
Here is specimen, which We copy verbatim
from The World:


"The fabrics which THR TRIBUNE says could be made
with "a little labor Minnesota In Europe must DO
fabrics OF Cotton Flax Silks or Woolen or OF some com
bination OF these. OF all Of thcse we import large
amon together 10 the total value for the year ending
December 1862 Of tN,sis.293 We do not now propose
to deny that it would be advantageous II all these
articles were manufactured within the United States
For the sake OF argument, we Will admit that
IL Is highly desirable that we should manu-
scture all these articles at home, and that no wheat
from Minnesota or anywhere else should be taken to
Europe for transmutaton into fabrics. as THE TRIBUNE
phraseology It, but that the contrary Minnesota
should manufacture upon her own soil every single scrap
or shred OF these fabrics which she consumes Mime
sota according TO the census just completed contains
about 100000 inhabitants, about ono and threeths
per cent of the total population of the United States
estimating the latter at 4O0OO,OOo Surprising that OF
every single one OF the fabrics imported Minnesota were
to manufacture her proportion, what should we seef


The returns of the Bureau OF Statistics give the first
article Of cotton fabrics as bleached ana unbeacheu
cotons' OF which imported In all s633,o69 Of THIS
there were imported for account OF the people OF
Minnesota Just about $4,000 worth. Now, the great


merit OF TIE TRIBUNE school Of philosophers is that they
do not pretend 10 understand the facts Of
business and always therefore, have loophoe through
which TO escape. But even the editor of The TRIBUNE
will scarcely claim to be ignorant OF the cotton manu-
featuring business not to know that 1t Is totally I'M
possible to construct any factory which shall turn out
an assortment OF bleached and unbeached cotton
goods to so small an amount as $4,000. To
produce In Minnesota the bleached and un-
bleached cotton goods which Its own people
wear would require the same-szed factory the same
quantity OF machinery the amount OF labor as Is
employed elsewhere in producing ten times the amount
II Minnesota wants to manufacture her own Dleacheu
and unbleached cottons, she must either employ ten
times as much labor to do 1t Manchester does or else
abe must manu- cture times much as she needs
The latter she can only do II she sell her goods and
that again she only do by underselng Manchester
We know that she cannot undersel Manchester; she
cannot therefore expect sell TO others besides her own
people, and supply the wants OF her own people she
must employ times much capital and ten times as
much labor as Manchester does, and her supply OF
beached and unblcaohed cotton goods, which she now
gets for s5s cost her half million more. 1t Is
very evident that among the fabrics which can be made
in Minnesota with little labor in Europe bleaehed
and unbleached cottons' must not be counted.'


Comments By The Tribune.


I. 1t il The Worlds wholly unwarranted
deduction from our premises that, because we
hold it wasteful and imprOvident to send our
Grain, Meat, Wool and Cotton to Europe, to
be there worked up into fabrics for our own
use and consumption, therefore all that is
consumed in Minnesota should be fabricated
on her soil. 1t might be advantageous to
Minnesota to send her Wheat and Wool to
Illinois OF Iowa, to be there exchanged for
Cotton Fabrics, when it clearly would not be
to send them to England or Germany. The
Free Traders may say, According to your
principles, you ought to surround each County
"by Protective barrier ;" but we repel and
deny it. A farmer may nationally take his
grain three miles to be ground at anOthers
mill, when it would be better for him to build
a mill Of his own than to wagon his grain
three hundred miles to be ground at better
mill than he could afford to put up.


2. Of the 100000 people of Minnesota, we
know that the males big enough to attend
school wear shirts; and, though we can testify
no further from ocular demonstration, we may
safely assume that some equivalent is worn by
the females. Here, then, are some 100000
people who must require an average Of
ten yards per annum of "Bleached or I'm
"bleached CottOns" for this single purpose,
with at least half as much more for Shceting
in all Six Millions of yards. We judge that
as much moro of these fabrics is required for
Grain-Bags and other uses, making Twelve
Millions of yards of imprinted Cotton Fabrics
required to supply the wants of Minnesota
and every year adds at least ten per cent. to
her requirement SO far, therefore, from
$5S 900 WORTH subscribing her need, she re-
quires at least &, 100000 worth per annum; and
it will very soon be $30OO,0OO. The Worlds as
sumption that her factories, if she had them,
would find a market merely for the S5s,OOO
worth of Plain Cottons which is alleged to be
her quota of the quantity now imported is alb
surd. Her products would replace those she
now buys from New as well as Old England
and would find markets on every side Of her.
We presume that the single Grain-Bag factory
recently started at Minneapolis already pro-
duces twice to thrice the value which The
World deems adequate to the wants of the
State.


8. There is no reason on earth for assuming
that given amount Of labor would not, upon
like machinery, produce Cotton Fabrics in
Minnesota at least equal in quantity and in
trinsic yalue to the product of as much labor
in the mills of British Manchester We all
know that it would. And the goods so pro-
duced in Minnesota would find markets,
throughout the entire area of our Union, with
Out being obliged to "undersell Manchester, :,
They would be dearer than those of
Manchester only because labor is bet
ter paid in Minnesota than in Man
chester. and to the extent of such
difference, less the cost of sending the Cotton
to England and bringing back the Fabrics
In short-though we have never argued that
the benefits of Protection could only accrue
to Minnesota through the production of
Fabrics on her precise area-we have no doubt
that euch DrOduction would increaaa her nOnu-