| Show PROTECTION TWADDLE The greatest Republican paper in this western country is the San Francisc Chronicle and it is engaged in deluding its simple followers after this fashion A free trade paper asks What protection does a tariff afford that fails to increase the price of the foreign article WhIch enters into competition with a similar homo production All the protection that American producers ask The free traders are mistaken in assuming that American manufacturers ask protection in i order to permit them to charge higher prices They desire nothing of the kind What they want is to be guarded against the unfair assaults of foreign producers who in order to hold the American market are willing to make heavy temporary sacrifices to discourage and drive out of business the home producer A properly laid protective tariff accomplishes this object and by so doing creates a new class of competitors competi-tors whose presence in the market prevent the foreigner fixing prices at his own sweet villas as he has always done when he had things his own way For example fortynine sugar refineries desired protection not lilt order to permit them to charge higher prices but to be guarded against the unfair assaults of foreign producers II This protection was accorded them and they proceeded to fix prices at their own sweet will II They sold sugar to the American people at from 3 to 11 cents a pound and to foreigners at from 5 to S cents at the same time After this robbery had continued until it was no longer possible to conceal or defend it the tax was lightened two cents a pound on the lower grades of sugar and the price of sugar dropped precisely that amount allover l all-over the whole country This makes it tolerably clear whether or nQt the tax enabled the sugar refiners to charge higher prices A protection paper has a deep and abiding faith in the stupidity stupid-ity of its readers when it tells them a tariff does not raise the price of the article on which it is laid or when it pleads tho baby talk about the wicked foreigner driving the defenseless home producer out of business busi-ness The fact is that there is no competition between the foreigner and the homo producer pro-ducer the whole competition is between two classes of home producers one of which produces and exports a surplus product The pay for this exported surplus sur-plus is some imported article and when a home producer asks to be protected against it he really asks protection against the American who produces the surplus aud not against the foreigner |
