l6 THE WESTERN FARMER 



But the mischief done to the American farmers by heavy 

 import duties is not confined to the immense direct losses 

 inflicted on them. Their interests are also vitally injured 

 in another way. The very essence of their prosperity 

 depends upon their having large and increasing outlets 

 abroad for the large and increasing amount of their produce. 

 They grow far more grain, meat, cotton, &c., than their own 

 country can consume, and must look to their foreign cus- 

 tomers to take off the surplus. But the protective duties 

 step in to thwart, cripple, and restrict the farmers' dealings 

 with their foreign customers. How are the farmers to ex- 

 port if the manufacturers will not allow of imports ? " What 

 is the foreigner to pay you in," we would say to the farmers, 

 " if you refuse to take his goods ? Will it be in gold and 

 silver ? No such thing. It is now well established and 

 universally admitted that debts between nation and nation 

 are not paid in specie (beyond the merest fraction), but in 

 commodities, and that all commerce is substantially barter. 

 If you will only take from the foreigner such of his goods 

 as he can make a profit on after paying 42I per cent, 

 import duty, you limit his power of buying from you, and 

 consec^uently your own power of selling to him. It 

 becomes a necessary condition of your dealing with him 

 that you should get so low a price for your produce and 

 give him so high a price for his goods, that the margin shall 

 make up for the 42! per cent, import duties. These, there- 

 fore, cut against you both ways. Not only you pay more 

 for what you consume, but you get less for what you pro- 

 duce. You may not feel the pinch so much just now, but 

 average harvests in Europe would make it absolutely neces- 

 sary for the United States to secure free sales by making free 

 purchases. If you aspire to feed the world you must take 

 in payment what the world can give you." 



Let us now look at another branch of the subject. 



