THE ETHICAL VIEW OF PROTECTION. 629 



be far less, and, being relieved from the burden of heavy taxation, 

 we shall all be much more prosperous than we are now ; and if 

 each of these men supports his assertions with a vast array of in- 

 controvertible statistics, what are we to do — we who are not 

 learned in figures, or who see that the same facts differently 

 arranged can be made to prove different things ? 



Evidently there is only one course open to us if we wish to de- 

 cide the question on its merits and not in accordance with per- 

 sonal prejudice, or party affiliation, or the superior eloquence and 

 ingenuity of the orator we hear last. We must brush aside all 

 these confusing statistics, ignore the arguments based upon them, 

 and put the matter before our minds in the simplest form. We 

 must deal, not with a misleading array of facts, but with the ele- 

 mental truths of existence. We must do this, even though we run 

 the risk of being called mere theorists and impractical. The 

 trouble with the practical man is, that his vision is closely lim- 

 ited ; he sees only what is directly under his nose. The practical 

 man always wants to get change for his dollar as quickly as pos- 

 sible. He is never willing to run what he calls risks — that is, he 

 is never desirous of making a beginning till he has the end within 

 his grasp. It was not a practical man who built the first steam- 

 ship to cross the Atlantic, or invented the electric telegraph, or 

 planned the first ocean cable, or conceived the idea of the Pacific 

 Railway. The relation of the practical man to humanity in gen- 

 eral is the same as that of the hands to the body. It is not for 

 the hands to make plans or say how things shall be done ; that 

 must be left to the brain. It is the business of the hands, when 

 the plan is made, to take hold and do the work. And just as the 

 hands can not judge of a thing simply by the sense of touch — can 

 not tell a five-dollar gold-piece from a copper cent — so the practi- 

 cal man, because governed by immediate appearances, is of all 

 men the most easily deceived. 



But you, if you are a theorist, a philosopher, a man who deals 

 with general principles, will settle the matter for yourself in 

 accordance with general principles. If the question before you 

 is that of free trade and protection, and practical men are being 

 confused and misled by the artful devices of statistical orators, 

 you will simply refuse to listen to the conflicting statements of 

 either side, which do not prove anything, and never can prove 

 anything. You will decide the matter for yourself on general 

 principles ; and you will first wish to determine clearly and defi- 

 nitely what is meant by the terms protection and free trade. 



The word protection means a defense, a guard, literally a cover 

 or shield against something or somebody, and it can be used, of 

 course, only against an enemy. No one would think of protecting 

 himself against a friendly influence. The word protection, or its 



