What Is Free Trade?: An Adaptation of Frederic Bastiat's "Sophismes Éconimiques" Designed for the American ReaderBastiat, Frédéric
General
What Is Free Trade?: An Adaptation of Frederic Bastiat's "Sophismes Éconimiques" Designed for the American Reader
Bastiat, Frédéric
Free trade; Tariff -- United States
L, and some fifty thousand other skedaddlers ran off to Canada when
the war broke out, for fear they might be drafted. Together with the
colored folks who fled there, and the many travellers who went there
from time to time, they carried with them most of our silver
half-dollars, quarters, dimes, half-dimes, and three-cent pieces.
These amounted to $25,000,000, which the skedaddlers, the colored
folks, and the travellers, as with returning peace they slowly
straggled back into the country, invested in Canadian knick-knacks,
which they disposed of in the United States. The incoming goods
were duly entered at our frontier custom-houses, but the outgoing
silver was not. Mr. Greeley, unaware of this fact, detects an
over-importation of $25,000,000, and is waiting to be elected to
Congress in order to legislate the matter right.
M, (an actual transaction) had $1,000,000 in Illinois Central Railroad
bonds, for which he desired to obtain $1,000,000 worth of iron rails
to repair the road with. Not being able to effect the transaction in
the United States, he sent the bonds to Germany, where they were sold,
and the proceeds invested in English railroad iron, worth $1,000,000
in Glasgow, but $1,100,000 in Chicago, ex duty, and plus
transportation. By this transaction M, besides effecting the desired
exchange, netted a profit of $100,000. Yet, according to the Commerce
and Navigation Reports, and Mr. Greeley's one eye, as there had been
no exports and $1,000,000 of imports, the country was a sufferer by
the latter sum.
N, was a body of incorporators who owned a tract of land lying in the
bend of a river. Standing in need of water power for manufacturing
purposes, they resolved to cut a canal across the bend. As this would
essentially benefit the navigation of the river, the State agreed to
guaranty their bonds for a loan of money to the extent of $1,000,000.
Finding no purchaser for these bonds in the United States, they
remitted them to Europe, and there sold them at par. With the proceeds
they purchased army blankets for the Boston market, on which they
realized ten per cent. net profit. These sold, the avails were
invested in barrows, spades, water-wheels, wages, &c., and in good
time the canal was cut and the manufactory set a-going. Profitable as
this thing was to N, Mr. Greeley's single-barrelled telescope sees in
it only a loss to the country of $1,000,000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account