What Is Free Trade?: An Adaptation of Frederic Bastiat's "Sophismes Éconimiques" Designed for the American Reader — John Shaqi
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
O, represents the Illinois Central, Union Pacific, and other western
railroads, owning grants of land along their respective roads, to sell
which to actual settlers they open agencies in London, Havre, Antwerp,
and other European cities. The emigrants who buy these lands pay for
them in Europe, and set sail for America with their title-deeds in
their pockets, and their axes on their shoulders, ready for a conquest
over forest and prairie. The agents of the Illinois Central Railroad
(see report of the Company), who have sold 1,664,422 acres, say at an
average of ten dollars per acre, invested the proceeds, $16,644,220,
in iron rails for the road, worth that sum in England, but ten per
cent. more in Illinois, less duty and plus transportation. The road
has thus not only netted a profit of $1,664,422 on the transaction,
but sold their wild lands to actual settlers, who will soon convert
them into productive farms. But Mr. Greeley, upon seeing an import of
$16,644,220 of iron rails, declares the thing must be stopped or the
country will perish.
P, is Sir Morton Peto and other European capitalists, who, believing
that eight per cent., the average rate of interest in the United
States, is better than three per cent., the average rate in England,
invest $10,000,000 of capital in American enterprises. This capital is
sent hither in the form of merchandise, to stock our railroads, farms,
factories, etc., and is so much clear benefit to the country; but to
Mr. Greeley's solitary vision it is only a curse.
Q, and his friends are cozy old-fashioned merchants in Boston city,
who own one hundred and seventy-nine vessels (see Consular Reports,
1865), which trade between foreign ports and away from the United
States altogether. These vessels have an aggregate burden of one
million tons, are worth forty dollars, gold, per ton, and earn a net
profit per annum of ten per cent. on their cost. Although in this kind
of carrying trade we are wofully behind other nations, yet it yields,
in twelve years (the average age of the vessels engaged in it), the
neat little profit of $48,000,000, which is invested by Q in tea,
coffee, and sugar, and imported into the United States at a net profit
of ten per cent. Although an unquestionable gain to Q and the country
at large of $52,800,000, Mr. Greeley, with his contracted views, only
regards it as a dead loss on the import side of our Commerce and
Navigation Returns.
R, was a bank which had a defaulting cashier, who ran away in 1857
with $500,000 of its funds. (Sch*yl*r carried off a million of New
Haven Railroad bonds). These funds were recovered and converted into
gold, which was shipped to the United States. According to Mr.
Greeley, who could find no record of exports to counterbalance it, the
same was a dead loss to the country.
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