Rails were selling at about a hundred
dollars per ton, and other rates in proportion.
Protection has played a great part in the development of manufacturing
in the United States. Previous to the Civil War it was a party
question, the South standing for free trade and regarding a tariff as
favorable only to the North. The sympathy shown by the British
Government for the Confederacy, culminating in the escape of the
Alabama and other privateers to prey upon American commerce, aroused
hostility against that Government, notwithstanding the majority of her
common people favored the United States. The tariff became no longer a
party question, but a national policy, approved by both parties. It
had become a patriotic duty to develop vital resources. No less than
ninety Northern Democrats in Congress, including the Speaker of the
House, agreed upon that point.
Capital no longer hesitated to embark in manufacturing, confident as
it was that the nation would protect it as long as necessary. Years
after the war, demands for a reduction of the tariff arose and it was
my lot to be drawn into the controversy. It was often charged that
bribery of Congressmen by manufacturers was common. So far as I know
there was no foundation for this. Certainly the manufacturers never
raised any sums beyond those needed to maintain the Iron and Steel
Association, a matter of a few thousand dollars per year.
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