Congress, yielding as
usual to this argument, imposes a duty of ninety-nine cents on each
foreign orange.
Now I say that the _relative conditions of production_ are in no wise
changed. The law can take nothing from the heat of the sun in Lisbon,
nor from the severity of the frosts in New York. Oranges continuing to
mature themselves _naturally_ on the banks of the Tagus, and
artificially upon those of the Hudson, must continue to require for
their production much more labor on the latter than the former. The
law can only equalize the _conditions of sale_. It is evident that
while the Portuguese sell their oranges here at a dollar apiece, the
ninety-nine cents which go to pay the tax are taken from the American
consumer. Now look at the whimsicality of the result. Upon each
Portuguese orange, the country loses nothing; for the ninety-nine
cents which the consumer pays to satisfy the impost tax, enter into
the treasury. There is improper distribution; but no loss. But upon
each American orange consumed, there will be about ninety-nine cents
lost; for while the buyer very certainly loses them, the seller just
as certainly does not gain them; for, even according to the
hypothesis, he will receive only the price of production, I will leave
it to the protectionists to draw their conclusion.
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