Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/777

Manufactures in the Miami Country 767 the West, however, there were practically no industries of this sort to protect except those at Pittsburg and Lexington. Furthermore, the West had no surplus labor that might not have been employed profitably in clearing the forests and in agriculture. The East needed a protective tariff to keep her infant industries from going out of business, but it is doubtful if the West, even though she had had manufactures already established in 1816, would have felt the need of such protection to the same extent as the East. At any rate, the question seems not to have been considered an important one, as Cincinnati papers for the years 1815, 1816 and 1817 make no mention of a protective tariff, although the discussion of home manufactures occupies a prominent place. The influence of the steamboat had not yet been felt ; and the long haul and primitive transportation of the time, combined with the poor monetary system of the country, would have furnished a large measure of protection to Ohio manufacturers, who found a home market for their product. In somewhat the same way, the farmers of the present day in the irrigated valleys of the Rocky ^Mountain region are protected by the long haul from the cheaper products of the Mississippi valley. Let us see now what measure of protection these conditions of transportation and finance would have furnished. The necessary data with which to determine this accurately are not at hand, but we may at least arrive at a qualitative statement of the situation. The merchant who went East to purchase goods would spend about three months on a single trip. If he intrusted the transportation to a Pittsburgh forwarding firm, the commission was five per cent. It is true that Philadelphia merchants usually gave from six to seven months' credit, but they charged seven per cent, interest on all bills overdue. ' Whether the western merchant paid cash or not, the interest on the money invested must be counted as an extra charge, for at least the time required to make the round trip and lay the goods down in Cincinnati. Insurance, of course, was a considera- tion, although it is probable that most merchants carried their own risks. Besides, Cincinnati bank-notes were usually received at a discount of about five per cent, in Philadelphia." Again, the cost of transportation from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh was from six to ten dollars per hundredweight, and seven or eight dollars per hundredweight from Philadelphia to Cincinnati was probabl}' about an average. In addition to the regular charges, Cincinnati people felt that Penn- sylvania freighters took advantage of the necessities of the Wester- ' Fearon, Sketches of America, p. 124. ^Fearon. p. 235: Western Spy, March 21, 181S.