voters are imbued with it only because public opinion is filled with
it to repletion.

Let me repeat here, that I do not accuse the protectionists in
Congress of being absolutely and always Sisyphists. Very certainly
they are not such in their personal transactions; very certainly each
of them will procure for himself _by barter_, what by _direct
production_ would be attainable only at a higher price. But I maintain
that they are Sisyphists when they prevent the country from acting
upon the same principle.




CHAPTER IV.

EQUALIZING OF THE FACILITIES OF PRODUCTION.


The protectionists often use the following argument:

"It is our belief that protection should correspond to, should be the
representation of, the difference which exists between the price of an
article of home production and a similar article of foreign
production. A protective duty calculated upon such a basis does
nothing more than secure free competition; free competition can only
exist where there is an equality in the facilities of production. In a
horse-race the load which each horse carries is weighed and all
advantages equalized; otherwise there could be no competition. In
commerce, if one producer can undersell all others, he ceases to be a