The Two Hatchets
Petition of Jacques Bonhomme, Carpenter, to M. Cunin-Gridaine, Minister
of Commerce.
MR. MANUFACTURER-MINISTER: I am a carpenter, as was Jesus; I handle the
hatchet and the plane to serve you.
In chopping and splitting from morning until night in the domain of my
lord, the King, the idea has occurred to me that my labor was as much
national as yours.
shop as well as your manufactory.
For indeed, if you make cloths, I make roofs. Both by different means
protect our patrons from cold and rain. But I have to run after
customers while business seeks you. You know how to manage this by
obtaining a monopoly, while my business is open to any one who chooses
to engage in it.
What is there astonishing in this? Mr. Cunin, the Cabinet Minister, has
not forgotten Mr. Cunin, the manufacturer, as was very natural. But
unfortunately, my humble occupation has not given a Minister to France,
although it has given a Saviour to the world.
And this Saviour, in the immortal code which he bequeathed to men, did
not utter the smallest word by virtue of which carpenters might feel
authorized to enrich themselves as you do at the expense of others.
Look, then, at my position. I earn thirty cents every day, excepts
Sundays and holidays. If I apply to you for work at the same time with a
Flemish workman, you give him the preference.
But I need clothing. If a Belgian weaver puts his cloth beside yours,
you drive both him and his cloth out of the country. Consequently,
forced to buy at your shop, where it is dearest, my poor thirty cents
are really worth only twenty-eight.
What did I say? They are worth only twenty-six. For, instead of driving
the Belgian weaver away at your own expense (which would be the least
you could do) you compel me to pay those who, in your interest, force
him out of the market.
And since a large number of your fellow-legislators, with whom you seem
to have an excellent understanding, take away from me a cent or two
each, under pretext of protecting somebody's coal, or oil, or wheat,
when the balance is struck, I find that of my thirty cents I have only
fifteen left from the pillage.
Possibly, you may answer that those few pennies which pass thus, without
compensation, from my pocket to yours, support a number of people about
your chateau, and at the same time assist you in keeping up your
establishment. To which, if you would permit me, I would reply, they
would likewise support a number of persons in my cottage.
However this may be, Hon. Minister-Manufacturer, knowing that I should
meet with a cold reception were I to ask you to renounce the restriction
imposed upon your customers, as I have a right to, I prefer to follow
the fashion, and to demand for myself, also, a little morsel of
protection.
To this, doubtless you will interpose some objections. Friend, you
will say, I would be glad to protect you and your colleagues; but how
can I confer such favors upon the labor of carpenters? Shall I prohibit
the importation of houses by land and by sea?
This would seem sufficiently ridiculous, but by giving much thought to
the subject, I have discovered a way to protect the children of St.
Joseph, and you will, I trust, the more readily grant it since it
differs in no respect from the privilege which you vote for yourself
every year. This wonderful way is to prohibit the use of sharp hatchets
in France.
I say that this restriction would be neither more illogical nor
arbitrary than that which you subject us to in regard to your cloth.
Why do you drive away the Belgians? Because they sell cheaper than you
do. And why do they sell cheaper than you do? Because they are in some
way or another your superiors as manufacturers.
Between you and the Belgians, then, there is exactly the same difference
that there is between a dull hatchet and a sharp one. And you compel me,
a carpenter, to buy the workmanship of your dull hatchet!
Consider France a laborer, obliged to live by his daily toil, and
desiring, among other things, to purchase cloth. There are two means of
doing this. The first is to card the wool and weave the cloth himself;
the second is to manufacture clocks, or wines, or wall-paper, or
something of the sort, and exchange them in Belgium for cloth.
The process which gives the larger result may be represented by the
sharp hatchet; the other process by the dull one.
You will not deny that at the present day in France it is more difficult
to manufacture cloth than to cultivate the vine--the former is the dull
hatchet, the latter the sharp one--on the contrary, you make this
greater difficulty the very reason why you recommend to us the worst of
the two hatchets.
Now, then, be consistent, if you will not be just, and treat the poor
carpenters as well as you treat yourself. Make a law which shall read:
It is forbidden to use beams or shingles which have not been fashioned
by dull hatchets.
And you will immediately perceive the result.
Where we now strike an hundred blows with the ax, we shall be obliged to
give three hundred. What a powerful encouragement to industry!
Apprentices, journeymen and masters, we should suffer no more. We should
be greatly sought after, and go away well paid. Whoever wishes to enjoy
a roof must leave us to make his tariff, just as buyers of cloth are now
obliged to submit to you.
As for those free trade theorists, should they ever venture to call the
utility of this system in question we should know where to go for an
unanswerable argument. Your investigation of 1834 is at our service. We
should fight them with that, for there you have admirably pleaded the
cause of prohibition, and of dull hatchets, which are both the same.
More
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Capital And Interest
I address this treatise to the workmen of Paris, more especially to those who have enrolled themselves under the banner of Socialist democracy. I proceed to consider these two questions: 1st. Is it consistent with the nature of things, and with ju... Commentary
If this little book were destined to live three or four thousand years, to be read and re-read, pondered and studied, phrase by phrase, word by word, and letter by letter, from generation to generation, like a new Koran; if it were to fill the libra... Conclusion
All the Sophisms which I have so far combated, relate to the restrictive policy; and some even on this subject, and those of the most remarkable, I have, in pity to the reader, passed over: acquired rights; unsuitableness; exhaustion of money, etc... Conflicting Principles
There is one thing which embarrasses me not a little; and it is this: Sincere men, taking upon the subject of political economy the point of view of producers, have arrived at this double formula: A government should dispose of consumers subje... Dearness Cheapness
I consider it my duty to say a few words in regard to the delusion caused by the words dear and cheap. At the first glance, I am aware, you may be disposed to find these remarks somewhat subtile, but whether subtile or not, the question is whether... Discriminating Duties
A poor laborer of Gironde had raised, with the greatest possible care and attention, a nursery of vines, from which, after much labor, he at last succeeded in producing a pipe of wine, and forgot, in the joy of his success, that each drop of this ... Does Protection Raise The Rate Of Wages?
Workmen, your situation is singular! you are robbed, as I will presently prove to you.... But no; I retract the word; we must avoid an expression which is violent; perhaps indeed incorrect; inasmuch as this spoliation, wrapped in the sophisms whic... Effort Result
We have seen that between our wants and their gratification many obstacles are interposed. We conquer or weaken these by the employment of our faculties. It may be said, in general terms, that industry is an effort followed by a result. But by ... Equalizing Of The Facilities Of Production
It is said ... but, for fear of being accused of manufacturing Sophisms for the mouths of the protectionists, I will allow one of their most able reasoners to speak for himself. It is our belief that protection should correspond to, should be th... Fourth Tableau
The Agitation. Jacques Bonhomme. Parisians, let us demand the reform of the octroi; let it be put back to what it was. Let every citizen be FREE to buy wood, butter and meat where it seems good to him. The People. Hurrah for LIBERTY! Pierre.... Human Labor National Labor
Destruction of machinery--prohibition of foreign goods. These are two acts proceeding from the same doctrine. We do meet with men who, while they rejoice over the revelation of any great invention, favor nevertheless the protective policy; but s... Inferior Council Of Labor
What! You have the assurance to demand for every citizen the right to buy, sell, trade, exchange, and to render service for service according to his own discretion, on the sole condition that he will conduct himself honestly, and not defraud the r... Introduction
My object in this little volume has been to refute some of the arguments usually advanced against Free Trade. I am not seeking a combat with the protectionists. I merely advance a principle which I am anxious to present clearly to the minds of s... Metaphors
A Sophism will sometimes expand and extend itself through the whole tissue of a long and tedious theory. Oftener it contracts into a principle, and hides itself in one word. Heaven preserve us, said Paul Louis, from the Devil and from the spiri... National Independence
Among the arguments advanced in favor of a restrictive system, we must not forget that which is drawn from the plea of national independence. What will we do, it is asked, in case of war, if we are at the mercy of England for our iron and coal? ... Natural History Of Spoliation
Why do I give myself up to that dry science, political economy? The question is a proper one. All labor is so repugnant in its nature that one has the right to ask of what use it is. Let us examine and see. I do not address myself to those ... Obstacle Cause
The obstacle mistaken for the cause--scarcity mistaken for abundance. The sophism is the same. It is well to study it under every aspect. Man naturally is in a state of entire destitution. Between this state and the satisfying of his wants, th... Obstructed Rivers Pleading For The Prohibitionists
Some years since, being at Madrid, I went to the meeting of the Cortes. The subject in discussion was a proposed treaty with Portugal, for improving the channel of the Douro. A member rose and said: If the Douro is made navigable, transportation m... Our Productions Are Overloaded With Taxes
This is but a new wording of the last Sophism. The demand made is, that the foreign article should be taxed, in order to neutralize the effects of the tax, which weighs down national produce. It is still then but the question of equalizing the fac... Petition From The Manufacturers Of Candles
To the Honorable the Members of the Chamber of Deputies: GENTLEMEN,--You are in the right way: you reject abstract theories; abundance, cheapness, concerns you little. You are entirely occupied with the interest of the producer, whom you are anx... Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
After this, therefore on account of this. The most common and the most false of arguments. Real suffering exists in England. This occurrence follows two others: First. The reduction of the tariff. Second. The loss of two consecutive harv... Raw Material
It is said that no commerce is so advantageous as that in which manufactured articles are exchanged for raw material; because the latter furnishes aliment for national labor. And it is hence concluded: That the best regulation of duties, woul... Reciprocity
We have just seen that all which renders transportation difficult, acts in the same manner as protection; or, if the expression be preferred, that protection tends towards the same result as obstacles to transportation. A tariff may then be tru... Reciprocity Again
Mr. de Saint Cricq has asked: Are we sure that our foreign customers will buy from us as much as they sell us? Mr. de Dombasle says: What reason have we for believing that English producers will come to seek their supplies from us, rather than f... Robbery By Bounties
They find my little book of Sophisms too theoretical, scientific, and metaphysical. Very well. Let us try a trivial, commonplace, and, if necessary, coarse style. Convinced that the public is duped in the matter of protection, I have desired to pr... Salt Postage And Customs
[This chapter is an amusing dialogue relating principally to English Postal Reform. Being inapplicable to any condition of things existing in the United States, it is omitted.--Translator.] ... Something Else
--What is restriction? --A partial prohibition. --What is prohibition? --An absolute restriction. --So that what is said of one is true of the other? --Yes, comparatively. They bear the same relation to each other that the arc of the ... Spoliation And Law
[Footnote 16: On the 27th of April, 1850, after a very curious discussion, which was reproduced in the Moniteur, the General Council of Agriculture, Manufactures and Commerce issued the following order: Political economy shall be taught by the g... Supremacy By Labor
As in a time of war, supremacy is attained by superiority in arms, can, in a time of peace, supremacy be secured by superiority in labor? This question is of the greatest interest at a time when no one seems to doubt that in the field of industr... The House
Mondor had a house. In building it, he had extorted nothing from any one whatever. He owed it to his own personal labor, or, which is the same thing, to labor justly rewarded. His first care was to make a bargain with an architect, in virtue of whic... The Little Arsenal Of The Free Trader
--If they say to you: There are no absolute principles; prohibition may be bad, and restriction good-- Reply: Restriction prohibits all that it keeps from coming in. --If they say to you: Agriculture is the nursing mother of the country-- R... The Plane
A very long time ago there lived, in a poor village, a joiner, who was a philosopher, as all my heroes are, in their way. James worked from morning till night with his two strong arms, but his brain was not idle, for all that. He was fond of reviewi... The Right And The Left Hand
[Report to the King.] SIRE--When we see these men of the Libre Echange audaciously disseminating their doctrines, and maintaining that the right of buying and selling is implied by that of ownership (a piece of insolence that M. Billault has cr... The Sack Of Corn
Mathurin, in other respects as poor as Job, and obliged to earn his bread by day-labor, became, nevertheless, by some inheritance, the owner of a fine piece of uncultivated land. He was exceedingly anxious to cultivate it. Alas! said he, to make dit... The Tax Collector
JACQUES BONHOMME, Vine-grower. M. LASOUCHE, Tax Collector. L. You have secured twenty hogsheads of wine? J. Yes, with much care and sweat. --Be so kind as to give me six of the best. --Six hogsheads out of twenty! Good heavens! You want ... The Three Aldermen
A DEMONSTRATION IN FOUR TABLEAUX. First Tableau. [The scene is in the hotel of Alderman Pierre. The window looks out on a fine park; three persons are seated near a good fire.] Pierre. Upon my word, a fire is very comfortable when the stoma... The Two Hatchets
Petition of Jacques Bonhomme, Carpenter, to M. Cunin-Gridaine, Minister of Commerce. MR. MANUFACTURER-MINISTER: I am a carpenter, as was Jesus; I handle the hatchet and the plane to serve you. In chopping and splitting from morning until nigh... Theory Practice
Partisans of free trade, we are accused of being theorists, and not relying sufficiently upon practice. What a powerful argument against Mr. Say (says Mr. Ferrier,) is the long succession of distinguished ministers, the imposing league of writer... There Are No Absolute Principles
The facility with which men resign themselves to ignorance in cases where knowledge is all-important to them, is often astonishing; and we may be sure that a man has determined to rest in his ignorance, when he once brings himself to proclaim as a... Third Tableau
Twenty Years After. Son. Father, decide; we must leave Paris. Work is slack, and everything is dear. Father. My son, you do not know how hard it is to leave the place where we were born. Son. The worst of all things is to die there of misery... To Artisans And Laborers
Many papers have attacked me before you. Will you not read my defense? I am not mistrustful. When a man writes or speaks, I believe that he thinks what he says. What is the question? To ascertain which is the more advantageous for you, restri... Two Systems Of Morals
Arrived at the end of the preceding chapter, if he gets so far, I imagine I hear the reader say: Well, now, was I wrong in accusing political economists of being dry and cold? What a picture of humanity! Spoliation is a fatal power, almost norm... Utopian Ideas
If I were His Majesty's Minister! --Well, what would you do? --I should begin by--by--upon my word, by being very much embarrassed. For I should be Minister only because I had the majority, and I should have that only because I had made it, a... Wonderful Discovery!
At this moment, when all minds are occupied in endeavoring to discover the most economical means of transportation; when, to put these means into practice, we are leveling roads, improving rivers, perfecting steamboats, establishing railroads, and...