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132 A tariff on luxuries is a sound economic method of raising revenue. A tariff on raw materials may be necessary for the maintenance of domestic industries of indispensability in time of war. A tariff may be defensible as a means for preventing the disturbance of “dumping” at other times. A tariff system, however, whose purpose is to curtail foreign trade in general and eliminate common competition is an economic restriction of very great danger.

Rather closely associated with the tariff barrier is the restriction upon immigration that we have imposed, although it is a restriction that is of both economic and political nature. In it there are two thoughts, one of them being that we have been pouring too much infusible material into our melting pot. This is the political thought and with it there is bound to be a great deal of sympathy. It may be pointed out however that the admission of immigrants does not necessarily imply the granting of citizenship; also that it would be possible to exclude the kind of immigrants who are undesirable and admit freely those who would serve useful purposes. The other thought in the restriction of immigration is economic, reflecting the wish to limit the supply of labor.

The correlation between restriction of imports and restriction of immigrants is that on the one hand we will not let the people of Europe work freely for us at home while on the other hand we will not let them come hither freely to work for us here. The lowering of these barriers, both or either of them, would tend to make the products of labor cheaper in this country, in other words would tend to reduce the cost of living, which it is highly desirable to bring about. The removal or modification of both or either of these restrictions