Whatever it was, I have no doubt he will only return later and begin spreading the same lies. That UC Davis article he linked to is an old favorite of his. He posted it a few months ago and I tore it to shreds then - it truly is a shoddy piece of history and is further testament to the fact that historians should not attempt to play economist.
I found an interesting speech from a southern senator today. It was made during the secession winter on tariffs. He described in detail virtually everything I had posed in that hypothetical example about shipping. He described how ships used to stop in New York, exchange their warehoused goods into various stores, then ship out down the coast to Charleston. I suppose I could direct Ditto to it, but it is doubtful he would either read or understand what was said...and not because he isn't capable of doing so. No, he simply does not want to do so.
Anyway, you oughta check out this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1070371/posts
Another veritable gasbag from the Wlat Brigade, x, is over there making apologia for protectionism. He also bought into Jimmy McPherson's claims about Adams' source material without checking for himself or even asking any questions. He triumphantly declared that McPherson had called DiLorenzo to task over a bad citation and assumed the matter was settled. I just pointed out to him that McPherson didn't prove anything and in fact lied about Adams. Time will tell if he either responds or acknowledges this, but I'm expecting the normal response over there as well, viz.: get caught in a corner by documented facts and make a dash for the vasty deep in which non-sequitur maintains his abode.