Prosecution

3849

Protein

Prosecution. See Crime and Criminal j
Law. i

Proselyte, originally a person dwelling in ;
a strange land; in the Ne\v Testament ap-
plied to a convert to the Jewish religion. The
word is now applied generally to converts!
from one religion to another. !

Proskurov, or properly Ploskurov, tn..'
in the Ukraine, Russia, with oil. brick kilns,!
potteries, copper foundries, candle manuiac-;
tory. It contains in its cathedral a famous j
'Virgin/ venerated by Roman Catholics and j
Orthodox alike; p. 27,000.

Prosody. See Verse,

Prostate Gland, in anatomy, a gland pres-
ent only in the male, surrounding the neck
of the urinary bladder and the commence- j
ment of the urethra. |

Prostitution. In law a prostitute is a worn-
man who has common and indiscriminate
sexual intercourse with men for gain. The
subject of prostitution is regulated by statute
in most states. Various means of attempting
to suppress or control it have been adopted.
Some states have followed the European idea
of inspection and license of houses of prosti-
tution, while others have attempted to sup-
press them entirely, always without success.

Protagoras, Greek sophist of the 5th cen-
tury B.C. His chief doctrine in metaphysics
was a sheer sensationalism, which is shown
by his recorded saying, 'Man is the measure
of all things/ He is the leading figure in
Plato's dialogue called by his name.

Protection in economics stands in opposi-
tion to free trade. Its purpose is, by duties
on imports, to shelter home producers from
foreign competition. It is based on the belief
that the industries of a country need the
support of the state in their struggles with
foreign competitors either by duties on im-
ports or by bounties on home produce. The
modern theory of protection, in its more in-
telligent form, finds its defence in proposals
urging restrictions upon imports for only a
limited time; or it is supported upon military
and political considerations which overbal-
ance the economic ones. Different arguments
for protection have been employed at dif-
ferent times in the industrial development of
a country.

i. A protective policy would tend to in-
crease the productive power of a nation by
stimulating producers to take up more rap-
• idly than would be otherwise possible those
industries which would be most productive.
2. A stronger argument than the foregoing is
that protection promotes diversity of em-

ployments: manufacturing centers furnish
desirable home market? for agriculture, add
to the value of land, and stimulate intellect-
ual activity, 3. Under a high protective tariff,
it is claimed that if foreigners wish to enter
the American market they can do so by
transferring their capital and skill to this
country. 4. Although protective duties may
increase the cost of living for a time, it is
urged that they eventually bring about lower
prices, through increased competition within
the country.

5. Protection operates to encourage infant
industries. 6. An effective argument in the
United States has been that the workingman
is largely benefited by protection. The argu-
ment rests for its validity on the fact that
the resources of the country, and the capital
employed, are greater with protection than
without. 7. Conversely, it is commonly be-
lieved that when once high wages are paid,
they make protection necessary to their main-
tenance. S. An argument for protection which
has been exploited in Great Britain refers to
the advantages of a protective tariff as a
basis for commercial negotiations. A country
which pursues a free-trade policy must al-
ways be at a disadvantage in negotiating with
a protectionist country. See FREE TRADE;
TARIFF. Consult Alexander Hamilton's Re-
port on Manufacturers (1791), an able
statement of the arguments for protection;
and Taussig's Some Aspects of the Tariff
Question (1915).

Protector, an English state title, first as-
sumed by the Earl of Pembroke (1216), and
afterward by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucestei
(1422); by Richard, Duke of Gloucester
(1483); by the Duke of Somerset (1547);
by Oliver Cromwell (1653); and by his son,
Richard (1659).

Protectorate, country which, as regards its
foreign relations, is under the exclusive con-
trol of the sovereign of another power, so
that its government cannot hold direct com-
munication with any other foreign power.
Thus since 1820 Liberia has been virtually
a protectorate of the United States. The
Republic of Panama may also be regarded as
a virtual protectorate of the United States.

Protein, the name applied to a group of
highly complicated carbon compounds, pro-
duced by animal and vegetable organisms,
and essential to their Me. It is the chief con-
stituent of meat and of eggs, and is composed
of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus. In the
body it is employed for building new tissue