, 1866-01-27
THE TARIFF,
Protecton's Reply to DR.. c. II.
Rays Speech.

| Ane Frcc Afade Leagues Change OF
Bases-Whaf In Revenue TariHf-.
Katlfoad Ffei@hts Col,sydcrcd..N'hat
rrotcctionisis will Accept-.A Fuuda.
mental Proposition.
Editors Chicago Tribune:
The Last Free Trade meeting in Morse's E1-
| change, your reporter statez was "moderate-
| II attended" The audience, Tam crcdItably
informed, consisted Of Just twenty. y.nine per
sops, Including the reporters and The man
who counted them. On the same evening
few blocks distant there was !" P,otectionr'
meeting collected on few hours notice, and
attended by more than o thousand men, and
many Of them o1z foremost citizens. These
two gatherings are Indicative, q. believe, Of
The cu1rcnt Of public fesling prevailing in
this city, and all over the North.
According to the published report Of the
Proceedings, the first thing the League did,
was TO "change its basc," a new platform
! or "declaration Of principles" was made.
! Art. 2 Of thcir constitution was manipulated
! to read as follows:
"Thc object Of the League shall b to promote
commercial intctconne between The United States
sad gu other nations, un,cttricted By bouulics or
ca<tee."
1t previously read thus:
.,,;a - 1Ms o27eet q Ms L<agH shaI bs to pro
Htote ds uAhEs1RicTEp commercial snttTtourSe he.
ttcefH ne United Stats a.ui al 0kakr ndtlons.n
confess that like the old platform much
the best. People can understand lust what 1t
mems. 1t rendered square issue to the
"Protcctiontsts-" The other Is vague and
foegy, susceptible Of various interpretations
and difficult to reduce to practice. The
League ought to have altered It's name to con-
form to this change of objects, 50 rs to read
Tho Chicago Anti Bounty for Protection
League" or "The Anti.partIcular Glasses
Bounty Leasuc.'' They have no more honest
right to cal themselves /" Free traders " tLan
the coppczhcads hare 10 call themselves
Democrats.
A Frec.trsder may be thus defined: FREE
TRADER, One who IS in favor Of unrestrlcted
commercial Intercourse between the United
States and Ill other nations, opposed to MI
imposts or tariffs on foreign fabucs, aud in
favor Of direct taxation for the support of
the National Government" THIS Is the
platform Of William Cullen Bryant, the Pres
ident Of the New York Free Trade League.
Of which the club In Chicago ha branch
but 1t has badly back-s1idden from the creed
Of Its progenitor, and Is nearly back among
the hegga1fy elements Of the "ProtectIon' ],
world. It only asks that " bountics or peu-
alttcs may not be levied for tho protection OF
particular classes.'' And the only article the
Lcague has yet specified, on which such bouu
ties are levied Is ,roodta scre,cs. -
! have read with care and attention the
speech delivered to the League by its Presi.
dent, Dr.. c. q. Ray. It Is prepared in the
intense, sensational style, and Is well ca1culat-
cd to mis1ead those who are deficient In date,
or have not thought very deeply on the sub
ject discussed, by Its positive assertions and
1erY deuuucIations. II will be impossible in
the space TO which feel limited, to notice
hnt few Of Its leading points and boldest
assertions.
There is one idea, however, that runs like
the threads of web from one end of the nd
dress to the other: that the present tariff Is
system Of zobbery"-legalized robbery, he
calls 1t, invented BY the greed Of nlllionalres
and importers, to Plnndcr the public. The cx-
tort1on practlscd by the Western railroads Is
alleged to be In consequence Of this crushing
bounty tariff" and that The sure remed ! for
tue long catalogue Of commercial expressions
under which the community is groanlng, can
alone be found IN reducing the tariff to q
"reyenne stnpdnrd.'
.Let The hImess." says Dr.. Ray, 4slook to the |
tasiG Hcdncr that to revenue standard, and down
Will 80 railrosd heights. and mp will 60 the pneee
what's the 1natter.''
It is o sufficient answer to all these asser.
tions to eay, that IN infinitely better remedy |
Tor the evils alletged to exist, would be to |
thereby cut loose from the "oppressiousn df |
the East. There are thirty millions OF Fed |
eral bonds In Illinois In the hands of the peo- 4
PIC, and driving but or Z per cent interest.
Put this capital into manufacturing and we |
VIII hear no more Of "legalized robbeg,"
pense Of the many" The best way to put q
stop to enormous profits OF any concern, Is to
start @ rival establishment and uuderse]l II,
There Is nothing like healthy competition II
e t. 1eeulate J. a1o',1heEy Of the public"
dae e,t; tIee Ifnde League has proven to its
ness begins to pay like eastern Manufacturing
not eyen boring for oil. This being tho case,
It strikes me that the shortest and speedies{
road to wealth would be, to establish plenty
Of Heste7n manufactures. We have cheaper
iood. and cheaper raW material here than in
the East and market for the products of
our soo1ns, anyi1s and forges, Ia ali around Us,
hungry for thearticles We may produce, and
waiting and wiling to exchange bread, meat,
butter, vegetables, fruit, and raw materials
tor the COTTON. Woollen, linen,, leather and I
ucn Fhich our establishments can turn out.
Farmers whit to save the enormoI: cost of
SHIPPING all their hcnvy, bulky aud perlshab!s ]
products to the scaboaFd cities or to Eurone.
l have called the attention of the League to |
this proposition several times, bnt have elicit
ed no response. Is it because their hearts
arc 70 intent on patrpn{xng the mQnnfactnr
les of Europe that they are blind to Western
Or, are they secretly plotting to
secure nal the stock in the proposed "beallhy
Illinois manufactures There
Is mystery In their silence that alarms
ne. "
But II the tariffs the cause Of the onerous
abroad charges, how happens 1t that 1t only
rom Chicagos The increass Of charges; on
Eastern roads is not equal to the deprecia-
Ion of the currency. Eastern railways are |
carrying freight and passengers lower than
before The war, reckoning on gold basis.
I cnt the following e1trnct from tie col
INNS Of the TRIBUNE, copied from the Daveu-
'ort GdztIe Of the 18th fnst., aud I present II
that It is the tariff which causes ths
Western railroads to exact such exo1bltant
ates Tor conveying freight:
we have conseIsed With our merchants. They
hoWed uf their freight bills. nere Is sample:
he hardware firm Of Mccoth & UdtoEue showed
Troy 10 ChiG-o, ahot l,0oU miles. 3l4-50: from
,t!c1go 10 Davenport, 1s3 miles, Sl650 Another, /
rom New fo5f 10 chieaso, 9los; from Chicago t.
rom Pittsburgh TO Chicago nearly 800 miles, and |
5 cents from Chicago 10 Davenport Ecily i
xood. hasdNsss, hsve paid fo7 nails By ke., ION
davenport, s. CENTS. Another drm paid on box |
I goods hnm BOSTON to Chicago. t,100 miles.
$40; from Chicago to Davenport, 6a8.o0.''
If the Plttsburg road, under this "mur
lerous' tariff can carry 100 lbs Of goods to |