The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-01-13
Free Trade VS.. Protection.

lowing Memorial to Congress" of the Free
Trade League of New York City,-an asso-
citation organized quite recently, ard of which
William Cullen Bryant is President; David
Dudley Field vice President, and which mum.
bers men like Parke Goodwin John Van
Buren,, and men of that class among its mi
nor officers:
This petition Of the American Free Trade League
to the Senate aud House Of Representatives Of
the United States Of America in Congress as
sembled, respectfully represents that
Every man has the right to work for him.
self, and to enjoy, in full, the fruits Of his own
labor.
1t is the right of every man to exert his
powers of body and mind for his own good.
1t is necessarily, therefore, a right Of every
man to take the products of his own skill
and labor and exchange them freely for the
products of the skill and labor of any other
man in the world, on such terms as the two
may agree are for their mutual good.
This free exchange of labor concerns only
the two, and cannot injure others. No one
has the right to NEEDLE. No governme mt
ought to NEEDLE with or hinder this free ex-
change.
government has the right to take, bT
taxation, so much only as is necessary for it's
support. 1t should do SO by making the
burden OF taxes bear equally on all If a
! government affords special favor or encour>
agement to one form of labor, the other
forms Of labor are neglected, and thus posi-
t'rely discouraged. In this country, the gov.
ernneht cannot give any special encourage
mcnt or favor TO agriculture, because we can
furnish the products Of agriculture mach
more cheaply than they can he brought hither
from any part Of the world Our country has
more than threc-fourths of its people engaged
in agriculture; so that Cur government cans
not, if it would, By any discriminating tax
laws, protect, as it is called: c- fr.yor. IN,
great majority of those who live BY their
INQUEST labor. In trying to affsrd special
protection or favor to any of the other forms
OF labor, it is clear tina, the government is
making laws for the good Of only a small
minority, ana imposing positive and unequal
burdens upon the great majority, the farmers
! HE southern farmer produces, say, bale of
co,ton; he can exchange this in the markets
( OF the world, if the government will let him,
for at least two tons Of iron. But the gov>
eminent steps in and imposes a heavy duty
! on iron, not for the support of the govern
ment. because it would get more revenue By
means OF a lower duty, bot for the special
/ benefit OF the iron masters OF this country.
/ The result Is: The southern farmer gets only
/ one ton OF iron for his bale o, cotton. The
northern farmer produces so many bushels Of
I wheat. Left free 10 exchange ii with the
/ blamket-makerS of the world, lie could get,
for the same quantity of wheat, two blankets
where he now gets but one. So il is with all
! the clothing of his family.
The poor man require. as much of warmth,
I.ourishment and shelter as the rich man.
The rich man needs 10 more tea. no more
cotiee, no more sugar, no more blankets, lao
more fuel, than the poor man. In the pres
ens system OF duties, therefore, the rich man
/ pays but little more than the poor man. II
is worse than this for the highest duties are
put upon the coarsest fabrics, which the rick
do not, but which the poor mast, use. 4
woman cannot dress in the cheapest manner
without paying tribute Of se1 eral dollars,
out Of ner earnings, TO the manufacturer
a class prOyerb.ai for wealth. When gov>
eminent distributes the burdens of lis neces.
sary maintenance 50 unequally, it does not
tax; it robs.
! The income of the government is, ofcourse,
/ leSsened by high duties for revenue is got
on the goods which come IL, and the aim of
/ protective duties IS 10 keep the goods out
/ The people pay more. that the treasury NAV
receive less. Not only is the farming class.
and with it the great body Of consumers. in
! ciuiirg tt mechanics of the country, made
to suffer by system of protective duties, but
/ the nation In its collective capacity Is i'm
! pOverished. No doctrine can be more fallaci
/ oUs than that which maintains that The wealth
Of country can be increased by restraining
/ its Inhabitants from obtaining for their labor
I the most they can.
! Protective tariffs are carried through con-
. Lr Hmm ton Of
the sugar planter is won over by duty
greater than the cost of producing sugar
, elsewhere the iron master, the cotton and
wooden manu- acturers, receive scyeraliT
/ their separate advantage in the way of special
favor u their occupations and joining
| forces, they roll the unjust law through tc the
wrong of all the rest OF the people. These
II. classes are 4 small minority even of the
! people of theirPwn states; they are, all pat
| together, very minute minority of our
whole people. Every farmer, every planter,
eTery iaborer, every carpenter, mason, sew
ing woman. every worker in this country,
! every Consumer, IN fact, except the few who
derive profit from these pettei occupations,
is r bbed daily and hourly, and their earu-
ings are put into the pocket of the favored
few.
in great number of instances the effect
b.
preston of The poor. The duties imposed on
foreign coal cause great misery, in all our
large towns on the Atlantic coast through
the DEAFNESS OF fuel. The duties on iron,
which have made it enormously dear, bear
heavily on all classes. All kinds OF clothing
haze become oppressiyely dear thro igh the
effect of proteduye duties. Paper. the great
vehicle OF knok ledge, has been exorbitantly
enhanced in price by the same means with
o9t bringing a dollar into the treasury of the
nation Formerly books were published
here more cheaply than in Great Britain.
Now that country produces cheap books,
while we produce dear ones a result of this
tax on knowledge, from which only the paper
III lkers derive any advantage. In all these
Instances osr country is unhappiy initiating
tie policy which Great Britain pursued so
long in the instance of its corn laws, which
after a long struggle between the people and
the aristocracy were not long since a.broga-
ted, greatly TO tie benefit of the people and
even Of the landowners themselves: for it is
one of the results OF the protective system
that it keeps back improvements and tempts
the favored classes to rest contented with
imperfect and unskilltul and costly methods
OF production.
One plea of the few who are favored by
protective duties is that these duties protect
the labor of this country against the pauper
isbor of Europe. 1t is a false plea. For it
is plain that it is the interest of the very
men who advance it to get labor as cheap as
they can. Moreover, these very men are
themselves constantly importing working
people from Europe. 1t is false plea a ain,
because the laboTef in this country needs no.
ones protection. The American laborer can |
protect himself against everything but the |
revenue laws which make goods dear. He is |
protected against inadequate wages by the |
abundance of free land, ready for his occu-
patton. We should never have heard of the |
nna,ncr lahnl of Eurone bid tho .rorL o-r |