The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-02-09

fighting. 1t is believed now that Ger
many will give France government, and
that it will be Napoleon.
Berlin dispatches show new levies for
the army in all parts of the Empire.
PROTECTION vs.. FREE TRADE.
One of the correspondents Of the In
dustrial League, workingman, contrib
utes the following admirable article to
the Illinois Republican
To read the bitter, malignant attacks
of the various Free Trade Republican
journals upon our present beneticeut Ia
riff system, one WOnld suppose that they
had formed q coalition with the Democ-
racy for the express purpose of Cruz hing
out American Industry. Their flantic
denunciations of the American manufac-
turer, as IA bloated monopoiist. rubber,
and SPECTATOR, seem to Indicate a deep
seated hatred to all classes of domestic
manufactures Under the guise If Rev
enue Reformers they propose to abolish
the present system OF Protection, and
raise the revenue wholly from tea, cot
fee, sugar, etc., articles which we do
not produce, and admit duty free iron,
woolens, and other articles which we do
produce, thus discriminating in favor of
the foreign producer against the Ameri-
can. In this they are strongly sup
ported by the Democracy, who clamor
for return to the good old times of
Democratic misrule, as exemplitied in
the years 1857, SO, SO when Flee Trade
had reduced the nation almost to the
verge of bankruptcy and Frustrated bust
ness of all kinds, and lowered the labor
er's wages nearly to pauper level
Such is The invarlable result of lowering
the tariff to the Free-Irade Standard
Yet there are those among us who wish
to repeat the disastrous experiment.
Free Trade, or its near KIN, revenue ia
riff, would, if adopted, destroy the
greater part of our home industry
With our furnace fires put out, our fac
tories and boundaries stopped, Eng ish
manufacturers would control our mar
kets, and raise the price to suit them
selves. Experience has proven that
wherever they have had the control Of
our markets, they have not failed to reap
the benefit. As in the case Of railroad
bars, in 1916, in order to crush out our
mills, who were making them for $50
ton. they sold US two hundred thou
sand tons for $40. Having by this
means, destroyed American competition,
in a great measure. they raised the price
and sold us one million tons at $50
ton. This. and other similar instance,
created the panic of 1857. Yet, this
was under low revenue tariff, which
our Republican and Democratic Free
Traders would have US intimate. But.
says some intense Free Traders, The
wooden and cotton manufacturers have
monopoly OF this line of business, and
are making money too fast How can
they have monopoly. when every man
Is free to go into any business that he
wishes to? There is no law to hinder
him from making and selling goods as
cheap as possible. Monopoly is an ex-
elusive right to sell or manufacture any
article. Ii was formerly granted by
kings to their favorites. but it is impos-
sible in free America. Clearly, then.
the WOODEN manufacturer is not mon
opoliSt. Pennsylvania is often quoted
as having monopoly of coal and iron
intere st--yet there are millions of acres
of mineral lands (both coal and from
lying outside of her limits, much of
which is yet in the possession Of the
General Government. 1t can be bought
at a nominal price, and is awaiting CAPT
tai and labor to open up It's wealth. Yet,
Free Traders prefer to invest their capt.
tai in y ). bonds, or IN contributions to
the Free Trade League, instead of max
ing that enormous profit which they de-
clare every maker of pig iron obtains
They seem to lack that earnest faith in
their own declarations, which every
right minded man should possess. Some
object to Protection, on the ground that
it enhances the cost of the article to the
consumers. We admit that it does in
some instances. at first, but the ultimate
result Is exactly the reverse-for the
engenderad by the tariff re
duces the price below its former stan
dard, and renders the reduction perma-
nent.
AS for instance, in 1867, the tariff
upon foreign woolens was greatly in
creased yet, to-day, in 1871, the prices
Of standard woolens, in leading commits
sion houses in New York, Boston and
Philadelphia, are actually lower than
they were ten years ago, before the ia
riff was imposed even. d. A. Wells,
the great apostle ofrevenne reform, ad
mitted in his report of 1869 that wool
ems were quite as low as in 1859, under
a low tariff. As 1t is with woolens, so
it has been with iron in measuse. The
Six ty-fve new iron furnaces erected the
past year in the West and South West.
will still further decrease the cost to the
aud help to develope the re-
scources of this great republic 1t is
evident, then. that the present tariff,
SO far from impoveriShing the country,
has proved itself to be what it. defend
ers claim for it, bene6cent measure
bene6ting the farmer and manufacturer
the wages of the laborer,
and lnsuring general prosperity to the
nation.
In conclusion, would say in regard
to Free Trade, that it is having fair
trial in England. and the result Is, there
are more persons out of employment,
and more generally distress, than was
ever known there before. An English
man, writing to the Manchester Guar
dian, says: at is well worthy of no
tice, that, with every reduction of our
lmpost duties on foreign manufactures.
the amount of pauperism has increased
in similar ratio. Let US, then, sup
port the American system, which has
brought US prosperity and repudiate
Free Trade as a dangerous expert
ment
ANOTHER call has been made upon the