, 1873-07-03
FREE TRADE AND FARMERS RIGHTS.
Speech Of The Hon. Dnyid A. Wells De.
fore tho COblcn Club.
How tho Tariff Affects Railway Trans.
portntion.

portation.
On Tho oGth OF Juln, Tho annual dinner Of tho
Cob,len Clnb VIA given Mt 0roenwicl,, near Lon
don, England. Among Tho gontlomon present
wns tho Hon. Dnvd A. Wells. Wo copy from
his remarks tho following striking paBsagoa:
Why il 1t that Il pooplo 30 Intelligent an TINT
Of tho Unitod Statos, who, nt tho coat Of 10
much blood md trcnauro, havo put down ono
System Of slnvory, hayo boon unable to nppro-
Ia tho right to exchange IL, tnobutrlctodly, for
other ploporty; and TINT my system which do
MICS thin, by declaring tint a niay trado with D
hut not with G, IL III olloct but rearlnation Of
may under d plea OF indirect bonolit, 70 thcso
questions It is not altogether oaHy to
giYo a auccinct answer, But, In general,
it mhy DO Hnil that tho nnsural rosourcea
tho facilities for eArning living 30 abundant,
that OWLS and grievances wllioli iu an older and
moro lcnBoly populated State would long ago
hnvo croated revolution, aro there borne almost
without remoustraileos. In fact, 90 it wea
boen Bn!otlored in it's own grcaBo, and every
n1nn Of Gront otlcrgy of character and trae ability
finds Buliiciout scope for tho employment Of all
his faculties III promoting Ills own prlyntc lntor-
cuts rathor than occupying Ills tl,no with quea-
tlona pertaining to tho public welfare. It 10 not
to be overlooked, Furthermore paradoxioal as IL
may seom, TINT FREQ Trade ityoH Ia ono Of eho
agencies which has thus far occasionod inliifer-
cnco In the United States to the unrestricted ap
niod TINT one of tho prime ch,isos Of tho pros-
perity Of tho United btatos, past and present,
Is loferabo to tho fact that Free Trado IN It's
fullest aignitcation Inns been oxtondod over IN
eoyon widely separated, inlustrlnlly different
States and Ierritorics and tllat 90 well satisfied,
moreover, are tho people Of tho truth OF this that
upon no ono point aro they bottor determined In
orcation or maintenance III any part Of their
broad territory OF tie slightest artificial obatruc
tion botToen stnto and State to the frocBt o1-
ciango OF products and tho frcost commercial
intercourse; and this. Too, although tloro is not
a single nrgunlont which can be atlducod III favor
OF maintaining protective tariff in the
United States ngainst foreign natious
which will not apply with equal or groator
forco In respect to tho oxtron1cH Of tho American
Union-tho diToronco IN wages and pfieoa, char
eroator botwoon Now York md Texas, South
Carolina aud California, thau betWeon Now Eng
land md Great Britain, aud Pcnngylyania and
Germany. Aud it is further a curious circun1-
stance illustrative OF tho incompatability Of d
belief In Protection ia All essential clement of q
national fiscal policy with tho exercise Of my
large stuteamanBliip, that tho late Mr.. Greeley,
who haH done moro tllun almost any other man
III HlAHt iuIAlHI III OllltEA NtutG6t
liz discussing provioua to tip inception Of our
civil wnr aud alto during It'll continuance, tho
lueptio: OF tho dcsifabilisy Of maintaining tho
union Of tho several Stnles, entirely failod
to ovcn 30 much Us recognize that, no1t to
tho maintenance Of tho integrity Of tho nation,
tho grcatont value OF the Union would bo found
III tho fnct Tint its continuance guaranteed Frco
T:ide lid froo communication OVER the whole
vast tnrstuly possessed by the Uniou, and that
Tho greatcHt evil resulting from it's obstruction
would DO tho Interruption nnd destruction Of this
freedom By the establishment Of a line Of cuB-
toni-houses aud ta1-barricr across the whole
width OF lho continent. but the people OF tho
great West inBtinctiyoy reasoned bottcr, and
roso almost aB ono man with tho announcement
TINT no foreign power should imEoao their froe
access 70 THO oeean and that the sources Of
4 tho H., 11isg,iuhipp, equally with it's mouth,
mills Of tho gods, though grinding oxcood-
ing SLOW, nevertheless grind B1rc and flne and
the tinlo now draws near whom tue Judgment of
the American rooplc, long delayed, is lkely TO
an clomont from tho iiscal policy Of their Gov
crnmen. but this result, when 1t occurs, will
not be duo 80 much to argument or individual
offort to tho forco Of circumstances, which
compelling thought and conviction amongst the
n.asseB whether they will it or no. Thus within
tlao pna5 two yenr5 tho United Stateu, Us you
NIL well know, have boon visited with
two remarkable and terrific conilagrationB-
tho ono in Chicago and tho other III Boston,
Tho tirst itnpulso in both casoa, as soon
as the people recovered from tho shock OF
their dianstor. waB to petition for u removal
OF the protective duttos on the import Of those
articles necessary for reconstruction Of their
hnbitationa aad pllcns OF businosa-thus rlncon-
kciouBly tchtifying that the general result Of
Protection waB dimlnution OF abundance,
premium upon scarcity, and O. restriction on
growth TINT i'll tlno Of calamity WAs scarcely eu-
t1o
acccdeato Oil tho part Of Congress, but in tho
Hocona refused. the ,protoctioniats becoming
alarmed ct tho inevitable logic Of the trauaao-
tioni but tho circumstance. nevertheless. oc-
casioned not fow to asA thenselvcB why g
course ct legislation that WAS determined to bo
beneficial to those temporarily ma1e destitute was
not liko!y to prove equally satisfactory to those
n,at!e permanently poor by reason Of other
circnnstnnees. Again, the main support Of
tho protective policy Of this United Btntos has
hitherto boon tho manufacturing intorosts blt
tho manufacturing interest III ut Inst beginning
to find out TINT i'll tho long run tho Indirect
losses aud burdens Incident to protection far
moro than countosbalanco any direct advantages
TINT muy have boon supposed to accrue from it.
Ono Of the most remarkable illustrations Of this
has bcen afforded by tho experience untor the
ligh duties imposed upon tho importation OF
wool and woolcne which range from so 10 $50
per cent al yaloro1n. Tho main argument mado
uso OF by tho rrotcctionints iB TINT thoso high
rates Of duty nre necessary to co1npenBnte tho
American manufacturer for tie advantage in
waSea enjoyed by hia foreign competition. Now,
the reaulls o: Tho census OF 1870 eow that iu the
woolcn Industry Of the United siatcs tho cost Of
labor roprcsollta on nn Average but from II to 20
per cant uf tho value of the finished product,
while other Investigations have proved That tho
maximum advantage Mt present cujoyoa BY any
European wonlcn manufacture over tho Amorf-
cam OH tho score OF wages. is not IN oxcoss Of
:}U per cont. But 30 por cent Of 70 per cent IL
only lni ccnt, nnd 1t therefore follows that
tariff Of tt,is amount, supplemented by freights
nerosa $1,000 miioa OF ocoull, comniaaionB md
insurance, ought to bo IMPLY sufficient to rolieyo
tho American manufacturer Of anytlling like
dread Of tho influence OF tho ao-called "pauper
labor" Of Europo. But, rs already stated, the
o3istlng tariff on tho import OF woolon goods
into tho United States ra,,gcs from 30 to
1a0 por cent, aud tlat this is not
Bu'licicnt to protect, tho American manu-.
facturcr, nnd give him tho monopoly Of
hin own ,narkot in proved By tho circumstance
that the wooleti industry Of tho United 6tatos
waB noYcr in IL moro depressed condition, and
tito proportion OF tho pooplo who aro clAd in
wo1;lun f:,I'rct Of foreign manufacture WAS never
ao great ~ it iA at present. Tho explanation OF
this singular pllcnonlenDn-for Il more singular