The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-12-11
The Reciprocity Treaty.

the following, which, as it treats
upon subject that will, in all prob
ability, receive Congressional con-
sideration before great while, and
will also, doubtless, elicit general
discussion, we have thought 1t ap-
propriate for place in our columns,
and therefore take pleasure in giving
it insertion:
The Reciprocity Treaty between
England, represented by Thornton
Of London and Brown of Canada
on the one part, and Secretary Fish
and the Free Traders of the United
States on the other, was concocted
in the dark and precipitated upon
the Senate with the sanguine hope
of success, in the closing hours of
the last Session. 1t failed, but not
without hope of future success. 1t
was not reiected-it was only post
homeland this winter its wet
nurses hope to make it the adopted
child of hasty legislation. The
Hard Money ring and the Free
Trade ring will attempt to fasten
their European ideas upon this
country-not by legislation enacted
this year by all departments of the
Government, and therefore subject
to repeal or modification next year
on sober, second thought,-but by
the act of Secretary Fish, President
Grant and the hard money, Free
Traders of the Senate, who will as
sumo, usurp and arrogate to them
selves the prerogative of both the
lower and upper branches of Con-
gress to regulate the revenues of
this country The President, his
Cabinet and the Senate are to make
the law whereby free trade with
England, under pretense of Recip-
rocity with Canada, is to be forced
upon this land of ours for twenty
four years to come.
True, the treaty PRETENDs to ad-
nit, free of duty, only the agricult-
ural, mechanical, and manufactured
products of CANADA; but if the
scythe or chisel be made in England
and the handle be attached in Can
ada, are not these transformed into
Canadian manufactures? If we
say no and England says yes, is
there not a splendid opening, by
such ''entangling alliances" for a
quarrel, a fight, &c.
The cloth is the tailor's raw mate
rial and if all the clothing of the
United States comes from the pau
per workshops of England, through
Canada, and our own mechanics,
under this hard money and free
trade, European doctrine, are forced
to compete with the white slave
labor of European dynasties, it is
time to let these American mechan-
les know that the chains are forged
for their hands, and the American
Senate is expected to apply the
handouts this present winter by
means of the Reciprocity Treaty.
The farmers of the west who pro-
duce the wheat consumed by New
England, New York and New Jer-
sey, are to be taxed twenty cents on
each bushel to help swell the gains
of England. The twenty cents per
bushel now taxed to Conadian wheat
is to be taken off, SO that the twenty
millions bought by New England
annually and the twenty millions
bought by New York State every
year, may come down from hard
money Canada and force hard money
upon our farmers at an expense to
them of twenty cents less on every
bushel of wheat they raise for mar
ket. CANADA is to be treated as
one of the United States while she
is not asked to contribute to the
treasury of the United States, but
to the treasury of Great Britain.
We are asked to allow our mines
to lie still, our factories to shut off
steam, our ships to rot in port, our
resources to remain undeveloped,
the capital invested in manufactur-
ing industry to become unremuner-
ative and worthless, and our work
ing men, already out of employment
and in the midst of winter, to be
told by the American Senate, acting
in obedience to the diplomacy of
England, that the coming spring
time will invite them to the fields
of the west, there to join in pro-
ducing corn and wheat already
profitless in the market.
The home market for wheat hith-
erto supplied by American products
is to be surrendered to Canada, and
to England we are to consign the
monopoly of producing iron, woolen
and cotton fabrics, and we are to re-
turn to agriculture, horticulture,
hard money, free trade, and Euro
pean prices for labor.
"Look to the Senate" was once
posted at every cross-road to be read
by the people, but it is now again
more needful to warn the nation of
its peril, and to signal the treason
which the treaty proposes to mask,