Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-03-02
MR.. BEECHER ON FREE TRADE.
He Briefly Sets Forth His Views at a
Meeting of Ghe Revenue Reform
Club.

The first public meeting Of the Brooklyn
Revenue Reform Club was held Saturday
evening In the room Of the Art Association.
Across the rear Of the platform was piece
of white muslin bearing the inscription,
ssOur Flag Upon the Ocean" and two flags
after the pattern provided by Mr.. Wells In
the World: at the right Of the Presidents
chair our flag "As It Was,o BY an ensign
large enough for the gaff- end Of the biggest
merchantmen, aud at the left OF the CHAIR,
"As 1t Is" by boat ensign OF the smallest
size. The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, who
is the President Of the club, PRESIDED, ana
on calling the meeting to order said:
''It is proper for me to make few intro
ductory remarks. There is no subject SO
little understood, or about which there has
been more conflict Of opinion, than political
economy. It has become almost oyWoro.
Nevertheless It Is true that for period OF
fifty years political economy has been work
ing out results tending to general agree
ment in relation to 1t. 1t Is growing
science, and it is a subject which every man
and every woman should study and be COM
petent to understand its relation TO public
affairs and TO morality; for the temptations
to the violation of manly morality lie not so
much with our nation In the passions rife In
our great cities. Our temptations are to
the violation of trusts OF power, TO
the selfshness which springs from
power, combining and using its organiza-
lions and wealth against labor for self
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of sections or OF parties. 20
liIical economy is on that account q subject
of interest to all who are rearing the young,
and it ought to be subject that In It's moral
bearings should be well understood by those
who are traders as well as by those who are
teachers or professors In our schools. The
particular matter of free trade, Of tariffs
tariffs for revenue and tariffs for protection
has been made largely party question.
Happily at this time there is not any party
strife to any great extent, and the present
seems an eminently propitious time to in
troduce and discuss this question; and right
here let me say, this club Is made up OF
both Democrats and Republicans, and that
party preferences do not appear In 1t at
all, nor Is 1t designed to affect party mat
tiers. Now, the men who are manufactu-
rers, who are freed from foreign competi-
ton OF levYing upon all imports a large
assessment, to a great extent these
men are in favor of protection, and without
attributing to them any improper motives,
It is natural that they should be. 1t is their
interest, and without saying that they are
selfish and only saying that they have that
natural bias which goes with mems own
interests, 1t is true that the warmest advo-
Gates of protection are those whose interests
are protected, and the men who have no iu-
terest In manufactures are to large extent
free traders. l think 1t NAV be said that the
colleges of the United States are to large
extent on the side of free trade. It is the
doctrine taught at Yale; 1t is the doctrine
taught now at Harvard; 1t is the doctrine
taught at Amherst, at Williamstown and at
Columbia College, and if you go westward,
think to the very Pacific, you will scarcely
find one collegiate institution that has chair
of political economy think you will not
find half dozen in the United States that are
not In favor of free tade. Applausel. 1
simply say this to show that men that are
disengaged by their interest from any bias
are very largely in favor of free trade. Then
there Is large element of politics that deals
with this subject, and in the last campaign
the tariff question was one of the most rous-
ing that was brought into the discussion,
and was urged with great effort by one
party and abandoned with great disaster, as
think, by the other. There are persons
that are very much dazed in relation to this
subject: when they hear one person talk on
one side they agree with him, and then
when they hear the other side they incline
to that, and finally they say, I'VE cannot
make anything of it at ALL Now, as to
the general statement that COM
merce should have liberty, all men agree.
Men must have the right to buy and sell
when they choose. Now, when we come to
the practical development of this question,
men say: Eve must have revenue, and the
easiest way for the government to raise its
revenue is by the Indirect taxation of the
tariff And now you come to a difference
of opinion. There are those who say that
this Is demoralizing, that 1t leads to extrav-
agance; that the taxes should be taken
forth with and openly. A far greater mum
Der of them, however, say that 1t is easier
and better to raise the largest part of the
revenue by a tariff. There are a great
would sweep every custom house from the
continent. I would not have single one OF
these bummers In our cities. Applause.
| would have all the taxes laid and collect
ed directly from the people. But there are
many who say, I'VE must have tariff for
revenue, but not for protection; first, be-
cause It does not protect, and second, because
1t depresses and cheats in many directions;
that Is, 1t works seeming prosperity in one
class at the expense of the real prosperity
and to the detriment OF the other classes of
the community 1t is commended that I'M
der this protective system our
manufacturers have thriYen and our
laborers occupy higher position than
those Of other nations, and If thought that
the whole mass of laboring men, or a large
portion of them, were benefited by protec-
ton, should be in favor of It, but don't
believe It. think that upon the whole
labor is depressed by tn Mr.. Beecher then
introduced Mr.. Everett P. Wheeler, who
spoke in advocacy of free trade. He was
followed by Mr.. Cassidy, who spoke for
protection. The discussion was closed by
speech from Mr.. Thomas G. Sherman for
free trade.