Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-11-23
THE FREE TRADE IssUE
Opinions OF Frank Hurd-Manufactur-
ers No Gamers by Protection and La
bOrers LOsers-Tarifr Reform to he
Pushed in Congress.

Neao York World.
Mr.. Frank Hurd, member of CONGRESS-
from Ohio, was visited last night by a re-
porter of the World with a view to ascertain
his opinions on the political situation. In
answer to a question what plan he in
tended advocating in the next Congress in
regard to the tariff, Mr.. Hurd said: Il
am, you know, free trader, and intend
hghtlng in season and out of season, by
hlgnt and by day, until protection is
aDOnsned and trade becomes free. | look
win utter adherence upon the gigantic
frauds perpetrated upon the people by the
system OF protection. No man has a right
70 say TO me: Though you can buy
Wnat you want cheaper elsewhere than in
Ihls country, still you must get il here.'
In the system of slavery abolished by the
late war, the owner had the right to all
the time and wages of the slave. Under
this system of protection the seller gets
about half OF the wages, and to that degree
might Just as well have the absolute dis
posal ofthat amount of time of the laborer
l have not formed any plan yeti is
rather too sO0n-but | shall consult with
persons best able to inform me as to the
proper course to pursue TO gain the de-
sired end, and shall try by every means in
my power to accomplish that purpose. |
shall try and inform myself thoroughly
upon the subject of all manufactures.
and would say to every manufacturer:
'Ien me how the tariff affects you;
how much it increases the price
of the article you sell and how much it
increases the price of what you must have
Ill order to make it. If by protective
tariff you get fifty cents of increase of
price and pay out forty cents of that on an
increase of price of the articles YOU re-
quire III order to manufacture, it is plain
that protection only nets you ten cents.
That net protection you shall have in any
revised tariff | would make.' The trouble
with our manufacturers is they only look
to the benefits of protection without con-
sidering its burdens. / believe that more
| than One-half of the manufacturers of this
country will find upon examination that
all that protection gives them in increase
ofprice it takes away from them in the in
crease of prices of the materials, tools,
| buildings, and machinery they are obliged
| to have in order to manufacture at ALL"
Nv hat do you think is the cause of the
| Democratic wave that has just swept over
! the country, and what ought to be the
| course OF the Democratic partYT
| 1--WE lost all chance of improving our
| victory of 1874 by the failure of the Darty
| to present to the people of the United
| States any sensible plan for the settlement
OF the money question. The party in Con-
| greSS cOquetted with the greenback folly.
| favored the silver craze, and talked of re-
| pealing the resumption act until all the
| business men and sensible men in the
| country became disgusted and Worn out
| by the many changes of the party, and de-
| termlned that no party could or should
| have their support that advocated so
many different sides of the same question.
| The case is different new. The Democratic
| party is in power now because of the dis
! content of the people at the system of
| taxation. Labor cannot live on the wages
| it receives, at the present prices of living,
! made high by the taxation of the tariff If
! the Democratic party desires to continue
| in power it must propose sensible plan
| of reduction of tariff taxation; it must re-
! duce the tariff in the interest of revenue
| and strip it Of all its protective features
| as quickly as it can be done, without in
| jury to vested interests, with a view to
! ultimate free trade with all the world.
! / think the victory was owing in a great
measure to old Democrats returning to
the fold. There are plenty of men still
! alive who remember the old fights
| in 1874 and up to the war about
! free trade. The question of the abolition
of slavery drew away large part of the
| Democrats, and they are just now begin
ming to return, seeing that the Democratic
party is getting back to its old position on
the free trade question. Ny canvass was
made squarely upon that issue, and pro-
! DOSts SO ldI DIS III Lllc lies, 10 carry LUdL
| canvass into the country at large, and
have no doubt the next Presidential cam
| paign will be fought largely if not entirely
| upon that issue. On the first daV that
| Congress meets l propose to introduce
| bill giving my views and proposed plans
| on the subject of the tariff What
Congress will do | cannot under
take to say, as / have as yet talked with
! so few of the members. Something def
mite and decisive, however, will certainly
be done. | have always asserted and still
assert that labor is more interested in the
abolition of protection than any other ele-
ment of our society. The highest wages
| paid in the world to-day are paid by free
trade England. The higher the tariff ev-
| erywhere in the Old World the lower the
wages, and the lower the tariff the higher
the wages. In this country, with a strictly
| revenue tariff, the labOrer would receive
the highest wages in the world, AS it is,
the last ten years show that under the
protective system his wages have been
scarcely enough to keep the laborer and
his family from starvation.