Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-02-16

the same ruin there until recently, at length
n native party arose to throw off, If it could
the yoke.
The great English colonics-Ausrala
New Zealand, the Dominon-havc all found
that Free Trade was injurious to their inter
ests, and in the face of the Golden Club have
adopted more or less of the Protective poll
cy. This is very significant fact aud
extremely dishearlening to the future Of Free
Trace.
But Mr.. Fawcett, the great Political Econ.
omiA and Free Trader, makes another ad-
mission worthy of the closest consideration.
| 1t is that the price of the raw material of a
manufactured article forms only small por-
ton of the entire value of the finished article
(page 1897. lie also admits that rise in the
price of the raw material produces but little
effect upon the price or profits of the mantl-
faccured article 1t is evident, then that the
producer of the raw product has but II very
small share in the profits of manufacturers
J. lie must remain comparatively poor, while
the manufacturers, not the workmcn, acquire
enormous wealth.
We will take as an illustration the great
woollcn works at Saltair, England. The late
Sir Titus Salt became titled millionaire from
the ability with which he managed the Cob
den principle of buying cheap the raw ma
tcrial, and selling dear the manufactured
article. Free Trade enabled him to destroy
a Turkish industry immensely to his ewn
advantage, and to the impoverishment
and misery of Americans, Greeks and
Turks.
The long, silky, beautiful Angora goat
hair attracted his attention. and he invented
modes of working it alone and with other
material, so that he could updcrscll the I'M
protected native products. lie thus became
for long time almost the sole purchaser
His manufactured goods also controlled the
market in Turkey and obtained an immense
sale elsewhere, His agents buy the raw ma
terial in Angora, and he sends back most
beautiful fabrics, skilfuly adapted to the
Oriental taste. | asked one of his agents
what one pound sterling in raw material pro-
duced in the finished article. lie replied.
frem fifteen to twenty pound sterling. The
account stood thus. Turkey receives from
Sir Titus 81 for raw material and pays him
go for the finished article Balance in favor
England 80. Which is growing rich
England or Turkey? The wealth of Sir Titus
ten years ago was estimated at twenty-five
to thirty millions. But his workmcn have no
share in ii, though lie may be- and is, an cx-
ceptionally benevolent master
England has contributed chiefly to the
of Turkey. She has bound her
hand and foot, and she has neither the CAPT
tai NOR the intelligence to cXtiicate herself. |
Egypt has been ruined in like manner, but
not to the same degree of exhaustion.
Turicr has lost her industries and become
simply a raw producer, and is condemned
thereby to poverty and servility. The man
country will carry out her pro. |
gramme without mercy, will buy cheap and |
soil lpnr and tha t,rpIupnr ,yritln &c h,
may, will be condemned TO buy dear and sell
cheap. This is what the Golden Club hopes |
to see the United States inveigled into, by
melting the farmers against the other indus
tries.
The hope is vain. Our tariff needs careful |
revision. 1t is doubtless in some things alb
surd, but the dream Of Free Trade with the |
United States, which every English million
lrc INDUCES in. is such stuff as other dreams |
are made of. The United States are under |
no obligation TO make England richer than |
she is, TO the injury of the American laborcr, |
'spccl,lly if the progress of things is TO con |
lime on the line of the last fifty years; the |
English laborcr growing poorer and the great |
growing richer.
But there is another question besides the |
single one of the Golden Club-the accumu-
ation of wcalth--and that is the distribution |
b''h Va wealth. illNlu.lll'S. ! Ihtiltul /
men will always regard this question rs of |
supreme importance The Nation, like the
family, has certain home duties that are i'm. |
pcrativc II cannot allow II foreign nation |
10 crush these industries that are necessary |
10 self defense in time of war We shall |
our own ships of war, our own |
naval stores, our own arms our own powder |
and keep the powder dry" The mcr-
chant might as well leave his safe unlocked |
as nation leave itself without means Of de
Tense. The Golden Club would gladly have
rs depend upon England for all these, which |
She would kindly sell dear. and buy cheap" |
our butter, cheese, meat, fruit, grain, and
cotton. There is little probability that
The Nation will ever be persuaded TO do |
this.
1t should always be kept in mind that there
is great danger of cHaggcration in Il pro- |
leclivc policy. Every powerful industry will
cXaggcrate its claims. If the Free Trade
'doctrinaries" though perhaps never destined
TO rise to the dignity of party, can never
theless do something toward modcrating the
excuses of Protection they will not labor
in vain nor spend their strength for naught.
The theory of Free Trade shows beautifully
in the lecture room where all comment and
awkward questions can be avoided; but
practical men, farmers and mechanics. North
and South. East and West, grow more and
more disposed to disrust its application in
this country.
There are certain contradictions of method
in the advocacy of Free Trade well worthy
of notice. One method is to ignore facts, to
claim the Free Trade principles are self evil
dent scientific truths, and if facts do not
agree with them so much the worse for the
facts. This method ignores also national
interest," The simple fact of accumulation,
no matter where, by whom, by what nation
or people, fills the whole field Of view 1t is
nothing worth thought if Free Trade makes
England rich and America poor, if only more
wealth be produced 1t is nothing to them
that the English laborcr grows poorer aud
poorer, and by the statements of the most
eminent Free Traders has fallen behind 30
per cent in thirty years. 1t is enough that
vast fortunes have been made, never dreamed
of before. Mammon is god that must be
worshipped to the sacrifice of reason and
patriotism.
The other method is the direct opposite
1t may be called the gorgeous method. 1t
PUSHES into statistics bewideriDgly. 1t dem
onstratcs the whole world to he fools, Eng
land only excepted. 1t is Leviathan. 1t
makes the ocean nj statistics 10 boil like n
pot. Years agp he Golden Club issued m
appeal to Anne ican farmers and spread It
all over the West. 1t is safe TO say that mil
lions Of copies were distributed, 1t went up
over all the land, and helped the farmers
light their fires. Its aim was TO stir them
up TO revolution, by showing them that every
farmer consumed two hundred dollars worth
Of manufactured goods every year. If there
are 5000, 900 of farmers this would make
! 900, 900, 900 of manufactured goods annu-
ally. English greed, not stopping TO inquire
into the absurdity of such statement, set its
eyes upon that one billion Of dollars aunt
ally. Out of pure benevolent regard to the
American farmer, with whose hard lot it
deeply sympathized, it would be willing to
''sel dear and buy cheap" in order to fur
nish the vast supply, dismiss all the Amcri-