The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-03-10
HENRY GEORGE ON REVENUE RE
FORM

n
FORM.
The fourth lecture of the course be-
fore the Brooklyn Revenue Reform Club /
was delivered last evening in the AS
sembly room of the Brooklyn AeadSmy |
of Music, by Mr. Henry George, his SUI
ject being THE Question of Revenue |
Reform" The lecturer was introduced |
by MIR. Thomas q. ShearmRn. MI. George |
was received with much applause. He |
said the club could congratulate itself |
that the question Of revenue reform was
coming 10 the front. He thought the
country was entering upon IA new ep-
och, and that IL dated from the last Pres
idential election. In that contest he de-
sired the election OF Gen. Hancock. The
Republican party early in that cam
palgu found that the "blOOdy shirt"
was, TO use an expressive phrase, play
ed out" and IL adopted the cry OF pro-
tectOrs of infant industries. The Dem
Ocratic party was not wisely directed
and Gen. Hancock was beaten, but all
that his election would have secured
was gained by his defeat. ''NOw," said
Mr.. George, look at the situation in
Washington today. The Treasury is
full TO UyeThowing; and all men agree
that the taxes ought to be reduced, but
as soon as an attempt is made to reduce
with lobbyists working aud Oribing to
resist it," He thought this was state
of things that promised hopeful results
in the future, and there could be no
doubt that the tariff question would be
the radical question OF the next Presi-
Dental contest. II hope" said the lee
turer, TO see pronounced protection
ist on one side and an Out-spOken free
trader on the other, so that the issue
1 ha lty arfH
tiOn was but the tirst step in All ap-
preaching social struggle. The tariff
question could not be discussed without
opening up all other economic questions,
anu the American people would become
educated as they had never been before
in the science of political economy. We
are going to have deeper questions"
said he, than whether this or that boss
shall rule. The great question of
privileged class on one side and the de
| mands of the many on the other, is upon
| US, ana it behOUYes every man to see
| where he stands before he allows his
| passion TO rise and his prejudice to come
| in. There are no more important Ques-
lions tnan those connected with the
daily lives of men. There is no despOt-
ism SO bitter as the deSpOtism of poverty,
no tyrant so oppressive as the tyrant of
want. n you would check lntemper
men where there ~ the deepest poverty;
there the gin palaces are most numer-
Ous." l am free trader. There are
not many free traders. do not call the
men of the Evening Post or the men of
the New York World free traders who
say they are in favor Of tariff for TeVe-
uue only. l call them prOtec tiOnists of
better sort; u little better than an out
and-Out pTOtectiOnist, but not much.
Let us be logical; if we want to make a
square fight let us go in for absolute
free trade. would cut off the tail of
the tariff just behind the ears. l look
upon custom house officer as a legaliz-
ed pirate. | would say to all who want
to export, export all you please; would
say to all VINO want to lnundate this
country with cheap goods, come on and
inundate, and the cheaper the better.
Cheap goods are Ist what We want. III
trade is to be free, production should be
free, and To carry out the principle of
free trade We must break up the mOnOp-
oily OF land. Ii there Is a prOtectiOnist
that wants to have a ding at British
free trade | am with him. | don't call
the principles of the Golden Club free
trade; care very little for that sort of
free trade. The pTOtectiOnists of Eng
land gave up the struggle too soon. I
think if they had held ont a little longer
Great Britain would have been repuh-
lie, and that blasphemy, the ownership
of all the land by a very few, would
have been an impOssibility. / read in
the sO-called free trade papers, the Ev
ening Post and the WOrld--Very good
papers they are too as general thing,
but l don't like their free trade princl-
ples-I read the other day in the World,
1 think, in an editorial that said, I'VE
don't know whether God Almighty was
free trader or pTOLectlOnlst; that he
did not care anything about the ques-
ton" think that Is humbug. $50
does the World. Mr.. George should read
more carefully what he reads, even in
the newspapers. The remarkable Obser-
vatiOns he cites here were not made by
the World at all, but by an aVOWedly
prOtectiOnist paper, the New York Sun
Ed. WORLDLY 1 think. and speak it rev.
erently, it IL Just as certain the Creator
Of the world intended us to trade freely
with each other as anything else that
we can know is certain. How do l knOwP
How do lknOw the Creator intended
man to walk on his feet and not on his
handsP The Creator did not intend that
mankind should protect themselves by
tariffs. The history OF the development
of the race Is the history Of the develop
ment of commerce, of exchange. 1t was
never intended that all nations should
export everything and import nothing.
Thorough protectiOn2 Why, there Is
nothing of the kind. If the principle is
fully carried out, every man must carry
out all his productions and bring home
nothing. Would he think he was get
ting rich in that way2 There must be
taxation, but it should be levied on the
land alone, the value of which was the
product of the whole community, an
not of any one man or any set Of men,"
A gentleman in the audience asked
Mr.. George If he would be in favor Cf
free trade, although IL might destroy
some OF our manufacturing industries.
eff had my way" was the reply, 'T
would have absolute free trade at 10
o'clock tomorrow morning. l would
let these manufacturers take their chan
ces. So far from hurting them, 1 be-
lieVe it would benefit them. Why, it is
this Internal tariff of ours that keeps us
from taking control of the markets of
the world. Here we are, 60,0O0.0O0 peO-
pie on new continent, endowed as no
other people III the world are endowed,
and begging for protection. Are we not |
nice infants? There is something Mt