The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-02
PROTECTION VS.. FREE TRADE.

| the opposing factions, 'Protectlon" and Free
| Trade are taking so prominent part, perhaps
few remarks may not be uniriteresting to your
readers, from one who has experienced the
/ great results of free trade and who has
been participation in the 'glories' of the free
! breakfast-table" of the renowned William e.
Gladstone, of English fame. To begin with, it
seems to me, the question is a very simple one
indeed 1t is not question of monopoly in the
strict sense of the word; it is not question of
tariff, or revenue in the strict sense of revenue,
or as a matter eff revenue only, and it is not a
question Of party politics. 1t is the simple cues
ton whether we are to have protection, or
whether we are to have free trade; whether we
are to protect and takecare of our industries,
our own manufactures, our own resources, our
own people, which is our country mind these are
! momentous points, matters, in fact, OF life and
death to nations prosperity; or, whether we
! are to cripple and impoverish them, and finally,
in many cases. ruin them entirely by opening
1 our ports free to receive the manufactures that
foreign nations, by reason of circumstances, can
produce at far less price than can,
and thus help to enrich them at the cost of our
own prosperity. Human nature at its best is
selfish, and self is always the first impulse of
our lives; and we naturally say and maintain
4 that individual genius, skill and enterprise
/ ought to be and shall be protected-henee the
\ law of patents. is ndividul man to be censid-
l cred more than man collectively You grant a
man protection by way of patent over a special
production; how much more, them does the
country need the strong arm of protection over
her produetions2 If the country is not
to have protection, the individual should not
have protection. Unfortunately, these great
points are too often made matters Of party feel
4 ing politically, and are thus argued in a one
4 sided manner, instead of being placed first upon
truthful and solid basis, totally regardless of
1 all party feeling, and then worked out and dem
1 onstrated, each upon its own successive merits
! and dement's. would ask how was free trade
carried in Great Bntain2 Simply by political
l party for polical power by clap trap oratory-
4 that kind of oratory that catches the ear of
4 the more ignorant of the working population;
/ that kind of oratory, that shows so much and
does so little Gladstone and his party, although
clever men, lent themselves to this, and, by aid
Of the vision of the free breakfast table" and
the cheap loaf passed the freedtrade bill
through the Pritish Parliament, and what has
been the result, and what class has it benefited?
| The result has been the gradual falling off and
/ decay of the manufacturing element of that
/ CONTEMPLATING off, because Italy, Germany,
| France, and other European nations have poured
into Great Britain articles that she herself man
ufactures at less cost than she can produce them,
| thereby taking away from her manufacturers
| the very work they should do, and so compelling
many of her artisans to seek other shores where
there is some honest protection for honest labor;
decay, because manufacturers, having their ll'
at stake in their manufactures have striven to
compete with their foreign rivals, not to any
/ profit that is sure but simply for the purpose
of just preventing their plant from lying idle
and going to ruin. This is, indeed, decay.
| Where are the English manufacturers
that have made more than bare
subsistence since free trade was brought into
| operation! Echo answers, where9 Look at
Nottingham lace, Leicester hosiery, Northamp-
| ton boots, Coventry ribbons, Manchester and
| Glasgow cotton-and might mention places by
| the dozen-although increasing in size by the
natural outcome of increased population, are in
| q lamentabie condition financially, owing to
| nothing else but the Cutting of the markets With
! foreign produce These cities are very much
| like the shabby genteeF man who has been a
| gentleman once his appearance bespeaking it.
/ ana MS cloIneS are OF Renpielnanly cut OUT,
alas upon minute examination they are terribly
thFeadbare, even to holes. This is the state that
| the boasted free trade of England has brought
| her leading manufacturing cities to. Ask any
intelligent English artisan what the state of the
! manufacturing population of Great Britain is
| now and what it was before free trade was
| adopted He will tell you that at least one
| third of the manufacturers have, under the free
| trade regime. shut down and been ruined, and the
| majority of the remainder are only running part
| time / know manufacturers by the dozen who
are simply working to keep their plants going
| being propped up by banks and some wealthy
| sleeping partner to prevent utter ruin, fondly
/ hoping for change for the better and for other
/ nations to adopt the same free trade principle.
! If free trade was such desirable thing, and was
of such great acquisition to nation, what &C
| counts for the enormous immigration of the ar
| tisan population of Great Britain to this coun-
| try2 OF course am aware that England has to
| very large extent to be fed by foreign produce,
but could not she have opened her ports free to
| the produce and still have maintained protection
| upon manufactured articlesl The great cry of
the free trade political party was free break
fasttable,a the cheap loaf but what is the use
of cheap food when the population mot being
| fully employed on account of imported manu-
| featured articlesl have not the whereBithal to
purchase the foodl Far better to have dearer
| food and six days per week work, than cheap
| food at half time labor This is really what it
| comes to, and what it has come to in England
Ask the British workman what his breakfast
costs now and what it cost thirty years ago We
| will soon learn that The free breakfast table"
was nothing but clap-tra oratory. Now what
class has it benefited Certainly not the manu-
| faeturers the working manufacturing popu-
ation; and yet these are the portions of nations
population that add to nations prosperity and
increase her wealth 1t has simply filled the
pockets of merchants, for whom free trade has
been a mine of wealth; but this class of the com
munity does not add to a nations prosperity
They are simply species of transfer agents aud
do not enrich anything or anybody specially but
themselves. don't wish to say anything deroga-
tory to their ealing, they are useful men in
but speaking from manufacturers standpoint.
And there is another class of the British that
| this free trade measure has benefted-a class
| that SO sadly needed a help--I mean the wealthy