The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-07-18
While the United

Oreat britain, we now SarpasS neT III
wealth, population, and value Of an
nual production. Mulha's Progress
of the World, says "Every day sees
two and one-half million dollars
added to the wealth of the United
States, which amount is about one
third the total production of the
world per diem. Forty-two years ago
it was estimated that the wealth of
Great Britain was five times that of
ours, now our wealth exceeds that OF
England. The United States has
for a considerable portion of this
time been under protection,-En-
gland has had free trade,-the result
would seem to favor protection.
Consider some of our protected
industries, as wool and woolens.
During the comparative free trade
years between 1850 and 1860, we
find only an increase from III to ~
million head of sheep. During the
next decade under the Morrill, tariff
act, they had increased to a8 million,
and now they exceed 40 million head.
To recapitulate, under free trade our
focks increased three per cent in ten
years, during protective decade
they increased forty-three per cent.
Further, the entire wool crop was
purchased by American mills, and in
the year 1850. converted 800 million
pounds of American wool into fab
RIGS. Strike away every vestige of
protection and you make our wool
market in London in competition
with the cheap production of other
countries. Our 1900 wooden mills
would stand idle, and our condition
would become as deplorable as that
of Ireland, where free trade with
England has driven her woslen fac
tories to the wall. To-day Ireland
pays higher prices for her WOODEN
goods than we in the United States
pay for similar article. Ireland has
had free trade, the United States
protection, from the present condi-
ton of the countries which would
you say was the best system? Ad-
nit wool free of duty and you strike
blow at one of our staple industries.
Farms in the East would be aban-
doned were it not that sheep and
wool can be grown at a profit. Can
you expect an American farmer;
that raises wool; who pays state and
municipal taxes; educates his family,
and provides the thousand and one
necessities of the higher walks of life
to compete with low grade of semi
civilized wool growers, from whose
uncared for herds, two crops of wool
are clipped annually, or to compete
With the fine grades by Australian
wool? You answer, the freight is
sufficient protection, and ocean freight
as cheap as one-fourth to one.half
cents per pound in slow sailing ves-
els?
Another protected industry is coal,
which under twenty-one years of pro-
lection, the output has been increased
from 16 million tons in 1860, to 90
million tons in 1880 and the power
to create wealth of the machinery for
which this coal supplies the fuel is
prodigious. During twenty-one years
of protection our extent of railroads
has increased from $1,000 miles to
$4,000 miles. Commerce during
the same period has increased aIo per
cent. Protection pays higher wages.
From table prepared by the State
Department concerning wages ETC.,
we find the average weekly wages of
seventeen different classes of labor, in
Guiding carpenters, blacksmiths, ma
sons, common labor, etc., to be in
England $751;, in Scotland S7.a2, in
N. Y. SIa.7o, and in Chicago $3.50.
We also find that most of the necessi-
ties of life are cheaper in the United
States with the exception of coal and
rents. The superior condition OF
American workmen cannot be dis.
puted. The fact that annually thous-
ands of English artisans leave their
native land of free trade, and come
to country of protection, and stay
here is evidence that we pay highe r