National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-03-03
FRANKLIN AND FREE TRADE.
The Philosopher and Statesman shown
to Have Favored Non importation or
Protection.

The Philosopher and Statesman shown
TO Have Favored Non importation or
Protection.
EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN: In the
Washington Pos, of yesterday find q com.
munication, with the caption sour Tariff
and Our Future" over the signature of T.. j.
Donnoll. This letter Of Mr.. Donnell's Is so
manifestly anti.Amerlcan that hope some
person who has the time and disposition
will review It and expose its sophistries
and inaccuracies. ] will not undertake to
assert that II Is inspired and possibly paid
for by English influence and English gold,
because do not knoiV II to be so, but /
think any unparalleled person who win
take the trouble to carefully examine it
will not fail to detect some very prominent
and unmistakablc ear-marks Mr.. Donnell
asserts that sin 1888 when the American
commissioners, Franklin, Adams, and Jay,
met the English commissioner 10 make a
commercial treaty between the two coun-
tries, one Of the first propositions submitted
by the Americans was mutual uucondi-
tional free trade.n Now, Mr.. Editor when
MIR. Donnell made that statement II is fair
to presume that he had not seen the letter
by Benjamin Franklin to Humphrey Mar
shall, dated "London, April 90, III" In
which, among other things, Franklin SAYS
If our country people would well consider
that all they save In refusing to purchase for
elgn gewgaws and in making their own ap.
Iarcl, being applied TO the Improvement OF
their plantations, would render these more
profitable as yielding n greater produce, |
| should hope they would persist resolutelv In
| their present cOmmcndable industry aud fru.
gnlity. And there is still n further considera.
nulOutpg nfphnnn urn
| very fast. But OF the countries that take of
| those provisions, some do not increase at all,
| ns the European nations and others as the
| West India colonies, not in the same proper.
ton. SO that though the demand may ut pres.
| eDt be sufficient II cannot long continue so.
| Every manufacturer encouraged In our country
| makes part of n market for provisions within
| ourselves and saves so much money to the
country MS must otherwise be exported to pay
| for the manufactures he supplies Here, in
| England, II Is well known and understood that
| whenever manufacture Is established which
| employs n number Of hands II raises the value
| OF lnndsin the neighboring country ull around
| II, partly by the greater demand near at hand
| for the produce of the land, aud partly by tho
| plenty OF money drawn by the manufacturers
| 10 thnt part Of the country. IL seems, there.
| fore, the Interest of all farmers and owners of
| lands to encourage our young manufactures IN
| preference 10 foreign ones imported among us
| from distant countries.
| This does not look much as II Franklin
was In favor OF free trade. In another part
of the same letter he more than intimates
that he is In favor OF non.importation. A
few years later Thomas jefferson Is credited
| with saving that sit would be better for
this country II the Atlantic was an impass-
able gulf Of 1rc.n But whether he said II
or not one thing is certain, and that is that
there is no government on earth SO well able
TO live prosperously within itself rs the
United States. No other country has such
diversity Of soil, climate, and productions
as we have. None Of the governments OF
Europe can compare with us ia the natural
means of internal commerce that is fur.
nished by our magnificent lakes and rivers
which traverse the couLtry for many thou
sands OF miles, some OF which connect the
frozen regions Of the north with the land Of
the orange and the palm. In no country
OF Europe are the horny-handed sons Of
toll so well clothed and fed as In the land
over which floats our starry banner. i am
glad to believe that these facts are appre
ciated by large majority Of our citizens
both native and adopted, and | am free tC
say that no government is entitled to the
respect and support OF Its subjects that fails
to protect them to the extent Of its power
against unfair competition either at homC
or abroad. By which | mean the convict
labor Of our penitentiaries and the paupei
labor Of Europe. Again Mr.. Donnel
says: "What o sad passage In our his
tory is the relations of the American
government to the national industry during
the last twenty years" What does Mr.
Donnell sec that is so very sddP Are We
not paying our national debt faster than
our creditors want us to? Is that ''sat
passage in our historyY" Are not cap
italists not only willing, but anxious, Il
take our, securities at 3 per cent, that wer
OF somewhat doubtful value ut and pc
cent. twenty years ago? Is that cause 0
sadnessY Are not our marts Of commerc
and all branches Of industry as nourishinj
and prosperous as they were twenty year
agoP l can only think at this moment o
one branch Of business In which free trad
England can excel us, and that is the mol
business. When her $4,000 starving citizen
paraded the streets Of London a few day
ago, breaking open the stores and shop
and appropriating the contents in defanc
of law and officers, a point was reached II
that line of business that defles competition
but that sort of business is not considere,
to BIO either useful or ornamental in thi
country. ii. PRICE.
WASHINGTON, March /, 1886.