New-York tribune., 1886-06-06
HENRY GEORGE.
y ,,r HAS HELPED HIS COUNTRY.

T,;s hool, will do good That is because It's
.octs will be exactly what the author does not eN
noct or desire Tie sending for the Prophet Baiaam
IN come and curse Israel turned out to be Oh co"-
siderable advantage-to Israel So Mr.. George, nav
ING been induced to curse the protective tafl" mas
rendered it an essential service. Twice tnis se'i
he has been permitted to help his country "heh
the eich,-bour movement took shape, Mr' George
was good enough to say. A man ough' ho' 10 i,uoi
more than one hour a day that was enough i"o
remark was telcgraphed all over the county an"
set people thinking Employers saw 'n'' INC sam
mower which then demanded ten hours pay ior
:-,. h,,,ro work eonld as reasonably demand ten
,onrs, nay for one hours work. and with far more
600 # suecessfnl in the first demand Many con-
,1ad that il was as we'll to begin to manage their
o,vn business first as last. So without meaning H.
MIR. George probably contributed much to the de-
feat of a movement which would have harmed
tabor more than capital In this volume he proceeds
20 shov that what is commonly called free trade is
fr,,d and is i.npotent to help the country or the
peopc and that there be no real free trade uh-
I'll ali taxes are land upon land values Therein ne
makes clearer than ever the choice which the
farmers Of the United States must make. between
the svs;cm of indirect taxation. which builds up IN
this country the industries and invites to this con
try the labor by which farm products may be con-
sumed. and the only possible alternative-the
concentration of ali taxes upon the land until the
land has no value left.
Most other free trade writer's go masked, and are
irving to cheat somebody, consciously or uncon-
sciousy Possibly partial consciousness OF this
accounts for much of their abuslveness. But Mr.
George puts off the mask He does not try to cheat
however he may be self-deceived AS is natural, he
Is decent III behavior even if he betrays strong ana
unjust prcjudices against advocates oil prOtecton.
His manners are those of gentleman, aud not Of
n Yale professor of economy. His irankness is
often quite charming Thus at the outset he speaks
of the free trade cause as "a movement now faint
hearted because i! is not honest and contrasts it
with the teachings of Quesnay thus:
These French economists were, what neither
Smith nor any subsequent British economist or
statesman has been. true free-traderS. Ihey wished
10 sweep away not merely protectiye an'ies, ou, an
taxes direct and Indirect save a single tax upon
land values. This logical conclusion OF free trade
principles the so-called British free traders have
shlrked. and it meets to-day as bitter opposition
from the Cobden Club as from American protec-
tionlsts. The only sense In which we eau properly
speak of British Free Trade" is the same sense in
which we speak of a certain imitation metal as
"German silver" British Free Trade" is spuri-
IS free trade. II. 15J
And again (p 247) he says "Al over the civilized
world the free trade movement has been for some
time losing energy" and on the next page, "Instead
of the abolition of protection i'll Great Britain being
followed rs was expected by the overthrow of pro-
lection everywhere. it is not ohy stronger through
Out the civilized world than it was then but is
again raising its head in Great Britain To the
same end he replies to Professor Summers rldlcule
Of protective ideas thus:
In themselves these notions may be whatthe Pro
fessor declares them. miserable failacies winch
sin against sense" but they arise from the
recognition of actual facts. Such miserable tai
Iacies must continue 10 sway mems minds until
some satisfactory explanation Is afforded OF the
facts that make the leave to toll a boon. TO al
tempt as do free traders of Professor Summers
class to eradicate protectOniSt IDEAS while Ignoring
these facts utterly hopeless What they take for
q seeding that may be pulled up with a vigorous
effort Is in reality the shoot of a tree whose spread
ing reach tn the bed-Ock of society. poItl-
cal economy that Will recognize no deeper social
Instead of on a revenue basis, and that With sncn
TRIVIAL exceptions is but a Justification OF tnlnGs
as they are Is repelient to the instincts OF me
masses. To tell workingmen. as Professor sumner
does that tradeS-uplOnsm and pToiecuOnlsn are
fasehOOds" Is simply to dispose them 20 protection
ISM for whatever NAV be said of protection tney
Know well that trades unions have raised wages III
many yoca tOns, and tlat they are the only things
that have yet gwen the working classes any power
Of resisting a strain Of competition that I'M
checked must force them TO the maxImumof toll
for the minimum of pay. Sucn tree-'r 'radelSm as
taught i'll England and that IN the United
States has cssayed 10 do battle with prOtect0nlsm
must, wherever the working classes have III zeal
267-sj
Mr. George is so frank, indeed, that he admits the
yerv truths that refute his own reasonings A
great part OF his work is spent III trying tO prove
that protection cannot benefit the farmers ar all,
and yet III a note on page 26l he admits that all
reasoning TO that end has failed because the aver
age fanner feels that there arc already too many
people IN farming" and hence is not ill-disposed
toward policy which, though IT may increase the
prices he has to pay. claims to make work" In
other branches OF Industry. With more ingenuity
than soundness Mr.. George labors to show that
there is real advantage III dealing with our own
people her than with foreigners. but his frank
ness presently the better of him, and he says
p. l7O that both protectionsts and far
traders are right saying that one country ought
not TO be made draw farm for another, and that
O true economy OF the powers of nature would bring
factory and field close together"
Confessing so much, it might well be supposed
that Mr. George would waste no time in repeating
the stale arguments of free traders, the absurdity
of which his own admissions show. But with con-
siderable appearance of logical methods Mr.. George
is one of the most illogical writers extant. and he
occupies nearly half his book in recting these same
threadbare reas0nngs. apparently unconscious
that III other places he has eieetually disposed of
them. This part OF his work is not well done. He
pours contempt upon protection. its "obvious un-
truths" and "papable errors" assuming, free
traders usually do, that ignorance alone can ac
count for the prevalence of protective beliefs. Yet
he comes to a different CONCLUSION at last remark
ing: Free traders usually attribute the persist
ence Of the belief in protection TO popular igno-
rance. played upon by special interests. But this
explanation viii hardly satisfy unbiased mind
Vitality lnheres in truth, not in error" He solemn
ly disputes Adam Smiths reasoning that trade
between different people of the nation
is
between its people and those of other lands. aud
his reply is bright and witty but it remains the
tact nevertheless that diversified industry does
enrich a nation aud Mr. George himself and
OWNS the fact when he to speak of the inter-
ests of land owners. The same feeling has had its