Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1888-01-13

OF wages paid In those countries.
This would be wholly impractical
bic becaus of the position and in
tellige zee of the laboring classes
of this country, and it should be
tho pride of the nation to foster
this intelligence and elevate this
position rather than depress.
Only few years ago the price
of iron became SO high that the
tariff ceased to be protection,
and England dumped all the scrap
iron in the kingdom in to New
York City, breaking the iron mar
ket and causing foundries and
furnaces to shut down all over the
country. The panic that followed
is within the memory of the
Youngest voter. As like causes
produce like effects, we can only
conclude that similar result.
only of incomparably greater mag
nitude, would follow the adoption
of Gree Trade" England would
unload her goods, manufactured
by pauper labor, on the markets
of the United States, and manu-
factured goods for a time would
sell for, possibly, half what they
now cost. But what would be the
result? Our factories would shut
down, and our manufacturing in
terests, which now give food, cloth
ing, homes and education to many
thousands, would be completely
demoralized within year, and
we would have to look to England
for our clothing of every grade.
Then would England have a cor
ner on the markets of the world.
and with competition driven from
the field, she would put her own
prices on goods, and the suit of
clothes that now costs fifteen
would probably cost thirty to
thirty-fve dollars.
With the laborers in our fac
tories, mills and foundries driven
from their avocations to agricul-
ture, there would soon be an over
production, and we might sudden
ly find ourselves in the midst OF
the "good old times" when calico
was worth fifteen cents yard and
wheat twenty-five cents a bushel
1t is significant fact that POLL
advocated and carried out the
same policy over forty years ago
that is now urged upon the peo.
pie. The surplus that Polk found
in the treasury vanished like the
morning dew, and the country
rushed into debt to the extent o.
one hundred and forty millions
of dollars. In the ten years sue
ceeding the adoption of this poll
cy by Polk's administration WE
had the Mexican and Crimear
wars and the discovery of gold il
California, all of which tended t.
keep up financial prosperity. Yet
the inevitable crisis ca, ne and in
1857 every bank in New York
City suspended specie payment.
The country had been completely
drained of it's gold, ovel
four hundred millions hav.
ing been sent across the
seas to pay for goods, the purch ase
of which had been made possible,
by the adoption of the ruinous
Free Trade policy. The panic that
followed is still fresh in the mem
ories of thousands of voters.
The reason that goods are cheape,
now than they were under the Free
Trade system is because of the
close competitor Of thousands OF
factories Built up under the heal.
thy influence Of home protection
Tho more factories we have al
home, the greater the competition
and consequently the cheaper the
manufactured products, with the
addition of increased home mar.
kets for all our agricultural pro-
ducts. In the light of this do our
people want Free Trade?
/