Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-03-29
Financial Depression in Free-Trade
Times.
JOIN z. FINERTY.

JOHN F. FINERTY,
of Chicago, the fearless Irish orator,
made rousing speech at the state con-
vention of republican clubs, held in the
assembly chamber, Madison, March 10
and Is.
:: \
/ was exceedingly interested in the
statement made-Or the proposition made
by Mr.. Mills, of Texas, as given by Mr..
Fairchild (Hon. Ell. 0. Fairchild, of Mar
inette), in regard to the prosposed en-
Iargement of the free list and the pro-
posed reduction on manufactured arti-
Giles. It has been said that
THE MILLS OF THE GOES
grind slowly but very fine, but in this
case the Mills of the other portion Of the
ghostlY empire laughter grind exceed
ingly slow, but also exceedingly coarse.
Laughter. They throw everything in
together and mix it up so that the Amer
lean people may get confused and mis-
take free trade for legitimate tariff re-
duction, and that is the province of the
four C's-Cleveland, Carlisle, Chamber
lain and Cabal; the genius of Kentucky,
assisted by the genius of Birmingham,
presents to the American people bill of
British empire. I hope you will not con-
slider that / enter on this occasion into
the pleasing occupation of twisting the
lions tail. Laughter. 1 am not going
to drag in Ireland but only the American
question as it stands In opposition to the
free trade question; because the Ameri-
can question is protection and the Eng
lish question is free trade. It would be
an error to call the latter an American
question or an American principle. The
words "free trade' themselves sound
we'll, they read well on paper, but when
you come to examine them you find them
but delusion and bubble.
We are told that
THE MARKETS
of the world shall open to us if we es-
tablish low tariff or virtual free trade.
Where are these markets of the world?
Where do they exist? France certainly
is not the market of the world in the
sense of free trade. Germany is not,
Russia is not-all the markets OF Europe
are more or less strongly protected, with
perhaps the exception of Great Britain
and possibly Turkey. The markets of
the world, then, comprise Great Britain
and her dependencies throughout the
earth. Those are the markets of the
world and we are invited to break down
all the barriers that stand between our
people and cheap competition in order
that the Americans may desert their
home market to revel in the alleged
blessings of the markets of the world
contained within the precincts Of the
British empire. Applause. This, in plain
terms, is what Mr.. Cleveland's message
means. Worthy men may be deluded by
it, worthy men may say England has
become a great country because of free
trade. How long has England been a
free trade country? Only within the
last forty years. Previous to that time
she dominated the markets of the world :;
previous to that time she built barrier
that gave her strength at home and power
abroad; previous TO that time the accu-
mulated wealth of England, from the
days of Edward ", the first merchant
monarch, down to the beginning of the
reign of Victoria, went to build up the
manufacturing resources of England,
and she, by virtue of that accumulation,
by virtue of the assistance of artisans
from Belgium and elswhere that her
wise kings brought to her soil, was able,
with protection, to undersell nearly all
the markets of Europe and to make her
self the center of European industry
Why, gentlemen, when she began her
conflict with the colonies, what Ameri-
can forgets that the commerce question
entered into that struggle? Then she
sought to keep those colonies for her
market alone. The fathers of the revo-
luton were determined that that should
never be, and the sword of Washington
was drawn as much to maintain the
commercial independence of America as
10 rt fhn I'D
ence, without which the commercial lib
erty could never have been achieved.
Applause. This great nation redeemed
by Americon valor, aided by the valor of
the freedom loving men of Europe,
established the American market in per-
petuity, gave to the American people the
government that gave them strength
and built them up to be what they are to-
day. But now in this age Great Britain,
grown old and careful, no longer wishes
to resort to the sword, at least on our
continent. Laughter. She seeks to
obtain her ends by other means. We
know what her history is with the weak or
nations. We know that England fights
first for commerce and next for glory.
We know that from the days of Give in
Hindoostan to those of Prendergast in
Burmah her sword has been drawn not so
much to crafty her lust for conquering
weaker peoples as in order that her sys-
tenn of commerce might plumber them.
Look at the vast empire of
HINDoosTAN;
look at that empire which a century and
half ago was perhaps the richest upon
the earth. England by her enterprise
and by the greedy valor of her soldiers
grasped it like devil fish. What is that
empire today? An empire composed of
dependent princes who are the satellite
of the British throne, an empire millions
of whose people have starved for lack OF
rice and salt under the British domino
ton within the last dozen years. An
empire that to-day, if it had the power
would rise as one man and sweep the
foreign denomination from its soil. Oh
all the wretohed populations on the earth
the tribes of Hindoostan are perhaps the
most miserable. They wear no longer
the glittering robes of India, they wear
no longer the silks of Cashmere. These
find their ways to London to dress the
proud females of the dominant aristoc
rscy. But the native of the noun tair
regions of India shivers in his calico rag;
and these rags are manufactured II
Birmingham or in Manchester. Ap
pleuse.
Look at the fate of China-an empire
nominally independent, but an empire
cursed by
TIE GREATEST VICE
that perhaps mankind has ever been sub
ject TO, the vice of opium smoking. An6
who is responsible for this? The British
mir whom cd 70