Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-08-23
PERILS OF FREE TRADE.
FaIlaeies of Free Trade and Threatened
Ruin of Amer can Industries
Pointed Out.
England Endeayoring to Find an Outlet
fer the Products of Her Pauper
labor,

/
fer the Products of Her Pauper
Labor.
Democratic orators are DENYING that
British manufacturers have subscribed
SO, 000,0 to the Democratic. campaign
fund, bat they viii not say that the
amount is not 20, 000,0 That the
English free traders are deeply interest
ed in the campaign and ardentlv in
favor OF the election Of Cleveland and
a free trade congress is patent to any
one who takes the trouble to follow the
course of events. In q recent leading
editorial the London Times SAYS:
The g electioneering campaign in
America ought to be most interesting to
the English people for historical, politi-
cal, philosophical and economic reasons.
The main question at issue is
English free trade against the Continent
al system Of protection The Republic
is on trial. Good, conservative COVERT
ment, under Cleveland, is opposed by
the rule and ruin party of Blaine, whose
friends nominated Harrison, and who
would certainly be the Secretary sof
State under a Harrison administration.
Thus the American people are directly
involved in the contest through their
tariff, and their future, which would be
seriously Influenced by the restoration
to power of such fire-brand as Blaine,
with his home-rule sympathies and anti
Chinese policy. The American election
is infinitely more important to English
men than their own internal politics just
at this juncture, and they should OBJ
serve every phase of the campaign close
ly and understandingly 1t is from this
point of view that the copious dispatches
to the Sunday Times are cabled. The
result of the american election 1UW help
to decide n1GBy important issues a,
Great Britain.
In connection with this frank avowal
of the purposes and aims Of the Johnny
Bull wing Of the Democratic party we
quote from a recent address on protec-
ton by Mr.. John J. Gerting, which en-
ghasizes the fact that England IS hand
and glove in sympathy with the Democ-
racy for the purpose of finding an outlet
for the products Of her pauper labor.
He says:
In England free trade is beneficial, and
why? Because the English are a nation
of manufacturers. 1t is their interest to
have every port IN the world open free to
ner manufactures because it is by selling
their manufactures to foreign nations
they make their daily bread. But it is
not every country that can prosper under
free trade If free trade was universally
advantageous, why are not Canada and
! Ireland superior in wealth to the United
States. England prOSperS from free-trade,
because it puts its manufactures upon
other nations. When this country was
first started, when we were simply colo
MES, England crippled our industries.
They scarcely allowed them to start.
Since the revolution we have looked to
the interests of our own country first, and
the rest Of the world next. In that way,
from poverty stricken country in 1776,
we are now the Wealthiest country, I may
say, on the face Of the earth-the wealth.
est country IN its resources. We produce
more; we have more energy than any
other people. Now, the most of this pros
perity came to US since we have had pro-
lection laws. The WOrkingman here gets
about twice as much as the workingman
in England.
IF WE ABOLISH OUR LAWS
upon tariff you will have the pauper labor
OF England to compete with, and the re-
suit will be that millions OF dollars worth
of manufactured goods from England will
sweep away our own manufactures. Just
as prison labor and Chinese immigrants
act injurious to our wOrkingmen, SO will
the pauper labor of England be injurious
to our WOrkingmen if allowed to compete
by the adoption of free trade with our
manufacturers. The result of a free-trade
policy would be the closing of a large
number of our manufactures, and the
rest would have to reduce the wages OF
their workingmen in order to go on.
Whenever you raise the amount of wages,
whenever you raise the price of property
you Immediately cripple capital In ali
financial panics capital invariably makes
the profit. | do net consider that this free
trade question is simply a Democratic
! question | do not believe that if the
Democratic party carries the election they
will ever adopt an absolutely free-trade
policy for this country. | beiieve North
ern Democratic members of Congress
would vote against free trade. Before the
war the South was always in favor OF fv1e
trade; the North in favor of protection.
Why? The South had slave labor to raise
their cotton. tobacco, and other commodi-
ties. They owned their labor. They
raised their products for. almost nothing.
BUT THE NORrHERNER
| expected to receive a prOpOrtionate bene-
fit for his labor, and so was in favor OF
protection, for protection increased manu-
features, and increased manufactures in
creased wages. The South did not want
to have it's raw material manufactured in
TO fabrics in the North. Why? Because
the Northerner expected wages in proper
| ton to the value Of his work. The South
was, therefore, in favor OF shipping its
! raw material to England. The South
! getting everything for nothing was free
| trade country, and when they found that
! they could not carry out their principles
| they rebelled Now, there are a great
many here probably opposed to Chinese
| and Italian labor, because it can be got
! for so cents lower a day than other labor,
| Fer this L bQr CoJuc-sSue 1Yacel OF oI-er
! LABOR. Therefore, e the TABOR OF Tie CHI
neSe and Italians is detrimental TO Ameri-
/ can workingmen, why would not the la-
! Dor of England, when brought into free
/ competition with American labor, be also
! detrimental to the latter? AS it is the
/ English laborer helps to support this
I country because we tax the goods ne
! makes. If England weaYes a ball of goods
worth 500 there. it has to pay us $50 or
/ $40 before it can be sold here Thus the
workingman in England is not only help
| ing to support his own government, but
| is also helping TO support ours.
ENGLAND HAS NOT ONLY CHEAP LABOR
! in ner own country, but has vast do
! minions beyond the seas whose cheap Ia
! Dor she uses I wish to read you a small
/ table. If / asked you which was the
! greatest wheat-producing country in the
/ world you would probably say the Unite
States. That would be correct. The
United States in 1886 produced 457, 21S, 00C
/ bushels of wheat. But you will be sur.
priSed to hear that the second greatest
wheat-producing country in the world
! FTance-prOduced from 1876 to 1888 an
average per year of $40, 323 377. and that
| India in 1884 produced 220, 600, 900 bushels.
Are not those figures alarming TO Ameri-
can citizens? When was N the west
and had farming interests there, we ex
| pected to make a dollar a bushel out OF
| wheat. What are the prices now? The
average price of wheat in 1876 was 81. OF rs
In 1877. in the Chicago market the price
was s.. 81 Is a bushel; and then it began
to decrease. until, in 1886, it had come
| down to II cents bushel in Chicago, and
! in 1887 il was 50 9-10 cents What is the