Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-10-05
P. T. BARNUM ON THE TARIFF.
CLEVELAND USES THE SAME AR
GUMENTS AS THE Golden
FREE TRADERN.

no II OObDAAN
FREE TRADERS.
p. Il. Barnum made a political
speech, for the first time in many
years, at Bridgeport recently. In
the course of his remarks he said {:
We are not discussing politics,
but business nor are we to dis
cnss the Mills tariff bill, for that,
bad as it is, is only an entering
wedge for Oleveland's doctrine OF
free trade, pure and simple
Cleveland, in his message at the
opening of Congress, used the
exact arguments Of the Golden
free traders, as ! have heard them
from their own lips in Manchester,
England, hundred times. They
say, "America must feed us, and
We must clothe Americans, and do
all the manufacturing Tor them,
aud pass their custom houses free
of duty. There is hut a small
number of manufacturers in the
United States, and they must be
wiped Out for the benefit of the
large number of inhabitants who
can be supplied by us at halt price,
because our operatives receive less
than half the wages paid IN the
United States
Cleveland says the same thing,
and he means the same thing. SO
does the Democratic party. " after
son says: sit means free trade,
and if any Democrats don't like 1t
they must 60 somewhere else"
The English manufacturers and
newspapers recognize the Demo.
cratic party of free traders and
stand ready to smother us with
their manufactured goods at a
moments notice. But Mills and
most OF his party are scared by the
uprising of the whole country
against permitting the starvation
labor of Great Britain, Germany,
France and other countries TO
compete even handed with the men
who ill our factories and live like
men, independent aud happy, so
they fix up the bogus Mills bill for
a make.shft till they can get con-
troll of the United States Senate,
when they will rush through just
such a free trade bill as Cleveland
asked for in his message, and as
the Mills bill was when reported
by the Democratic committee OF
the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile these free traders are
irving to throw dust in our eyes
by talking about "moderate free
trade
Where viii Bridgeport be when
it's manufactures are stopped by
free trade and the cheap labor OF
the pauperlzed operatives OF
Europe ? An English manufacturer
who was my guest recently ex.
claimed, when he saw the healthy
looking, well dressed mechanics
emerging from the Wheeler q
Wilson factory at dinner tine
care these people all contractors p
no" | replied "They are the
masses. who earn three times as
much per day as yours do, and
they live accordingly"
"The masses" he replied. "They
look more like employers than the
masses. but we divide these two
words differently when used in
England - we make them read
them asses"
Now if our mechanics and work
ingmen, American, Irish, Germans
and others, will be fools enough 70
vote for free trade. ! shall blame
nobody for giving them this
English title. a Bridgeport man
ufacturer who employs two thou
sand men told mel free trade came,
or free trade in the articles he
made, he should discharge his
workmeh here, manufacture in
Europe, and bring his goods here,
as he could make them over there
so much cheaper than here, and
must do so to compete with foreign
goods which pay no duty to the
home market.