Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-04-18
Protection Principles at Oxford

'fCOl pOldt'
Protection Principles at oxford.
After forty years of experience Of
the BLESSINGS of free trade" a Eng
land a large and always increasing
part of the people is busy in ques-
tioning the value Of "the blessings"
There are many who 60 so far a. to
deny that there are blessings in the
train Of a free trade policy. Among
the later meetings held in advocacy
of q return to at least modified
system Of protection was that held
in the Corn Exchange of the old
university town Of Oxford, A Mr..
Underhill spoke as to "the bless
ings" which free trade had confer.
red upon the British farmer. He
said every many farmers havs been
ruined outright by it, because it
brought foreign wheat into England
cheaper than it could be grown at
home. Others have been forced
to emigrate, and the money and
labor which they took abroad for the
enrichment Of other countries was
Just 80 much value lost to England.
Others had abandoned their farms
and gone to the towns, thus depres-
sing the price of labor in an already
overstocked market" Mr.. Under
hill is a farmer himself, and knows
whereof he talks; he might have
added that the value of English
farm lands has decreased by more
than 33 per cent. in the last ten
years and the acreage under pIows
in a like degree. 1t is plain that
free trade has not benefited the
English farmeT.
Nj. Pettinger is a workingman,
and he spoke for his class. lie said:
'NN orkmen get double the wages in
America that are paid here, but still
some things are dearer in England
than America. Food is dearer. In
America rent is higher, but there is
more money to pay rent with. For
all such things as are dearer in
America the workmen have more
money to buy them with, When |
was in America" said Mr. Pettin-
ger, 81 heard a workman grumble
because there was duty on pianos;
he said that it had caused him to
pay more for the one which he had
bought for his wife. But the wife
reminded him that, while pianos
were cheaper in England than in
America, yet the working peoples
houses were empty of them. English
are insufficient to the purchase
of musical instruments which are
common in American homes" The
workmeu saw the point, and it was
resolved that "the blessings" which
free trade conferred upon the Brit
ish workmen were neither great nor
many.
Next day they had a meeting in
the Town Hall of the same city,
and MIR, HILBERT, of the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce, spoke as a
manufacturer. lie said; Gree trade
is all very we'll as a theory, and so
long IS machinery was crude and
in foreign countries and |
excellent in England it worked well /
enough. But as soon as other
uatiors found out that they had |
better make their cotton goods and T.
knives and rails and plows at home,
and use as much as possible of their /
homegrown grain and meat to feed /
their own people, then free trade .
ceased TO be u blessing to England. /
Ii is a recognized fact that the /
wealth Of a nation lies in It's labor
If an English railway company has
two offers for iron to build a bridge .
with, one from an English firm at
eIo and one from a Belgian firm at
80, the company would accept the .
lower Offer, but England would be
poorer and Belgian richer by just .
the amount Of English money sent
into Belgium" So that Mr.. Hib- i
pert did not think much of ",he .