The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1890-09-25
County FAIR Economics

u
series of forensic encounters between
the advocates Of protection and free
trade, in which the protectionist
will be found talking for American
interests every time, and the free
trader will appeal for tolerance or
sympathy for some foreign interest,
generally British, as their heaviest
contributions, both of IDEAS and
money, are derived from that
source.
The suggestion, if not the argu-
ment, of the free trade orator will
be that, as England is the largest
purchaser of our farm products,
clearing our markets of a surplus
which would otherwise be very in
convenient, we should reciprocate
and admit her manufactured goods;
that England will not buy of us
unless we buy of her
This is d fallacy; England will
buy where she can buy the cheapest
in the future, as in the past The
foundation idea of the British polit-
ical economy, free trade, is to sell
dear and buy cheap, keeping the
wages of operatives at the lowest
possible point, SO that the profits of
the completed transaction shall be
at the maximum.
England adopted free trade only
when her statesmen knew their
country superior to all others in
abundance Of money, in organization
and in facilities of transportation,
which gave her at that time the
cheapest freight rates of any coun-
try in the world. The measure was
adopted without regard to the in
terests of her farming population,
who are being eliminated
It was the hope of England that
all the world would grow raw pro
duce to sell to her for her manufac-
ture and consumption, taking a
portion of it back in payment, Eng
land charging her own price for
transportation each way. That the
world should sell her skins for a
sixpence and buy back the tails for
a shilling"
When England devised free trade
and induced us to accept it also she
thought to offer US the only market
for our farm produce. She intended
to keep the only shop at which we
could buy. Our tariff of 1916 gave
her such a start in that direction
that the balance Of trade on mer-
chandise against us was over one
thousand and five hundred million
dollars, a sum paid in gold and
bonds for goods we find we can
manufacture cheaper and better
than those she sold, while we have
a debt to her requiring the trans
mission of about one hundred million
dollars yearly as interest money.
These vast sums she has immedi-
ately invested, largely in countries
intended to compete with us in the
sale of farm produce The efforts
of the free traders seem to be di-
rected to increasing the capital
which England can so employ in the
future.
Under our present tariff laws over
five hundred million dollars worth
of merchandise was brought into
this country the last fiscal year all
of which could have been manufac-
tured here. This sum at an average
of 5000 per capita would have sup
ported a quarter of a million people,
whose expenditure for American
farm produce of all kinds cannot be
put at less than twenty-five million
dollars, whereas if they were en-
ployed in England largest
customer for such produce they
would not take much over d million
dollars worth. Free traders also
CLAIM. that tariff enabling us to
afford the employment five hundred
million dollars would pay for would
not increase the wages of those SO
employed.