The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-01-02
Blaine B8ANDEGLADSTONBl
Discuss :i''!, y the Merits 9, h hof,Ftee ] fade
fSt.,' s.a5iS and Protection 3
HEsENGLISH { ARGUMENTS

T-ftn ,slTfsIs : : '-'s
Answered by Our Own &c rand
Old Man"-Frce Trade Not
Good for This Country.
NRw YoRK, Jan. 1.-THE ,Trib,in,
prints copious extracts from the great
discussion on !"Free Trade or Protection
by Mr.. Gladstone and Mr.. Blaine, which
forms the leading feature Of the North
american Rerietp for January, illinR
flfty.lour pages. In his plea for free
trade Mr.. Gladstone says; "
oLADsroNR's ARGUMENT FOR FREE TRADE,
| Each OF the rolling years teaches inc
moro and more lixedly, to Think that In
international transactions the : British
nation, for the present, enjoys CONNER.
cial pfimacy that no country In the
world shows any capacity, to wrest from
US, except 1t be America; that II Amer
lea shall frankly adopt end steadily
maintain a system OF free trade, she
will by degrees-perhaps not slow de-.
grees--outstrip us In the race, and will
probably take the place which at present
belongs to US i; but she will not injure us
by the operation. On the contrary she
will do us good. 0ne.hali OF American
labor enjoys protective wagesi the other
half OF the products OF the United States
is furnished by mere free trade toilers."
Now. | want to ask whether the wages OF
the agricultural half are raised by the
existence OF protective laws which cover
the artisan half? This you cannot pos.
sibly affirm, because 1t is an elementary
fact that (given the quantity OF labor in
tho market) they are governed by the
prices Of the commodities they produce,
and that those prices are free trade
prices. You have '"frte trade toilersn
all over your, country, and by their side
you have protected artisans. 1 ask,
then, next, this question: Is; the ren,u.
neration Of the "free trade itoilers," all
things taken into account, equivalent to
that Of the protected artisans ? fit is
not, why do not the agricultural men
pass over into the provinces OF demand
for manufacturing and mining labor,
and by augmenting the supply, reduce
and equalize the rate which is like ask
ing how, comes it that o man is content
with one LOAF when two are offered hinP
The answer would be-; He is mot con-
tent. Whenever he can t.he takes the
two and leaves the one. 1t follows that
in this case there exists no! excess Of
wage for him to appropriate. - ssss "a
81 urge that all protection is ! morally,
as well as economically, bad.s Many Of
them, without doubt, are good, nay ex-
celle1t, as were, in this IeouItry, many
OF the supporters Of the corn law. Il 1t is
Of the tendencies Of 4 system that
speak which operate variously upon
most men unconsciously. q 4, :, ts12
Mr.. DLAiNE's REPLY.
In his rejoinder Mr.. Blaine says:
Perhaps the most remarkable feature in
the argument OF Mr.. Gladstone, as in.
deed Of every English (ree.trader except
John Stuart Mill lis the universality OF
application which he demands for his
theory. 81 e
Free trade he believes advantageous
for England. Therefore, without the al.
lowance of any modifying condition,
great. or small, the English economist
declares it to be advantageous for the
United States, for Brazil, Tor Australia,
10 short, for all counlrie9 with which
England can establish trade relations,
1t would be difficult, il not impossible,
for Mr.. Gladstone to find any principle
OF administration or any measure OF
finance SO exactly fitted to the varying
needs OF all;countrles as he assumes the
policy OF free trade to be. Surely it is
not unfair to maintain that dedueing his
resultsfrom obseryali lionsand experience
in his own country, he may fall into er.
ror and fail?to appreciate. the financial
workings Of other countries geographic.
ally remote and Of vastly greater area.
is;I Is. ~ 7 rs. d, 3 = 81 e 9 Sis5l 2 5
e Alaska excepted, the northernmost
point O., the Union is sixty miles south
Of the southernmost point Of Great
Britain, and the southernmost point OF
the Union is but little ulore than hun.
dred miles from the tropics. Its natural
products are more varied, more numer:
GUS and Of more valuable character than
those OF all Europe. 4 To quote one ,oi
Mr.. Gladstone's phrases, we constitute,
mot 80 much country in ourselves, as
a world." He tells us that we carry on
"the business OF domestic exchanges on
a scale such as mankind has never seen I"
i :; do not join issue with Mr.. Gladstone
| on, both Of his Proposiliop6.. He defends
free trade in Great Britain he assails
protection in the United States, The
first proposition neither deny nor at.
firm. ~ es III 81 ;,5 li3'55s z q VI
| During this long period (lsl2 to 1861
free-trade tariffs were thrice followed by
industrial stagnation, by financial EN-.
barrassments, by distress among all
classes dependent for subsistence upon
their, own LABOR. Thrice were these bur
dens REMOVED ( by the enactment Of Il
protective tariff. 2 tsi ,st
Mr.. Gladstone may, argue for Great
Britain as he will, but for the United
States We must insist on being guided
by facts and not by theories; We must
insist on adhering to the teachings OF
experiments which shave been carried
forward by careful generalization to well
grounded conclusions s4Ss es.gSSist
4 u Mr.. Gladstone boldly contends that
keeping capital at home by protection
. is dear. production, and is a delusion
from top to bottom" 3, Il taksi direct
issue with fhimis ON that proposition.
Between 1870 aud the present lime
considerably more than one hundred
thousand miles Of railroad have been
! built in ! he&United States. The steel
, rail and other metal ls connected there.
with involved so vast a sum Sot money
: thatit could not have been raised 10
. send out Of the country in gold coin.
The total cost could not have been less
, than S5G0, 900, 900. We had a large in.
, terest to pay abroad, on the public
debt, and for nine years after 1870 gold
was at a premium in the United States.
, During those. years nearly 10000 miles
! OF rail way were constructed, and to i'm.
, port English rails aud pay for it with
!. gold bought at a large premium would
have been: impossible. 4; s s3.,z
Y Protectionists owe many thanks to Mr..
i Gladstone for his ioutspoken Emode ol
/. dealing with this question of free trade,
. He gives us his. conclusions without
/, qualification and without disguise. I. The
4 = r.. ! :