The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1890-02-01

The steel rail and other metal connected there
with involved 50 vast q sum Of money that II
could not have been raised to send out Of the
country in gold coin. The total cost could not
have been less than g. o0, OO, O0O We had
. large interest to pay abroad ON the public
dcbt, and for nine years after 1870 gold was
at a premium In tho United States During
these years nearly 10000 miles Of railway
were constructed, and to import English rail
and pay fer it with gold bought at a large
premium woull have been impossible. A
very large proportion Of tho railway enter.
prises would Of necessity have been aban
doned il the export Of gold to pay for the rails
had been the condition precedent to their
construction. But the manufacture Of steel
rails at home gave an immense stimulus to
business Tens Of thousands of men wers paid
good wages, auI great investments and great
enrichments followed the line Of the new road
and opened to the American people large
fields for enterprise not heretofore accessible.
b grain growers Of tho west and the
cotton growers OF the south will observe that
Mr.. Gladstone holds out to them a cheerful
prospect! They ''shoull produce more cereals
and more cotton Mt low prices"i MIR Glad
stone evidently CO ,siders the present prices
Of cereals aud cotton rs high prices"
Protectionists owe many thanks to Mr.
Gladstone for his outspoken mode Of dealing
with this question Of free trade. He gives
US his conclusions without qualification and
without disguise. The American free trader
Is not 90 sincere. he is ever presenting half
truths and holding back the other half, thus
creating false impressions and leading to false
conclusions. The western farmers instinct
Is wiser than Mr.. Gladstone's philosophy
The farmer knows that the larger the home
market tho better are his prices, and that a.
the home market Is narrowed his prices fall.
Mr.. Gladstone makes another statement OF
great frankness and Of great value. Com
paring the pursuits In the United States
which require no projection with those that
ara protected, no says: mo adversary will, |
think, venture upon saying that the profits
art larger III protected than IN unprotected
industries" This Is very true, and Mr. Glad
stone may be surprised to hear that the con
slant objection made by American free
traders against the 'protected industries a.
he terms them, is that the profits derived
from them are illegitimately large.
Mr.. Gladstone makes another contention,
In which, from the American point Of view,
he leaves out OF sight a controlling factor.
and hence refers an effect to the wrong cause
Regarding the advance Of wages In England.
he says: wages which have been partially
and relatively higher under protection rave
become both generally and absolutely higher.
and greatly higher. under free trade" | d.
not doubt the fact, but | venture to suggest
that such advance in wages as there has been
in England is referable to another and . pal.
pable cause-namely, the higher wages 10 the
United States, which have constantly tempted
British mechanics to emigrate, and which
would have tempted many more il the induce
ment Of All advance In wages at home had not
been interposed-
ENGLASD EAPLoys PROTECTION WHERE
NEEDED
Tho zeal Of MIR. Gladstone for free trade
reaches its highest point in tho declaration
that 'all protection is morally as we'll as eco
nomically bad" There is protection on sea
as we'll as on land. Mr.. Gladstone, while
chancellor OF the exchequer, carried through.
parliament a bounty Of El3O.OOO to a line
OF steamers running between England and
the United States-a protection that BE-
gan six years before free trade was pro
claimed in English manufactures, and con.
tinued nearly twenty years after. In the
whole period of twenty-five years an aggre-
gate OF many millions OF dollars was paid out
to protect the English line against all com
petition.
Does not this justify the opinion hat the
English policy Of free trade Is urged where
England can hold the field against rivals, aud
that when competition leaves her behind she
~repudiates free trade and substitutes the most
pronounced form of protections
It will not escape Mr.. Gladstone's keen OBJ
servation that British interests in navigation
flourish with less rivalry and have increased
In 0r~nfor vrCror<,o,, ti>r o,., -.L~- A.
great interests Of tho United Kingdom. | ask
his candid admission that it is the one interest
which England has protected steadily and
determinedly, regardless OF consistency and
regardless Of expense. Nor will Mr.. Gladstone
fail to note that navigation is tho weakest Of
the greatest interests in the United States.
because it Is the one which the national gov
m has constantly refused to protect.
We really feel as much afraid Of protec-
ton at sea a. Mr.. Gladstone is of projection
on Land. The positions of the American con-
gress and the English parliament on this sub
Jet are precisely reversed. England has
never been afrighted by the word subsidy,
and. while we have stood still In impotent
fear, she has taken possession Of the seas by
the judicious, and even the lavish, inter.
position Of pecuniary aid.
FARxER n LABORER JET THE BENEFIT.
Mi. Gladstone feels sure that, though the
protected manufacturer in the United
States may flourish and prosper, they do 20
at the expense Of the farmer. Both Mr.
Gladstone and the American free trader
have, then, the duty Of explaining why the
agricultural states of the west rave grown
In wealth during the long period Of proteo-
ton at q more rapid rate than tho manu-
featuring states of the east.
% In 1850 eight manufacturing states OF tho
east returned an aggregate wealth Of Is. l2a.
100000. Twenty years afterwards, by the
census of 1880, the same states returned an
aggregate wealth Of tl6.22s,00O.00O The
rate Of increase for the twenty years was
slightly more than 2l6 per cent. In 1850
eight agricultural states Of the west illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minus-
sofa, Nebraska and wisconsin, returned an
aggregate wealth Of $2,27l ,OOO. 900. Twenty
years Afterwards, BY the census of 1880 pro
lection all the while in full force), these
same states returned an aggregate wealth Of
81 ,26S, 900, OOO. The rate Of increase for the
twenty years was 396 per cent.
IT case viii be equally striking II We take
the fifteen southern states The rate Of In
crease for the twenty years was 10 per cent.
Consider that during this period eleven states
Of tho south were impoverished by civil VA.
And yet, at the end Of twenty years, the
southern states had repaired all their enor-
nous losses and possessed nearly double Tia
wealth they bad ever known before.
It may perhaps surprise Mr.. GIadssons 70
b told that out Of the fifty largest fortunes
In the United States-those that have A.
rested public attention within tho last ten
year-certainly not more than one has bssu
derived from protected manufacturing; and
this was alnassed by . gentleman Of the
anne Scotch blood with Mr.. Gladstone him
sslf. In no event can tho growth Of large
fortunes be laid to the charge of the pro-