The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-05-08
SOME PRorECrIONIsr FACTS.

The attention of free trade Americans
is respectfully called to the words of Sir
Edward Sullivan, an English baronet
who has recently made public his views
concerning the relative values of tariff
for revenue only and tariff for protec-
ton. Great Britain is the greatest free
trade country in the world, but not all
of its people believe that its tariff system
is Just what it should be. Sir Edward
has been aroused to action by "the
alarming condition of labor in the
united Kingdom" He finds that "many
industries have died out or removed to
other countries" and that Sin nearly
every industry English labor is under
sold by foreign labor" After reviewing
the situation he thus sums up his Opin-
ions:
Employment, not cheapness, is the
handspring of national prosperity and
contentment. The way to make nation
happy and prosperous is to give every
body an opportunity of being employed.
The idea of supplying a population of
"a, 000,0 900 with everything at lower
price than they can produce it is proba-
bly, the most preposterous nonsense that
ever entered the human mind. This is
actually what free trade pretends to do;
We are attempting W supply ouISOiNoS
with everything cheaper than we can
produce it. In other words, we place
before our workers cheap food, but put
it out of their power to buy it.
Free trade means untaxed foreign COM
petition. Foreign competition means
competition in cheapness; competition
in cheapness means competition in cheap
labor; competition in cheap labor means
competition in flesh and blood; and COM
petition in flesh and blood is slavery.
Excessive competition is the greatest
curse that can be imposed upon COM
munity. The unrestricted competition
of the whole world is rapidly making the
conditions of English labor impossible.
Cheap clothing and cheap food are of no
value if human labor is cheaper still.
Excessive cheapness is of no value to the
community without employment. EN-
ployment means cheapness. Those who
have employment can buy. Those who
have not employment cannot buy.
Free trade means cheapness to the rich,
the idlers, those with fixed incomes; but
longer hours, lower wages, harder work
to the workers The workers are twenty
to one to the oilers, and, therefore, Free
Trade sacrifices the interests of the nine
tenth to the interests of the one"
Yet the American free trader persists
in asserting that the tariff is a tax, that
the millennium of the workingman will
come with the removal of all protective
duties and the advent of cheap clothing
and cheap food, that the barriers which
the wise political economists placed in
the way of free introduction into this
country of foreign goods and which the
Republican party stands pledged to
maintain, alone stand between the poor
man and his earthly paradise. Mr.. Sui
livan evidently thinks strongly upon the
subject and makes an admirable and eff
fective presentation of his opinions. He
thoroughly pricks the bubble which the
tariff refOrmers" are so industriOusly
attempting to enlarge by incessant blasts
of free trade wind, but so intent are they
upon their pastime that very likely they
will fail to see how futile is their blow
ing.
There is nothing essentially new in Mr..
Sullivan's argument. The principles he
enunciates are those upon which protec.
ton has all along based its claims fol
recognition. But his massing of the
facts is unusually skillful, and he puts
into small space large amount of ortho
dox tariff gospel. Workingmen will find
here abundant food for ehection.-TroJ
Daily Times, april 10th