Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1890-01-30
Free Trads v. Pro-ecsips =.
[Dy Richard Roc.l

republican party dispatched Mr.. n.
Mckay of New York to England for
the purpose Of gathering information
relative to the WAGES and condition Of
the working people there. Mr.. Nc
Kay discharged his duty faithfully &c
cording to the estimates and wishes Of
his political party. He made his report
under the titles of Free Trade Toilers y
and Starvation wages for Men and
Women. At the same time he had
the temerity to send copy of his
Findings to Gladstone, together with
a note challenging the opinion of the
Grand Old Man on ''the relative value
Of free trade and protection to the En-
glish-speaking people.
Mr.. Gladstone properly declined to
reply while the campaign of 1888 was
agitating the minds of the Americans.
But the challenge was not overlooked.
In his own good time the English states
man made answer and sent the same
| for publication to the North American
Review. In his answer. Gladstone
showed Mr.. Mckay had been either
egregiously deceived or had purposely
misrepresented facts, and specially
mentioned and corrected his most grew
ious errors. As is we'll known siren
uous effort was mace by the republi-
cans in 1888 to make an invidious COM
parison between the condition OF the
wage earners of America and Britain
unfavorable to the latter, and to show
that the difference was due to the fact
that free trade was the policy Of En-
gland while protection obtained in the
United States. To this end the incor-
rect aud untruthful report of Mr.. Me-
Kay was broadly published, and stump
speakers made all possible political cap
ital out of it,.
Mr.. Gladstone freely admits that
wages, as a rule, are higher in the
United States than in England. But
he does not concede that the difference
is due to the protection policy of this
country. On the contrary he attributes
it to its manifestly proper causes
among which may be mentioned the ex
tent and vastness of our territory; the
diversity and choice Of industrial pur-
suit; the unmatched natural resources
of the country. Recurring to English
wages he shows that they have increas-
ed from 80 to 100 and even to $50 per
cent during the last fifty years. The
difference marks the improvement since
England abandoned her protection pol
icy and adopted that of free trade.
Again Mr.. Gladstone shows that
wages are generally much higher in En-
gland than in any of her near neighbors,
the highly protective tariff countries of
the continent. Indeed VIC can not re-
frain from remarking that if it is an ar
gument for republicans that wages are
higher in protected America than in
free trade England, it is much strong
er argument for democrats that wages
in highly protected in Germany and
France are not only far lower than than
in the United States, but very consider
ably lower than they are in England.
Mr.. Gladstone goes much farther
than to answer Mckay. In fact that
worthy is soon disposed of and the ex-
premier give his attention to the magni-
tude of the subject IN all its general
bearings. He shows that the very ar
guments which are now used by repub
licans for maintaining high protection
duties in the United States were used
fifty years ago by protectionists in En-
gland. That then with them, as now
with us, these arguments were made in
the alleged interest Of labor and of cap
ital. He adds, "they were SO specioa,
that they held the field until the genia,
of Golden recalled us from conventional
phrases to natural laws, and until Sc
les of bad harvests had shown the Brit
ish workman that what enhanced the
price of his bread had no correspond
ing power to raise the rate of his wages,
but distinctly tended to depress them.
But the only way to quote Gladstone 5
argument is to quote the whole of it,
and since that is impracticable here 1t
will only be possible to continue with a
brief outline of it.
Protection is presented as an invita-
ton to waste-it is promise given to
dear productions to shield it against the
competitions of cheap production-to
secure for it market it could not other
wise hold, and to enable it to exact
from the consumer a price which lie
would not otherwise pay" The extra
price imposed on class A for the ben.
fit of class B without compensation is
robbery, and robbery not rendered /.
more respectable because the state is
the culprit. Dear protection means
dear production, and dear production
means pro tanto, national impoveri>ii-
ment. If protection is good thing