The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-04
THE 1I'KINLEY POLICY.

England abandoned protection with the
repeal of the corn laws in 1916, and stands
today after nearly half century of trial
the only free trade nation in the world.
During this time the prosperity Of Eng
land has been great in the vast industrial
and manufacturing interests which sup
ported the free trade policy, but several
protected countries, including our own,
have prospered as much if not more than
England, but what has free trade done for
England that any American workingman
should wish to see 1t replace the policy of
protection in American Strikes have never
been more frequent anywhere than they
have been in Great Britain of late years.
The severe competition of foreign coun-
tries. who enforce protection, has forced
England to periodically reduce prices and
scale down wages, and frequent strikes are
the consequence. Free trade doesn't seem
to have appreciably diminished poverty:
il does not seem TO have promoted indus
trial prosperity, political content or social
progress in Ireland; nor has it prevented
the rise of trusts and syndicates or stopped
the accumulation of wealth in few hands,
which labor agitators denounce in Amer
lea. So far as the welfare Of the masses
of the people is concerned free trade does
not appear TO have advanced it at all in
England.
Protection in America has sought to so
frame our tax laws and so raise our rev.
enues rs TO discriminate in favor OF our
own production and our own wages
against the production and the wages of
other countries; to give encouragement
to the domestic producer and manufact-
urer and maintenance to high rates of
wages by laying duties in such way as
10 discriminate in their favor against
those outside. The result of protection
in the United States has been to make it
q competitor in numerous lines of new
industries. and this competition of the
United States, added 10 that already ex-
listing in the rest OF the world. has re-
duced the worlds prices in the products
of those industries.
The stupid criticism Of the Cleveland
free trader. that 1.-THE tariff is a tax" is
answered by the fact that under the we'll
known laws OF competition the protective
policy OF the United States by it's vast
multiplication Of new industries has
lowered prices 20 the consumers in pro-
tected articles. Every intelligent man
knows that il IS possible 20 adjust taxes or
offer bounties or premiums in such 3 wsv
as 10 add 10 the aggregate wealth of com.
munity. John Stuart Mill, the greatest
English writer on political economy al.
mits the soundness of the policy Of pro-
lection TO new and nascent industries.
the wisdom of guarding existing indu.trie.
and existing rates Of wages against an nm.
due competition.
Under this policy Of protection to mas.
cent industries we are trying TODAY 70
establish the manufacture Of tin plate. of
which We are a vast consumer. England
has no monopoly Of tin production in her
mines Of Cornwall and Wales; she GETS
most Of her tin from the Ma,aysian Straits
and we can buy IL there as cheap "a Enc.
land can. even If our tin mines do no.
"pan out" as well as we expect. As 70 the
continuance Of protection to indastrie.
already established, IL is safe % say tnat
where q removal Of the du;y would mean
either a heavy reduction Of wages or a
stopping OF existing industries with the
rise Of prices consequent upon the with
drawal of the United States from the
worlds competition. then the removal Of
the duty would be q misfortune. Il would
lie a misfortune not only 10 the industry
4. ~.
who we're reduced 70 idleness or poverty.
hut i. would be an injury 70 the consumer
because il would in a snort time raise ths