The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1891-02-25
FREE TRADE TARIFF.
GALL THINGS BY THEIR R,our
NAMES.

"n.ers and Speakers should show the
"erence Retweea Free Trade and a
oirade rarin-Free Trade "A Mis-
ao"er-Csn Ii by It's Right Name, and
There WIN Re No Dodsing.
Mr. David Hall Rice of Boston SAYS
tnat when the present Democratic GOV.
XLnor OF Massachusetts,, VIM. T.. Russell.
ob neu ms campaign last October, which
resi- TED In his election, he set his key
notd IN the following statement:
ne Democratic party makes no de-
MANI nor has it ever made any, for
free tra<ts "She raises no
tissue as Between protection and free
Rtrade, makes 80 war on a proper, just
and moderate tarifa&lxation made in the
interests, not of class, but OF the whole
people.
Then under this pretentious declara-
tion he PROCEEDED TO advocate tariffs that
were nothing more nor less than free
trade tariffs, and which had every vest
ige of protection eliminated from them,
from one end of Massachusetts to the
other BY these articles he captured
the votes of men by thousands who would
never, knowingly, cast their ballots
against protection and for the British
system.
At the same time Roger @ Mills of
Texas was carrying on his campaign
among the farmers of the West, declar-
: ing boldly for "free trade" as the true
Democratic principle for which they
should vote in order TO abolish all tarih
taxation, and procure all their purchased
necessities cheaper than now. He cap
tured many votes on that pretext, al
Al l. hot hot \ ba
Democratic party designs, when IL
reaches the power, is TO abolish not one
whit more of tariff taxation than the
Republican party, but 10 put it on in
another place.. e., upon the commodi-
ties which the masses of the people
must purchase from foreign countries,
because we cannot economically produce
them here.
In other words, he aims at the same
system of tariff taxation as Gov. Rus
sell, of Massachusetts, which imposes
its chief burden upon the earnings of
the people, and allows capital TO escape
without paying its fair proportion.
Nor is this the whole mischief being
done. There are thousands of voters in
New England who take up their paper
and looking through its pages find IL
amply demonstrating the evils OF Stree
trade" They say at once: "Oh, yes, |
agree with all that, but il doesn't touch
me- ! am q moderate protectioniSt, and
stand with Governor Russell. / am not
for free trade, because | go for a reason
able tariff" Out West, on the other
hand, other thousands say: "Oh, fudge.
Don't / know that when | have free
trade, so that l have TO pay tariff taxes
on nothing that buy for necessary use,
1 shall get along cheaper than now? L
agree with Mills on that" So neither
Russell nor Mills is ever put on the de-
fensive in the tariff combat, but they
capture and hold these votes against US.
Now, in the language of the late A.
Ward, "Why is this thus?" l reply, il
lies away back of Russell and Mills. 1t
goes back TO the day when Golden in
England with genius worthy of Me-
phistopheles himself, dubbed the British
tariff system "free trade" and induced
the British nation TO call call it by that
misnomer. 1t goes back to the time
when the advocates of the American
protective system also accepted this mis-
somcr without question, and have since
employed IL TO designate the British sys-
TEN of tariff taxation. The fundamental
evil lies in calling this British system we
combat by false name, which gives
Russell the chance to dodge round IL one
way in Massachusetts and Mills the
chance to dodge around it the other way
I'm the West and so win in both places,
not by fair and open combat on the mer-
its, but by trick, device, and evasion of
the facts and the truth. And the worst
of il is that we, the protectionistS, by
our unhesitating acceptance and use Of
4. 10 haxv LOT. A
the foundation for this evasion OF the
real issue, and the fooling of a large con-
tingent of the American voters, in spite
OF all we can do. /, myself, plead guilty
To having done so in the past, before a
study of the subject disclosed the mis-
chief.
Now, ask, what is the obvious
remedy, and / answer, begin by calling
the British tariff system by a correct
name, which will disclose its essential
character. / care not what name so
that il be truthful. The term "free-
trade tariff system" is a good one, and
"free-trade tariff" instead of free-trade,
is a good one. These give the average
American voter the idea at once of what
the British system actually is. They con-
yey to the Western farmer the idea that
"free- trade" does not consist in no tariffs
as Mills has left him TO believe. They con-
vey to the Massachusetts spinners the idea
that Russell's tariffs may after all be of
the British variety, and that they are not
necessarily protective because they are
tariffs, as he has led them TO believe.
Best of all, these designations put both
Mills and Russell on the defensive, be-
cause the Western farmer and the Massa-
chusetts spinner will both begin TO
inquire into the nature of the tariffs
they propose, and will soon find out that
they are both OF the British variety,
which will compel the farmer and the
spinner to pay the great bulk of them.
These considerations should be care
fully weighed by every protection writer
and speaker, If we expect to bring the
enemy to bay.
HOME COMPETITION.