Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-09-15
"British Free Trade" Mongers.


are in favor of Cleveland's election.
This indicates that General Hastings
has been quite assiduous in his reading
of English newspapers, and that those
journals evince much discernment in
their comments upon politics on this side
of the ocean. He might have said the
same thing with quite as much truth of
the Irish newspapers. On the other
hand, during the recent electoral contest
in England the newspapers of this
country generally expressed themselves
in favor of Gladstone; and there is no
doubt that they fairly reflected Ameri-
can sentiment. The conclusion is that
on both sides of the water the news
papers, as well as the people, are able to
discriminate quite clearly upon questions
of foreign politics in which their in
terests and partisan prejudices do not
obscure their judgments.
There is no mistaking the object Cf
partisans of the type of General Hastings
in representing free trade England as
favorable to the election of Cleveland.
1t is hoped by this appeal to antipathy
of race to ALLEVIATE our Irish fellow
citizens from the Democratic party.
This partisan deYice has been brought
into requisition at nearly every presi-
dental election for fifty years; but its
success has never been such as to war
rant its employment. The appeal to
race hatred takes this shape: The Eng
lish people maintain free trade; the Irish
detest the English. Therefore, Amer-
can citizens of Irish origin will vote
against Cleveland because he is opposed
to the Mckinley act and favors, in place
of it, substantial reform Of the tariff.
So clumsy partisan method, instead
of attracting the quick-witted people to
whom it is applied, is calculated only to
offend and repel them. 1t impudently
assumes that our Irish-born fellow
citizens are altogether indifferent to the
welfare of their adopted country, as in
volved in an important question of politi-
cal economy, and are governed, not by
their opinion of the merits or dement's
of the Mckinley tariff, but by their
hatred of England. According to this
amusingly stupid view, the Irish-Ameri-
cans are influenced in their political
action solely by an Unborn hatred of
everything that is English, including
free trade, and that the party which can
most etfectually play upon this race
hatred will "bag" the Irish vote. When
the ballot boxes shall have been emp
tied in November the demagogues who
make this absurd calculation will find
that they have reckoned without their
guest.
If a question which exclusively con-
Germs this country could be influenced
by foreign interests and opinions the
British free trade" mongers put their
transatlantic argument ON too narrow a
ground. The woolen and linen manu-
facturers and lace makers of Ireland are
quite as much affected by the Mex inley
tariff as are the cotton spinners and
iron workers of England. The Irish
Natlonalists are as much opposed to
protection as are the English Liberals
or English Tories. Justin Mccarthy,
the leader of the Nationalists, is as
strenuous an advocate of the principles
of free trade as is Gladstone, and much
more so than Salisbury, the foremost
enemy of Home Rule. From Grattan
and Daniel O'Connell down to Michael
Davitt, nearly all Irish patriots have
been advocates of free trade. There
would be as much sense, then, in APP
pealing to the prejudice of English born
American citizens against the Irish free
traders as in appealing to citizens of
Irish birth against the British free
traders.
But what the English, French or Rus
slams may think or say about the Demo-
cratic tariff programme is a matter of
supreme indifference. The demagogues
who seek to bring foreign prejudices
and race hatreds to bear upon the de-
cision of such question only betray the
wretched power of their own argument.
They dare not appeal frankly to the in
telligence Of the American people in be-
half of their policy of spoliation;
and in order to becloud the issue they
drag into the foreground of conflict Old
World antipathies that are dying away
even in their native homes. Happily.
this campaign has progressed too far,
the movement for tariff reform has be-
come too popular, for the success of suct
devices of shallow demagogy. The self
reliant and self-respecting American
Democracy are making this campaign
against tariff spoliation without givin,
themselves the least concern about for
eign opinion on the subject.-Phila
Rec0rd
TIE Republican organs are not pratin