Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-02-08

y
fears Chinese wall Have other nations
account of this wall? Let the fabulous fig
urcs Of our imports for the past 30 years be
your consolation and your hope.
Why, sir, in my State, where the wind
sometimes drifts the snow to the depth of ),
TO- or 90 feet railroad companies build high
storm fences at exposed points along the
track. They do not do this to stop the
winds blowing at all, hut they say to old
Boreas, "Bow all you please but you must
not stop the progress of our car. So we
build our industrial barIcadc against the
whitening blasts of England's starvation
made competition, and say to her, "Blow
about it all you please, but you must not
stop the car Of our progress.
Chinese wall Do you not understand,
Mr.. Chairman, that the function of n wall
IS not only to keep things out, but to keep
things in? Why, sir, our wall will be use
full in d thousand ways We need it to
keep out that Ccasclcss tide of European
paupers and criminals that is constantly
flowing, without ebb. 10 orr shores. We
want it to keep that queen Of Hawaii with
her unpronounceable name, out and we
need it to keep Grover Cleveland in
Laughter and applause If these lovers
'
mus and Thi5be did. through a hole in the
wall. Renewed laughter.
We need it to break the force of that
cyclone of British rapacity which. over
riding every principle of commercial equity
and every principle of everlasting Justice
las reduced ireland, an integral part of her
own empire, to state of beggary; has
made English colonie, on every parallel OF
latitude mere tributaries to her home
wealth, and which compelled our own
fathers more than Il century ago, to bleed
at every pore in the battle for Il
system of American manufactures and for Il
home market that should not he controlled
by the home government Why, sir, 80
prominent friend of the colonies as Lord
Chatham declared in the British Parliament
that in his Judgment the American colonies
ought not to be allowed to manufacture 50
much as a hobnail.
The revolutionary war was NaGed to 50
cure industrial independence of England,
and the same battle is on today. We are
fighting for the highest and noblest concep-
ton of free trade, the privilege of trading
among ourselves You are lighting to com
pei us to trade with England, who, rs soon
as She has crushed out our industries by her
mercantile wealth, will subject us to the
/
jected every other people to who have been
brought under her commercial sway
We do not ask for prohbitve but for
preservativc duties upon imports We
build our wall no higher than we build the
wages, the condition, and the happiness Of
American labor. 1t is for the wOrkugmcu
that we build at all. Capital needs n9
armor of defence. But labor can tolerate
no unfair competition 1t should have con
tinuous employment and advancing wages
" it is honorable it should ho hnnored.
As it is faithful it should be rewarded. AS
it is defenceless, it should he protected To-
day it is paralyzed. 1t cries out with the
Psalmist;
! Establish thou the work of our hands upon
H. yea, the work Of our hands establish thou
/ Grant its prayer and every furnace fire
will at once be lighted and every mill wheel
begin to turn. Pass the appropriation bill-
and 20 home, and all the people will rise up
and call you blessed
But we are told that all men havet the nat
ural right to buy where they may and sell
where they may. and the silver-tongued ora
/ tor from Kentucky Mr.. BrcCkinridge fair
! ~ electrified the House in his beautiful apps
/ trophe to that automatic proposition, In
4 deed, it may be said, generally. that thi.
free trade philosophy is made up of univer-
sally accepted trulsms perverted by sophs
try to meaningless or illogical conclusions
agree that every mani has the right tc
buy and sell where he pleases. but this being
the right of all, each must exercise his right
in a manner that will permit his neighhoI
to exercise his. All men have the right &c
travel upon the public highway. yet no tw,
can exercise this right at the Same instant
over the same segment of roadway. Ther,
must be control and regulation of this right
over both in order that each may enjoy Iii
right. Every man has the right to sell
Nevertheless, there must be regulation OF
this right so that the privilege of one to sci
shall not he destructive of another's equa
right to sell. The right to sell like all otho
natural or legal rights, is absolute in form
and substances but relative in its applic;t
ton and exercise.
The right being common to all. it neces
sarily breeds competition. and in order tina
competition may not destroy the right t.
sell, il must be restrained: it must be com
PEELED 10 be fair otherwise it will destro,
the other compettor's right. The foreigne
may not sci fire to and burn down his Amer
lean competitors store to destroy or defca
the American right to sell. The foregne
has no right to steal his goods, and in tina
way defeat his right to sell. He has n
right to steal the labor rmployel in making
his goods. and in that way defeat our RICH
to sell, He and we have "A common right t
sell in the American market. but as this is
common natural right. it must be exercise
on common lines of natural Justice.
) 1t is exactly fair and just that the for
) eigner should enter our markets on the sam
equal footing with the American. There
: fore, if the American pays Il bonus for tn
, privilege of selling. the foreigner must d
} the Same. If it be necessary to empty a DC
lice force to guard the merchandise of u
sellers in the market, the foreigner using til
market ought i'll justice to bear his propol
ton of the expense. Now, your theor
. comes around to this: America has at grca
/ expense built up an American market,
has set up and is maintaining the va
/ machinery of government to control an
, regulate it and keep it on foot for the publ
F. good of oui people. 1t employs and pays
| Legislature to make suitable laws regulatin
n the rights and duties Of sellers and buyer