The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-11-01
WHICH rs THE FRAUD
REAL "RoBBER BARONS" OPPOSE
AMERICAN WAGE FARMERS.

Clamor For Idle Industries Here and Ac-
tivity In Europe-Free Wool Robs IOO,-
900 Farmers to Benefit LOO Manufac-
turers-Injury to Furniture Workers.
We hardly think that the American
people realize the true meaning of that
portion of the Democratic platform Of
1892 which denounces Republican pro-
lection as fraud, a robbery of the great
majority of the American people for the
benefit of the few
TO rob the great majority of the
American people for the benefit of the
few is the true free trade policy. This
has been bitterly experienced in free
trade England, where the masses of the
people labor and toll at starvation wages
for the benefit Of the few monopolists.
That it is the intention of the free
traders in this country to inaugurate
precisely similar condition Of affairs
among our own people has, time and
again, been made clear. 1t was only
last March that Editor Godkin of the
free trade New York Post clamored for
free lumber, free glass, free hardware,
free varnish, free glue and free materi-
ais of every kind that are used by the
manufacturers of furniture We then
pointed out that the number of persons
engaged in the production of glass,
glue, lumber and varnish, without in
Guiding the hardware people, was 1885,
GAS; that the free traders would rob all
these Americans of the opportunity Of
earning livelihood in order to enrich
and benefit the comparatively few per-
sons who are engaged in the manufac-
ture of furniture, in which business
there are bat 1888 factories.
Further experience Of the free trade
policy Of robbing the many for the bene.
fit of the few has been shown in conneo-
ton with the tariff on wool. 1t was Mr..
Grover Cleveland who pointed out that
the bulk of the wool growers of the
United States have small fiocks of from
20 to so sheep to each farmer. There
are about 100, 900 farmers engaged in
wool growing, but the free trade policy
is to rob these many producers in order
to enrich the few manufacturers of
wooden and worsted goods, numbering
only 1,700 different concerns.
Free traders are willing to rob half a
million people of work in order to pro-
vide free" material for less than 5000
furniture factories. The free traders are
willing to sacrifice 10000 farmers in
order to benefit less than couple of
thousand manufacturers of wooden and
worsted goods. They will do the same
with the hundreds of thousands of men
who work in producing iron ore, so as
to benefit the comparatively few manu-
facturers of iron and steel products.
The Republican system of protection
has always been intended to include all
our people, and to take recognition of
the humblest wage Garner as well as Of
the wealthiest manufacturer. This spe-
cies of protection is denounced by the
free traders "as fraud" But their
system of protection would rob half a
million workers for the benefit of less
than 5000 furniture factories; would
rob 100, 900 sheep farmers for the bene-
fit Of 1,700 wooden manufacturers, and
would rob hundreds of thousands Of
workers IN our iron mines for the bene-
fit Of comparatively few owners Of
iron mills.
The people can answer for themselves
which of these two systems is "a rob-
berry of the great majority Of American
people for the benefit of the few" and
which system is "the eliminating atroc-
ity of class legislation.
Incidentally, it should be remembered
that the injury wrought to our half mil
lion people who supply what is the raw
material Of furniture manufacturers, the
injury wrought to the hundred thousand
sheep owners and the injury wrought to
the workers in our mines, would very
directly benefit the workers in the iron
mines in England, the sheep men of
Australia and the English industries
that supply glass, glue, varnish and
hardware for furniture factories.