Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-06-05

IL principal speaker at the annual
dinner Of the New England Free Trade
league, held on May 8, was Mr.. Frank
lin Pierce, Of New York. He handled
his subject without gloves. He said In
part a follows:
Not only are the farmers beginning
% appreciate the truth that protection
robs them and their families, but our
manufacturers. a. the products of their
looms exceed the demand of the home
market, are understanding that pro-
tective tariff. especially upon their raw
material, il against their interests.
The present population of the world
II about 1.400, 1000, 900, and only AGO.
100000 use machinery Mt all. The rest
do their work by rude tools guided by
the hands, and we, the Yankee nation,
who have revolutionized the world by
our inventions, who use machinery to q
greater extent than any other people,
We refuse to allow the raw material
which these 1000, OOO, 900 of non-ma-
chine using people create, to enter our
ports in exchange for machine-made
products, except upon the payment Of
excessive duties, while the more intelli-
gent of our manufacturers are clamor-
ing for free raw material and saying:
Give us free raw material, and we will
conquer the markets of the world
"Instead of seeking the markets Of
the world, employing millions of men
now lying idle, making the margin of
profits less but the output several times
greater than ut present, getting there
by a steady market and continued serv-
Ice for our laboring classes, our trusts
and combinations are hiring their COM
petitors to close their factories and
throw tens of thousands of laboring
men out of employment.
I'VE have only to get freedom Of
trade and we can capture the markets
of the world in many lines. What the
Englishman is to the German the
American is to the Englishman, and
Just as the German is crying out against
competition with the machine-made
goods and high priced labor of Eng
land, just SO would England cry out
against competition with the machine
made goods ana the high-priced labor
Of America, were duties upon all raw
materials removed.
Eve Americans walk faster, talk
faster, work faster, do everything fast
er than any other people on the face
of the earth. A people Of the greatest
prise in the world, we have pampered
our life and emasculated our strength
and largely impaired the virility Of our
national life by protective tariff.
Manliness asserts its mastery in the
ssme way in manufacturing as it does
in every walk of life. The men in pro-
fessions who ask no favors, but get out
upon the dusty arena and fight for a
lead, are the men who gain strength by
every effort. Give us ten years of free
trade, and we would capture from
England one-fourth of her vast trade.
Give us 20 years of free trade, and We
win lead the world as exporters.
The protective system has de-
bauched public men and corrupted pub
lie life. Give any body of men, however
pure, the power to take 500, 0OO, 600
from the pockets of the millions and
transfer It to the pockets of o few men
through an act of legislation and you
have created a corrupting power which
will destroy the virtue and the patriot
ism Of that body Of men.
1--WE shall never get rid Of the evils
which I have described until every dol
lar raised by taxation is paid into the
national treasury; until we stop entire
~ this practice of allowing the right of
government to tax property to be used
for the purpose of allowing the manu-
facturcr to prohibit importations. form
trusts and rob our people of hundreds
Of millions Of dollars each year.
'The remedy is in direct taxation.
Every man has right to know exactly
what he pays toward the expenses of
government, and direct taxation is the
only means of stopping the lavish ex-
penditure Of public money.
For period of ten years between
1871 and 1900 inclusive, with tariff
Of sK per cent. upon foreign imports,
and at the very time when we were go
ing to the great expense Of establishing
our government, the cost of govern
ment was only 1855 per capita for the
ten years. From 1851 to 1860 inclusive,
under tariff for revenue only, the cost
Of government was only s21.ss per cap
ita for the ten years. From 1871 to 1880
inclusive the actual running expenses
Of government had risen to $136.41 per
capita, more than six times the amount
required under a tariff for revenue
only, and during the last ten years the
cost of government has been steadily,
increasing.
'As nation we can stand this lavish
expenditure Of the peoples money, but
we can never stand the luxuries, the
iniquities, the lack of patriotism which
great wealth, quickly acquired, is sure
20 bring.
1--WE can be robbed by q protective
tariff and still live, but when the rob
her takes the money and buys special
legislation and turns it over to cam
paign committees to buy votes with,
the very life of free government f. as
sailed. Nations do not go down to death