Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-06-03

The 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 as follows:
Not only are the farmers beginning
to appreciate the truth that protection
robs them and their families, but our
manufacturers. as the products of their
looms exceed the demand of the home
market, are understanding that pro-
tective tariff. especially upon their raw
material. is against their interests.
THE present population of the world
is about 1,400,C00.OoO, and only AGO.
0C0.O0Q-usc machinery at 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 a
greater extent than any other people.
we refuse to allow the raw material
which these 1.Co0,000,O00 OF non-ma-
chine using people create. to onter our
ports in exchange for lnachine-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
l. 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 at present, getting there
by q steady market and continued serv-
ice for our laboring classes, our trusts
and combinations are hiring their com
pctitors to close their factories and
throw tens of thousands of laboring
men cut 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 Englishmap, and
just as the German is crying cut against
competition with the machine-made
goods and high priced labor of Eng
land, just so would England cry out
against competition with the machinc-
made goods and the high-priced labor
of America, were duties upon al raw
materials removed.
I'VE 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
natural vigor, and the greatest enter
prise in the world, we have pampered
our life and emasculated our strength
and largely impaired the vfrility of our
national life by a protective tariff.
Manliness asserts its mastery in the
same 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 arenn 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
will 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 $1oo,oo0,0oo
from the pockets of the millions and
transfer it to the pockets of few men
through an act of legislation and you
have created corrupting power which
win destroy the virtue and the patriot
ism of that body of men.
eve shall never get rid of the evils
which l have described until every dol
lar raised by taxation is paid into the
national treasury; until we stop entire
ly this practice of allowing the right of
government to tax property to be used
for the purpose of allowing the manu-
facturer to prohibit importations, form
trusts and rob our people of hundreds
of millions ofadollars each year.
"The remedy is in direct taxation.
Every man has a right to know exactly
what he pays toward the expenses of
government. and direct taxation is the
only means of stopping the lavish cx-
penditure Of public money.
}
1701 and 1900 inclusive, with q tariff
of SK per cent. upon foreign imports,
and at the'vcry time when we were go
ing to the great expense of establishing
our government. the cost of govern
,ment was only s1s.6s per capita for the
ten years. From 1851 to 1860 inclusive,
under a tariff for revenue only, the cost
of government was only $2t.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 q tariff for revenue
only, and during the last ten years the
cost of government has been steadily
increasing.
'tAs nation we can stand this lavish
expenditure of the peoples money, but
we can never stand the Injuries, the
I.iniquitfes, the lack of patriotism which
great wealth, quickly acquired, is sure
to bring.
| Eve can be robbed by protective
|. tariff and still live, but when the rob-
Eber takes the money and buys special
Legislation and turns it over to cam
lpaign committees to buy votes with,
the very life Of free government is as
sailed. Nations do not go down to death
in the momentous sweep of battle.
They rather die from the poison which
the lobbyist and the vote buyer infuse
into the body polite.
"The mad riot of protection win soon
be over. The evidences of the revolu-
ton which shall destroy it are upon
every hand. It's growth has been an evil
dence of what self-interest and audac-
lity and effrontery can accomplish as
against the people not united by any
bonds save those Of the public welfare.
The Afrshipss Mysterious Voyage.