Evening journal., 1897-05-22
A GREAT CURSE.
PROTECTION PAMPERs AND ENER-
YATES INDUSTRIES AND DE-
BAUcHES POLITICS.

Of Government - Mad Protection Riot /
VIII Soon BE over. s
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 a pro-
tective tariff, especially upon their raw
material, is against their interests.
"The present population of the world
is about 400, 600, 600, and only 40O,
OOO, 600 use machinery at all. The rest
do their work by rude tools guided by
the hands, and we, the Yankee nation,
who have revoluSpnized 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 1000, 00O,0 of nonma-
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 FREQ 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 at present, getting thereby
a steady market and continued service
for our laboring classes, our trusts and
combinations are hiring their competi
tors to close their factories and throw
tens of thousands Of laboring men out
of employment
eve 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 England,
just so would England cry out against
competition with the machine made
goods and the high priced labor of
q America, were duties upon all raw ma
u terials removed.
1--WE Americans walk faster talk
faster, work faster, do everything fast
D er than any other people on the face
l. of the earth. A people of the greatest
s natural vigor and the greatest enter
. prise in the world we have pampered
e our life and emasculated our strength
Itn Of
national life by a protective tariff.
Manliness asserts its mastery in the
II same way in manufacturing as it does
Il in every walk of life The men in pro-
fessions who ask no favors but get out
,e upon the dusty arena and fight for a
n lead, are the men who gain strength by
IS every effort. Give us 10 years Of free
II trade, and we would capture from Eng
ID land one-fourth of her vast trade. Give
us 20 years of free trade, and we will
"A lead the world as exporters.
n 1.-The protective system has debauch-
m ed public men and corrupted public
m life. Give any body Of men, however
d. pure, the power to take 100000, O0C
from the pockets Of the millions anC
n transfer it to the pockets of a few meI
Is through an act of legislation, and yot
III have created a corrupting power which
- will destroy the virtue and the patriot
a. ism of that body of men.
IN "We shall never get rid Of the evil
a. which have described until every dol
til lar raised by taxation is paid into th
national treasury; until we stop entire
ts, ly this practice of allowing the right o
nd government to tax property to be USE
al for the purpose of allowing the manu-
faoturer to prohibit importations, forr
trusts and rob our people Of hundred
of millions of dollars each year.
y, "The remedy is in direct taxation
he Every man has a right to know exactl
ek what he pays toward the expenses {
government, and direct taxation is tn
no only means of stopping the lavish e'
penditure of public money
no. "For period Of ten years betwee
ma 1901 and 1900 inclusive, with tart
seq Of So per cent upon foreign import
and at the very time when we were g
~ ing to the great expense Of establishir
our government, the cost of governmel
ses was only SIS. 68 per capita for the t.
ia wears. From 1851 to 1860 inclusive, u
ter der a tariff for revenue only, the cost
government was only S21. So per capi
at for the ten years. From 1871 to lS'
list, inclusive the actual running expenses
oil government had risen to $l36.4l p
capita, more than six times the amou
,n,e 'lS required under tariff for revenue onl
en- en- and during the last ten years the cC
of government has been increasing.
dis "As a nation we can stand this lavi
owe expenditure of the peoples money, b
we can never stand the luxuries,
IDLY iniquities, the lack of patriotism viii
all great wealth, quickly acquired, is ST
nell s TO bring.
"We can be robbed by a protect
tariff and still live, but when the r'
cted Der takes the money and buys spec
legislation and turns it over to ca
- paign committees to buy votes Wi