The gold leaf., 1897-06-17
A GREAT CURSE.
PROTECTION PANPERS AND ENER-
YATES INDUSTRIES AND DE-
RkUCHES POLITICS.


Franklin Pierce-Nith Free Raw Ma
terials Our Machine Made Goods Would
Soon Capture the World Increasing Cost
Of Government - Mad Protection Riot
VIII Soon Re Over.
The principal speaker at the annual
dinner Of the New England Free Trade
league, held Oh May S, was Mr.. Frank
lin Pierce Of New York. IIc handled
his subject without gloves. He said III
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 Cf their
looms exceed the demand Of the home
market, are understanding that pro
tcctivc tariff, especially upon their raw
material, is against their interests.
TIE present population Of the Wolld
is about 400, 600, 900, and only 400,
900, 900 use machinery at all. The rest
do their work by rude tools guided by
the hands, and we, the Yankee nation,
who have Tcvolutionizcd the world by
our Inventions who use machinery to a
greater extent than any ether people,
we refuse to allow the raw material
which these 1000, 600, 600 Of nCnma-
chine using people create, TO enter our
ports III exchange for machine made
products, except upon the payment Of
excessive duties, while the more intclll-
gent Of cur manufacturers are CIamor-
ing for free raw material and saying,
Give US free raw material and we
wiI. 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 cur latOring classes, our trusts and
combinations are hiring their compcti
tors to close their factories and throw
tens of thousands Of laboriny men out
Of employment.
We have only to get freedom Of
trade and we can CAPTURE the markets
Of the world i'll many lines. What the
Englishman Is to the German the
American is to the Englishnan, and
Just IS 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
America, wero duties upon all raw ma
tcrials removed.
1--WE Americans walk faster, talk
faster, work faster, do everything fast
Ct 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 pampcrcd
our life and cmasculutCd our strength
and largely impaired the viriIity Of our
national life hy protective tariff
Manliucss asserts its mastery III the
same way Ill manufacturing as it does
i'll every walk of life The men in pro
fessioEs who ask no favors, but get out
upon the dusty arcn. and fight for &
lead, aye the men who gain strength by
every effort. Give Us 10 years Of free
trade, and We would capture from Eng
land onc-fOUrth of her vast trade. Give
Us 20 years Of free trade, and we Will
lead the world us exporters.
The protective system has dubauch-
ed public men and corrupted public
life. Give any body &c men, however
pure, the power to take 500, coo, 600
from the pockets of the millions and
transfer it To the pockets of q few men
through an act Of legislation, and you
have created :. cOrrupting power which
Will destroy the virtue and the patriot
ism of that body of n3cn.
1--WE shall never get rid Of the evils
which | have described until every dol
lar raised by taxation i, 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-
faCturcr to prohibit impOrtatiOns, form
trusts and rob our people Of hundreds
Of millions Cf dollars each year.
The remedy Is il direct taxation.
Every man has a hight to know exactly
what he pays toward the expenses Of
government, and direct taxation is the
only means Of stopping the lavish cx-
pcnditurc Of public money.
For Il period of ten years between
1871 and 1860 inclusive, with Il tariff
of 81 per cent upon foreign imports,
and ut the very time when we We're GO
ing to the great expense Of establishing
our government, the cost OF government
was only SlS.6S per capita for tho ten
years From 1881 to 1860 inclusive, un-
der Il tariff for revenue only, the cost of
government was only sci IS per capita
70,
inclusive the actual running expenses of
government had risen to Sl36.;l per
capita, moro than six times the amount
required under tariff for revenue only,
and during the last ten wears the cost
of government has been il, aSing
AS nation We can stand this lavish
expenditure of the peoples money, but
we can never stand the luxuries, the
lnlquities, the lack Of patriotism which
great wealth, quickly acquired, is sure
to bring.
I'VE can be robbed ly IA protective
tariff and still live, but when the rob
Der takes the money and Iuvs special
legislation and turns it over to cam
palgn committees TO buy votes with,
the very life of free government is as
sailed. Nations do not so down to death
IN the momCntous sweep Of battle They
rather die from the poison which the
lobbyist and the vote buyer infuse into
tho body polite.
The mad riot of protection will soon
be over. The evidences Of the revolution
which shall destroy it are upon every
hand. Its growth has been an evidence
Of what self interest and audacitv and
efrontery can accomplish as against the
people not united by any bonds save
khnSp Of liz, i Il E..