Middletown transcript., 1901-11-16
MIDDLETowN, DEL, NoVENBER ls, 1901
cENERA1 WILSON AND FREE TRADE

MIDDLET0wN, DEL, NOVEMBER 1e, 1901
GENERAL WILSON AND FREE TRADE
General James H. Wilson, of
Wilmington, delivered the prin-
cipal address at the New Eng
land Free Trade League meet
ing in Boston last Saturday night.
The fact that such an ardent Re-
publican as General Wilson
should be a speaker before a Free
Trade Audience was in itself an
unusual event. His prominence
before the country during the
Spanish American war and later
in China made the occasion such
an important one that his words
were closely watched. Every
Euening finds much to encourage
it's ideal Of Immediate free trade
with the entire world in General
Wilson's remarks. Of course it
would not because it could not
unqualifedly endorse any Repub-
lican but says:
General Wilson arrives at his
conclusions by somewhat tor
tuous course, but he is no wise
ambiguous when he says, why
should not the United States say
frankly to all the states of North
America, at least, we will agree
to absolute and reciprocal free
trade and in natural and manu-
factured products between our
country and all its dependencies,
wherever situated, on the one
hand, and all the neighboring
countries on the other, under a
uniform tariff to be agreed upon
by the parties to the arrange
ment?'''
EUery Evening then asks, ''If
this result could be accomplished
by a uniform tariff why not
without the intervention of any
tariff whatever, uniform or other
wiser"
The answer to this is all con-
tanned in the one word s'recipro-
cal" in the extract from General
Wilson's remarks. 1t is one
thing to throw open the doors to
our markets to the world, or even
to our ''neighbors of North
America" and quite another
thing to admit their products,
natural and manufactured, free
of duty under reciprocity treat
les whereby we secure an equal
H0ciprocal" right to free en-
larkets. And this
between EueYEL
e part of the Dem
Pafty which itrepresents,
and the Republican party, and
General Wilson's speech when
carefully read means just that
and nothing more. His princi-
pal theme was sugar and To
bacco, and he showed how by the |
discovery of a German chemist, |
Marggraf, that the sugar in
beets was identical with the
sugar in cane, the price of sugar
was reduced from so cents to A
cents per pound. This brought
distress to the sugar growers of
Cuba and the rest of the West |
Indies, and the two revolutions
In the former islands about com.
pleted the destruction of the in
dustry. AS regards tobacco, the
great improvement in farming
and other machinery in this
country and the slowness of the
Spanish American to adopt them,
has led to practically the same
result. The people of Cuba and
Porto Rico are now unable toi
raise either sugar or tobacco now
proftably. Their best and nat
ural market is the United States.
They also want to buy our ma
chinery, flour, meal, cotton goods,
etc. Therefore General Wilson
concludes that the reasonable
method and one fair to both
parties is for us to admit their
sugar, tobacco, tropical fruits,
cattle, ETC., free and in exchange
or reciprocity" they to admit
our machinery, cereals, cotton,
etc, free of duty. This is not
free trade. and instead of it ap-
pearing that the Republican |
party was coming over to Demo
cratic belief in actual free
trade, it rather displays a glim-
mering Of reason on the part Of |
the Democratic party, or rather
New England Free Trade League,
when it win hear and applaud |
such doctrine.