Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1902-10-09
FLAT FOOTED FOR FREE TRADE

CIdreS OnequiVoCdIIy IN FdNoT OF
Unrestricted Foreign Competition.
The prosperity of Pennsylvania Is
due to Republican rule and not to Dem
ocratic mismanagement. The Demo.
cratic party in 1860 went out of power
in this state and left debt of $40,-
100000 for the people to struggle with.
Now Robert e. Pattison comes along
and asks that that party be put again
in power.
The Democratic party stands for
free trade, the Republican party for
protection. A vote for Pennypacker is
vote for the party of prosperity, a
vote for Pattison is an encouragement
to the tariff-smashers and free silver
dreamers, of whom r. E. Pattison was
one of the chief II this is doubted,
read the following from the Albany
Journal
In the preparation of the Democrat.
ic campaign text book at least, just
issued by the Democratic congress
sional committee. Clevelandism has
exercised the prevailing influence. For
the first time there is made, for the
Democratic party, straightforward,
uneQuivocal, emphatic declaration in
favor of free trade. There Is no talk
about tariff revision" tariff reform"
or tariff for revenue only" reciprocity
is simply declared to be "a sham and a
hum bug" while of free trade it is said
that it would open our own markets
to benefit our own country. 1t is as
serted that "the greatest good to the
greatest number requires that there be
no barriers in trade in order that goods
may be as cheap as possible and the
cost of living be reduced to a mini
num-"
That goods as cheap as possible"
would mean wages as low as possible,
that the opening of our markets to all
the products of foreign cheap labor
would mean destruction to our indus
tries, and that the reduction of the cost
of living to a minimum would result in
depriving thousands of American work.
to defray the cost, are facts which the
Democratic text books ignores; bu.
which the American people have in
their minds.
The Democratic congressional COM
mittee is entitled to such credit as is
due for frankness. While it proposes
the destruction of our prosperity which
has developed under the Republican
policy of protection for home indus
tries, the pauperization of American
labor the ruin of American capital,
the enrichment of foreign nations at
the expense of the United States, the
retrogression Of this nation to the con-
dition of debtor nation, it states its
proposition without circumlocution in
tended to befog the minds of the peo-
pie as to the real purpose of the Demo-
cratic party. Free trade, complete abo-
lition of the tariff, admission of all
foreign products to free competition
with American products-that is the
proposition which is squarely set be-
fore the people Of the United States.
American thought will instantly re-
vert to the condition that was precipi-
tated by the election of Mr.. Cleveland
in 1892, when nothing nearly so radical
was proposed and when the tariff law
soon thereafter enacted by the Demo-
cratic congress, the so-called Wilson
law, was after all, though 1t made a
reduction of the duty on many imports.
as whole protective measure.
The Democratic declaration for free
trade, absolute free-trade, will make
the question whether this country will
uphold the policy that has made 1t
prosperous or reject that policy and
cast prosperity to the winds, the para
mount issue in the congressional elec-
tions this fall and in the presidential
contest two years hence. The Ameri-
can people made a terrible mistake In
1892; they will not repeat 1t in 1902 or
in 1904.