The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-03-16
AN INDEPENDENT LETTER.


Editor Providence News:
i wish to say 10 the Wage Eaners'
Advocate" you have the advantage. You
fail to publish my letter and then you
misquote and misinterpret, so that you
may have the pleasure Of knocking down
your own man OF straw" l have writ
ten you that am not free trader--that
! profoundly sympa with wage-earn-
ers and partisan members OF the @. o. p.
like yourself call me Socialist, so much
sympathy do l have for many OF their
proposals. / do not now remember what
wrote about Rockefeller. but there is a
duty on oil. IL I am not mistaken.
1t is. however. a natural monopoly and
Is left unharmed by the advocates OF a
tariff on everything because they cannot
AFFORD TO antagoniZe IL. Rockefeller would
play hob with the iron and steel rob-
bers If they interfered with his prey.
deny that Rockefeller has reduced the
price sf oil. 1t has fallen since he first
went INTO the business IL is true but so
has almost every staple-some enormous
ly.
And you have presented the diverse OF
the picture. IL IL was true, and have given
the same description OF the ruin resulting
therefrom that have often used I'm dis
cussing the matter-hence we cannot
quarrel there.
You display your ignorance by referring
TO China as the most consistently protec-
tionist nation on this sphere, as free
trade They simply do not trade with any
one IL they can possibly help II and all
they ask is TO be let alone.
further deny that most Of our great
trusts are free trade trusts as you put IL
for the reason that we have no free trade.
luckily. and 1 challenge proof OF the as
sertion.
have no special fancy for the Wilson
M ~ 10 ll arlN ANN Ia fod
by German, but the devil should have his
due and II Is a notorious fact that the re-
vulsion In business had begun before IL
was passed and you will admit that an
other will come In q few years even
though we pile tariffs up TO high Heaven.
Financial depressions come about so Of
ten and are beyond human control
And in case of wool, II your reasoning
Is correct, the burden rests upon the wool
producers who "set up yell for less du-
ties on woolen fabrics which rest upon
n very different ground from raw mate
rial. Further any tariff needs time for a
test. and that the Wilson tariff never did
have. so soon was II wiped from the stat
ute book
IL was far from being free trade" for
the percentage OF duties, averaged near
ly double any tarin enacted I'm this coun-
~ prior 10 1861. SO far as the compare
tive numbers OF wool raisers and wool
manufacturers is concerned. IL IL suffl-
cient to state that the number OF wool
weavers is vastly larger than both COM
bined
II II possible that you have not noticed
that within the last three weeks Il has
gone the rounds OF the papers that our
principal shoe manufacturers have given
out that they will willingly agree TO the
abolition of all duties on shoes IL they
can have free hides
And IL we cannot compete with the
world on cotton goods, then let us go out
OF business altogether and plead the
baby act
Finally. ] am constrained to believe that
you are really an enemy to Socialism and
are trying 20 discredt that belief
No true Socialist is willing 20 inf'ict the
burden OF huge armies and useless war
upon the common people, where IL al
falls in the end This IL n maxim of all
economists. think, and you know II %
be true, anyway.
Therefore 7 sympathize more heartily
than you with the wage Garner" but be-
ing broader In nv Views than you I do
not forget that there are waEe-earners
outside OF our oun6nries-though my
first care would be for our own house
hold Your "uncors scious hatred idea does
not seen 10 wash
Your remarks about orire AZ the begin
Ming are as fallaciois az any part Of
vour ecrecd and that lo saving much rhe
Protcctionls,s have held all tho Offices
for l0 wears with siirht exception and N
the free traders have only office In
view. they have missed II woefully Your
entire letter proves you TO be n narrow.
bigoted, partisan member % the O. q. y.
and | pray for your enlightenment and
tho broadening Of your understanding
that you may become. even as I am an
'INDEPENDENT