The Yale expositor., 1904-10-21
FREE TRADE CABAL.
HOW 1T HAS HOODWINKED MASSA-
CHuSETTS BUSINESS MEN.

New England Manufacturers Can III
Afford to Dissolve Partnership
With American Farmers For Doubt
full Dickers With Canada.
In state like Massachusetts, where
the intellectual average is high and
where the Republican average is high
er still, as il is invariably found to be
In all communities, it is surprising that
so considerable a number OF people
should he apparently unable to per-
! ceive Il perfectly obvious thing. 1t
seems strange that among the $4,000 or
| the $4,000 or the 100000 or whatever
may be the real number of Massachu-
sets business men who have attached
their names to the Canadian reciproc-
! ity petition at least one-half of the
| signers-the Republican half-cannot
see that they are being used by de-
signing politicians to promote a free
trade scheme and to weaken the Re
publican party. We say among the
$4,000 or $4,000 or 100000 signers. AS
a matter of fact, it is unlikely that so
many as $4,000 have signed the Whit
ney-Foss petition. Probably less than
half that number Of business men have
signed. 1t is easy to eXaggerate in
such cases.
But be the number what it may
even supposing that 1000 or 5000 Re-
publican business men have actually
signed the Whitney-Foss petition-the
wonder still remains that SO many in
telligent men should have failed to see
that they were lending themselves to
plot hatched and promoted by free
traders. Mr.. Whitney is a free trader
in politics. Moreover, he owns coal
mines in Nova Scotia and stands to
reap much profit if free trade in coal
can be brought about. Mr.. Foss, though
claiming to be a protectlonist, has over
and over again declared himself to be
rabid revisionist and strenuous adj
vocate of such reciprocity as will ena-
bic him to buy cheaper the raw mate
rails used in his manufacturing bust
ness. But he has not, we believe, ever
expressed desire for lower tariff du-
ties on the articles which come into
competition with his own manufac-
tured products.
1t ought to be by this time perfectly
clear that the Republican signers of
the Whitney Foss petition are on the
wrong track. Not only are they being
used as tools by free trade cabal, but
they are giving their moral support to
a project that, IL successful, will in
evitably work to their injury. They
ought to stand pat. They are already
enjoying the benefits of a system of
reciprocity of far more value to them
than Canadian reciprocity can ever be.
They now have q system of reciprocity
with the 100000 farmers in the
United States. Canada's entire popu-
latlon is but little more Than 100000.
From these 100000 American farm
Frs New England buys its foodstuffs,
and to them it sells it's manufactured
products. Is not that reciprocity? Yes,
and far better reciprocity than can be
had with Canada. Canada wants to
Eell her cheaper food products and her
cheaper raw materials to New Eng
land, but she Is not going to buy OF
New England dollars worth more of
manufactures on that account. That
much is settled.
IL New England buys more from
Canadian farmers she must buy less
from American farmers. Will she,
then, keep on selling as much to Amer
lean farmers? No. BY so much as she
buys less she will sell less. She will
find that in increasing her purchases
from Canada she has gained no new