The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-10-28
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
ful DicLers With Canada.

|
| With American Farmers For Doubt
| full DiciSers With Canada.
In a state like Massachusetts, where
! the intellectual average Is high and
where the Republican average is high
er still, as it Is invariably found to be
| in all communities, it is surprising that
! so considerable number of people
F., should be apparently unable to per-
ceive a 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 free
trade scheme and to weaken the Re-
publican party. We say among the
80, 600 or $4,000 or 100000 slgners. 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 Matched and promoted by free
traders. Mr.. Whitney is 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 protectionist has over
and over again declared himself to be
a rabid revisionist and a strenuous adj
vocate of such reciprocity as will ena-
BILE 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
q project that, if successful, will in
evitably work to their injury. They
ought to stand pat. They are already
enjoying the benefits of system Of
of Gov. 10
than Canadian reciprocity can ever be.
They now have a system Of reciprocity
with the 100000 farmers in the
United States. Canada's entire popu-
lation is but little more than 100000.
From these 100000 American farm
ers New England buys it's foodstuffs,
and to them it sells its manufactured
products. Is not that reciprocity? Yes,
md far better reciprocity than can be
had with Canada. Canada wants to
sell 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.
If 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
ouys less she will sell less. She will
find that in increasing her purchases
from Canada she has gained no new
market for what she has to sell, but
has lost a portion of the market she
already had. That is bad reciprocity,
costly reciprocity, ruinous reciprocity.
For a reason equally potent Massa-
chusetts should fight shy Of reciprocity
with Canada in competitive products.
When that walks In at the front door
protection will walk out at the back
door. Nothing is surer than that. The
late Thomas b. Reed remarked shortly
before his death that II we are think
ing of relaxing our system Of protec-
ton in any direction it had best not be
in the direction Of the American farm
err. Mr.. Reed did not hesitate to pre-
dict that protection would not last long
after the farmers had discovered that
they were no longer counted in. Once
let the farmer find out that protection
is not for him, and he will see to it
that it is not for the manufacturer
either
AS we have said, 1t is surprising
that the exceptionally high average Of
intelligence which prevails among the
Republican business men Of Massa-
chusetts should not instantly perceive
these things:
That the movement for Canadian
reciprocity is q scheme originating
with and promoted by free traders.
That Canadian reciprocity would
work to the injury Of Massachusetts
industrial producers and not to their
advantage, BECAUSE, while gaining no
new market in Canada for their prod
ucts, it would be certain to lose to
them some portion Of the market
which they already have in the Unit
ed States.
Canadian reciprocity in natural prod
ucts, the only kind of reciprocity |
which Canada will accept, would re-
erlt I'm fhe downfall Of the economic