Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-13

special correspondence OF he anu tue CnlcaSO
cord-Hersd,
LONDON, September 30. 1896.
The tariff reformers of Great Britain, the
otectionists-although they do not like
that name-have headquarters and a staff
of clerks at work On Victoria street. be-
tween Westminster Abbey and the Ameri
can embassy. They are carrying on an ag-
gressive and an effective campaign of
education, distributing tons of literature.
including millions of taking cartoons. of
which | send you samples, arranging for
lectures and mass meetings. organizing
clubs and sending missionaries into every
county-indeed. into every parish of Eng
land. The Tariff Reform League, as the
organiza ton is called, has branches in all
the principal towns in charge of expert
enced politicians. with several hundred good
takers constantly in the field speaking
in public halls from the platforms on the
village green's and In the club rooms.
Hundreds of meetings are held every night,
although there is campaign on and
there may not be an election for several
years This Is an educational propaganda
to convert the people from the traditional
free trade idea to the new gospel of pro-
tected Industries as proclaimed by Joseph
Chamberlain.
John r. Cousins. the secretary of the
league. tells me that those who are direct
ing the movement are very much encour-
aged. 'One of the healthy signs he says.
sis that We can get crowded meetings on
this subject everywhere at all times. and
when the speakers are talking they are
listened to with careful attention. This
shows that the people are actually inter-
ested in the subject ,....-
.'Tarifr reform Is a permanent issue?
inquired.
Indeed 1t Is" answered Mr.. Cousins.
land it has been adopted by the umonlst
party as the chief plank In Its platform.
rs the party solid in Its support?' l
asked
There is small fractional opposition.
which is dying out answered Mr.. Cousins.
1T is composed chiefly of individuals with
personal interests at stake. and 1t Is not
matter of principle with them. They do
not act upon the merits of the case"
What Is the numerical strength Of the
tariff reformers in England today
Fifty Years Of Free Trade.
There has never been a square vote on
that iSsue-not since 1916. when the repeal
Of the corn laws was agitated. That was
a manufacturers movement for free trade,
and it won. The majority was SO large that
free trade was adopted as permanent
policy of the government for fifty years
We have now had f1fty years or experience,
which has shown free trade 20 be failure.
1t has not kept down the cost of living; 1t
has not increased the wages of workmen;
it has not been regarded as an inuucement
by other nations to buy British goods or
give us preferential advantages in their
market. They have given us nothing in re-
turn. We now import an enormous guam
tity of merchandise. which should be pro-
duced on this island. Here is the bill we
had to pay to other nations during the year
1905:
For food products ................f2 :52 O0O. 900
For materials. Observation-Disclosures. $4,000, 600
For manufactured merchandise. l42 500. 600
Total .f562 800 600
'All the other civilized countries Of the
world are protectionists except Turkey and
China England Is imposed upon by the
rest of the universe. and is the only market