The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-07-07
THE FREE TRADERS ARGUMENT
Their Objections to Protection--Seek-
 ing to Organize an Association

| tO oFStinlZc ASSOc1aIlOns
 To the Citizens of the United States: ' The apparent acceptance in some de- gree of the so-called Protective policy I by the present Congressional represent I tatives of both the political parties | the Republicans championing Protec- l tion with incidental revenue, and the l Democrats urging revenue with incl | dental protection-might beget the inn l preSSion that our nation contains no | men who believe in the absolute and | unconditional freedom of trade be- | tween the peoples of the earth. | The undersigned, proclaiming them | selves as Free-TraderS, contend: 1 CD. That Protection erectS artificial | barriers between nations, preventing g l that natural and healthful interchange l of products which makes for increased | comfort for peace and for the solidar- | ity of mankind. | (2.) That Protection, by reducing the | quantity of incoming foreign goods, re- | duceS the buying-power represented by | such goods, and consequently subtracts from the demand for merchandise and labor which would inevitably be fos- tered by the unrestricted freedom of | exchange.
 (3). That Protection in addition to | lessening the demand for labor, and to a consequent reduction of wages, greatly increases the cost of necessar- | ies, thus becoming a powerful agent in dragging down the condition of our
 
 (4.) That Protection has not only be- come the Mother of Trusts, but that, by stifling foreign competition, 1t has
 granted them a license to prey upon the community. (5.) That Protection encourages ex- travagance in national expenditures, which. as they are paid by taxes on what the people consume, are in the main extracted from the pockets of the | wage-earning and salaried classes. (6.) That Protection, by it's meth ods of indirection, cunningly disguises the incidence of taxation, and thus weakens that desirable interest in leg islation and in government policies which direct taxation tends to de- velop. C
 G.) That Protection, which is in eff feet process of class-enrichment by legislative favor, is a fostering source of political corruption. (S) That Protection, by engendering special over-prOduction due to cxces- sive profits and widespread under consumption due to excessive prices, contributes to producing those panics which cause so much human waste and misery.
 (9.) That Protection, by conferring on favored classes the right to tax their fellow citizens, and by the con- sequent unequal and inequitable dis tribution of the boundless wealth which is created by the energy and natural resources possessed by the American people, has generated re- sentiments which express themselves by dangerous methods intended to wrench from it's possessors 8 portion of the wealth which has been uniustly appropriated.
 do) That Protection,> by the swollen fortunes which it heaps up for its selfish class-interests which it fosters, becomes so powerful through their ability and readiness to debauch public opinion by the expenditure of money, the great body of our people are brought to realize it's wasteful, sinful, anti-socia1 character. Concurring in such views, the under signed call on all fellow citizens who are in agreement herewith, to join them in an effort to consolidate the Free-Trade sentiment of the nation. Such consolidation will reveal the true economic opinion of at least portion of our citizens, and will facili- tate cooperation with the Free-Trad- CTS of other nations which are also. suffering from the evils of a Protective policy.
 Names and addresses should be for warded without delay to any of the undersigned:
 John Bibelow, 21 Gramercy Park. New York.
 Charles Francis Adams, India House, Boston, Mass.
 James H. billiard, 571 Audubon street. New Orleans, La.
 Louis R. Enrich, 50 West 77th street. New York q
 William Lloyd Garrison, 6 Beacon street, Boston. Mass.
 Bolton Hall, 56 Pine street, New York.
 Byron w. Holt, 54 Broad street, New York
 Tom L. Johnson. 2s4s Euclid avenue. Cleveland, Ohio.
 David Starr Jordan, Stanford Uni- versity, California.
 George Foster Peabody, Rector street, New York.
 Louis F. Post, Ellsworth Building. Chicago, III.
 Wm. G. Sumner, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
 Chas. D. Williams, A Campau Build ing, Detroit, Mich.
 July 5, 1909.