Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-11-01
THE MENACE OF FREE TRADE.

n MENACE Of FREE RAOE.
Never in twenty years has the Unit
ed States been so near free trade and
its direful effects as today. The pity
Is that the business man, the laboring
man and the farmer have not awaken
ed to a realization of how important
Is this peril. Nearly everybody now
adays is too busy to acquaint himself
with the actual details of legislation.
People fail to realize that the presi-
dent cannot make laws, but parties
do. The democratic party is in con-
troll of the house of representatives,
which, under the Constitution, initi-
ates tariff legislation. There are two
hundred and twenty-nine democratic
congressman.
The business men, the laboring men
and the farmers of the north do nos
realize that the majority Of these
democratic congressman Tor one hun
dred and twenty-five Of them) are
south, without any opposition to speak
Of! Some Of these congressman do
not poll as high as a thousand votes
and none of them receives more than
ten thousand votes.
II business men, wage arner and
farmers will examine the makeup OF
the committees of the house of repre-
sentatives they will be astonished to
find that of the fifty-fve committees
in the house, the chairmanships of
thirty-three are held by democrats
from the south. These leading south
ern democrats are able and honest
men, but they are free traders to the
manner born. They constitute the
house organization. They are in a
position to call and control a caucus
Of the house democrats. Howsoever
friendly a northern democrat might
be to protection for the wage earners
and the farmers, he would be power
les to override the free trade major
ity from the south. So the house OF
representatives as at present consti-
tuted Is for free trade.
In the senate the republicans have
a margin of six. Those republicans
who are contemplating voting the
progressive ticket do not realize that
they are casting half a vote to wipe
out this republican margin in the sen
ate For instance: Should the pri-
gressives take away sufficient votes
from the republican party to permit
Mr.. Wilson to carry Illinois, two dem
ocratic senators will be elected.
Should Iowa go democratic for the
same reason, it will mean the cleo
ton of a democratic senator and the
Wiping out Of the republican control
of the senate. Thus it will be an easy
matter to get favorable action upon
the free trade bills which the house
would surely enact.
Now, what is there to prevent free
trade? Should Mr.. Wilson be elected
there would be no republican presi-
dent to veto these free trade bills, as
President Taft has vetoed them; and
as Governor Wilson is known to- be a
man of honor, and as the democratic
platform explicitly declares for free
trade in almost identical language to
the platform upon which Cleveland
was elected, a little though will con-
vince the voter that he is face to face
with the free trade which ALWAYS
means the destruction of prosperity.
The largest trade union in the
world composed entirely of women Is
said to be the Cotton Operatives I'm
ion of Lancashire, England, which
boasts of a membership of $4,000.
The State OF Minnesota conducts q
free employment bureau, which, dur
ing the past year, in three cities OF
the state, has obtained positions for
59,473 persons, at a total expense OF
$4,000.
After an exhaustive investigation
the United States labor bureau has
concluded that 5000 a year is the low
est wage onSwhich an American work.
|ing:nan can support q family and
von3r%oi. icnAaoionn a - q u0rk or