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Free Trade Is Dead

Free Trade Is Dead image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
June
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

When the c'hairman of the ways and means committee of the Fifty-Third Congress crossed the ocean last year, to receive the congratulations of his English sympathizer on his fight for free trade, he made a speech in London in which was this declaration : "Our protectionists have been building defenses to keep you and othernationsfrom competing with us in our home market. The tarift' reforniers are breaking down those defenses." This sentiment was received with great rejoicing and loud applause by his free-trade audience. Well might tliey rejoice and applaud. The defenses were not broken down, but they were punctured, and through these punctures has come a flood of English imports, such as this country has scarcely ever witnessed before within a similar period. Little is left of tho original Wilson bill, but that little has turned out great resulta for our English and foreign competitors. Who can ever forget the angry protests and lurid denuneiations vvl ich President Cleveland hurJed against the Senate amendments to the Wilson bill ? There were about six hundred of those amendments. They were all in line of slightly higher dudes. Still, 600 amendments were not suflicient to piaster over the punctures made in the protection defenses of the Wilson bill. A few were left uncovered and every possible advantage has been taken of them by foreign manufacturers, but Cleveland, Car-lisie,, and Wilson were angry because there were not more. The "breaking down" procesa was not complete enougli for them. The Wilson bill had been artfully contrived to not only "break down those defenses," but to absolutely "exterminate" the Republican system of protectioa. Indeed, it was aunounced at the beginning of the tarriff fight that it was to be a "war of extermination," and, therefore, when the Senate by its amendments took the keen edge off of the Wilson bill, the President and his extermiuators were naturally disturbed. No wonder that they were. Their plans were carefully and painfully prepared. They had worked day and nigbt, in season and out of season, in l)ullic as muc-h as they dared, but mostly bebind iron doors in a mysterious room located somewhere amid the subcellar of the capítol. And then, al'ter all this labor and secrecy and conspiracy, to bethwarted in their plans and purposes ; to have their hands stayed in the very act of au effectual attack upon these "protection defenses," and that, too, when their foreigu friendshad been invited to witness the spectacle of destruction and extennination. This was entirely beyond ordinary human endurance. The United States lias not been quite turnee! into an English colony, but enough bas been done in that direetiun to exposé the original intention of the administration. Tlie American people are novv assured that the administration is not mad over the defeat of its tariff program. But these assurances come too late. The people are at last thorouglily aroused, and have decreed that the day offreetrade lias forever passed

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier