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Shall We Have Free Trade For The North And Protection For The South?

Shall We Have Free Trade For The North And Protection For The South? image
Parent Issue
Day
18
Month
October
Year
1888
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

To tte Editor of The Kegisieb : g,K- The tariflfis the issne before the people. The principie of protection and iree trade is being discussed on the rostrum, but it ia impossible to do the Bubject jurtice in a brief newspaper article. _ „ I request space enough ín Ihk kegistbjs to state the situation as I underetand it. The eouth is eolidly Democratie. Abont 90 oí the ex-members oí Jeff Davis' cabinet and of the Confedérate congresa and generale of the late Confedérate army hold eeats in Con prese. They hold nearly all the impor tant placee in the committeee appointed bv speaker Carlisle, a Kentucky free tréde Democrat. A majority of tli committee on waya and means which introduced and defended the Mills tariff bill were among the leaders in the rebel army or congress during the civil w&r. The Northern DemocraU are in tne Mime pitiable situation they were in at the beginning of the Rebellion, when they were dragged by the Southern Denaocracy into recognizing the right of States to secede from the Union, and dragged into rebellion and civil war. It makes but little differecce what they nay in the present campaign for thev are compelled to obey the dlctation of _ ■ . ,. w AAn i is á their eouthern maeier i" -t - - south solidly Democratie, for berein is their only hope of guccess. What do these ex-confederates demand in the Mills bill ? That many of the important Northern products, tspeciallr those prodaced by e, hall be put on the free list (absolute free trade), while the moet important Southern producte shall be favored by a high protective tariff. Wool and vege:Mee, making 16 agricultnral products of the Northern Btates, and Balt and ltimVipt are all placed on the free list. trar (chiefly made in Lomsianaj is 1 tected by a tarifif of 05 per cent. Rice (chiefly raised in South Carolina and Georgia) is protected by a tanff of 100 per cent. The Mills MU first placed rnarble on the free list. Wut when the members from Tennessee reminded the eommittee that Tenneesee had the largeBt variety of marble in this country, the teriff of 40 per cent. was put back on marble and anothersouthern state ■was made happy, although they all profese to believe in free trade when MderingthetariB on ormern pruuu=. The cotton planters were not forgotten by this ex-confederate committee ; for cotton ties used in baling cotton and made of hoop iron with a patent fastenine was put on the free list to aid the pianteis, while the tanff on ordinary hoop iron is retained. lt seems that Don Dickinson and Mr. Bayard (members of Cleveland's cabinet) believe that a protective tanff is sood enough for them. The Mills bill, when firet presented to Congress, placed wood pulp on the free list. An ïnfluence was bronght to bear that caueed the tariff to be restored on that article. The Evening News of Oct. 5, contains a iiortion of the conversation between Blaine snd Gen. Alger on the ears re : t.n,-r, iYa AHrian TTlPfttïllCr. 1 gerthere that portion referring to wood r""t see Mr. Dickinson is out west," I saidhe. "That wood pulp business is I pretty good, taa't it ?" "Why?" askedGen. Alger. ' Because it is a cabinet affair. Dick:nson and Secretary Bayard's son own the patents, and right there lies the free trade joke of the eeason. Wood pulp was on the free list, but ithas now been t.iaced on the protected schedule Itis án industry which should be protected, it seems, even if it does put Cleveland s r-ahinet in rather an anomalous One reason for takinR off the entire duty on wool is to enable the State of Texau and other states and temtones in ihat section to monopolize the raising f wool in this country, as they now monopolize the raising of cotton. They shear their slieep twice a year while the northern farmer can shear but once. The climate and the vast amount of cheap and unoccupied lands will enable them to raise sheep much rheaper than northern farmers. TexaB is an empire in extent and can rause all the wool this country can use and have Vienty of lana en ior ner uwu y ■ e Free wool will cause the flocks m :he north to diteppear and the extreme I Bouthem States and South America and Australia will eupply the wool. -The I Pemocrats of this eection claim that j "ne wool cannotbe producedm such I warm climates. But the people of Texas don't agree with them. They are now buying up car-loads of fine-wool bucks and shipping them to Texas to mprove their stock. Several car loada j f these sheep have been shipped tó that state from this county within the nast three months. If any one donbts it let him ask Messrs. Wood and, JMssett of Lodi and Saline, and J. Evart Mnith of Ypsilanti. The Mills bill is the boldest and most ] hostile attackon Northern interests and in favor of Southern interests that has been attempted eince the adoption of the ordinances of secession and the confedérate constitution. Beaten on the field of battle, the leaders of the Rebellion have obtained seats in congress and propose to control the destinies of this nation by dietating us awauup"-j. If an honest Democratie member from the North objects to this scheme the thnmb screw is applied by a caucas and he is told to fall into line or become an outcast from the party. A few of them did object so forcibly that the tanff was placed on some articles in which their constituents were especially interested in order to secure their votes. This ■was an indirect way of bribing members nd also a confession that after all, free '.rade is wrong when put in practice, and protection is the nght policy. Judge Chipman, who represente "Wayne county in congress, was one of these kicking members. In an interview he declared he would be an un■worttay representative if he did not looK out fo'r the best interests of nis constituents. The tari ff was put back on Bome classes of goods largely made m Detroit (and on wood pulp), and nis vote secured. If protection is a good ihing for Detroit, and Don Dickinson - not a good thing for the farmers of Michigan? Whafs tbe matter with wool? Our Democratie friends say tne eason their party wants free wool ís to enable manufacturera of woolen goods o make such goods bo cheap they can extend their trade to foreign countnes. This meana that the interest of the farmers are to be sacrificed to increase the trade and profits of eastern manufacturera. It is a confession that free wool means cheap wool. A jow estímate of the effect that free trade in wool will have on the pnce is six cemsa pound. The farmers of Washtenaw county Bhear yearly 700,000 Ibs of wool. A reduction of six cents nmoonts to $42,000 yearly, which the farmers of tbis county are asked to contnbute to enrich eastern woolen mannfacturers, and bnüd tip the wool business in Teras Will they vote for this BCheme I The Michigan people seems to have no riahts the ex-confederates are bound to respect. It i?ll rightto cömpel them to compete with the cneap lauorm wo ■' Kanucks and half breeds of Canada and all British America aB well as Europe, but it is all wrong to compe the sufsar planters to compete with the cheap labor of Cuba and the Sandwicl Islands. It will be a more appropnate time for the Sonthern Democracy to de mand free trade in wool and other farm products when they are willing to offe ns free sngar with our free coffee lo breakfast and a free rice pudding for Hinner. As the case now stands, the poflition of the Democracy is an ontrape onJustice andan insult to the people of the North. It is the old rebel yell with a " tiger" added for f ree trade for the North and protection forth South. Yonr8 truly,

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Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Register