Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1909 — TO THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES: [ARTICLE]

TO THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES:

The apparent acceptance in some degree of the so-called Protective policy by the present Congressional representatives of both political, parties—the Republicans championing Protection with incidental revenue, and the Democrats urging revenue with incidental protection—might beget the impression that our nation contains no men who believe in the absolute and unconditioned freedom of trade between the peoples of the earth. The undersigned, proclaiming themselves as Free-Traders, - eoptend: (1.) That Protection erects artiflcal barriers between nations, preventing that natural and healthful interchange of products which makes for increased comfort, for peace, and for the solidarity of mankind. (2.) That Protection, by reducing the quantity of incoming foreign goods, reduces the buying-power represented by such goods, and consequently subtracts from the demand for merchandise and labor which would inevitably be fostered 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 necessaries, thus becoming a powerful agent in dragging down the condition of our wage-earning classes. (4.) That Protection has not only become the Mother of Trusts, but that, by stifling foreign competition, it has granted them a license to prey upon the community. (5.) That Protection encourages extravagance in natlpnal 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 its methods of indirection, cunningly dis guises the incidence of taxation, and thus weakens that desirable interest in legislation and in government policies which direct taxation tends to develop. (7.) That Portection, which is in effect a process of class-enrichment by legislative favor, is a festering source of political corruption. (8.) That Protection, by engendering special vero-production due to excessive profits and widespread underconsumption 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! consequent unequal and inequitable distribution of the boundless wealth which is created by the energy and natural resources possessed by the American people, has generated resentments which express themselves by dangerous methods intended to j wrench from its possessors a portion of the wealth which has been unjustly appropriated. (10.) That Protection, by the swollen fortunes which it heaps up for its beneficiaries, and by the concentrated, selfish class-intersts which ' it fosters, becomes so powerful through their ability and readiness to debauch public opinion by the expenditure of money, that it can never be dislodged until the great body of our people are brought to realize its wasteful, sinful, anti-social character. Concurring in such views, the undersigned call on all fellow citizens who are in agreement therewith, to join them in an effort to consolidate the Free-Trade sentiment of the nation. Such a consolidation will reveal the true economic opinion of at least a portion of our citizens, and will facilitate co-operation with the Free-Traders of other nations which are also suffering from the evils of a Protective policy. Names and addresses should be forwarded without delay to any of the undersigned: JOHN BIGELOW, 21 Gramercy Park, New York. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, India House, Boston, Mass. JAMES H. DILLARD. 571 Audubon St., New Orleans, La. LOUIS R. EHRICH, 50 West 77th St., New r York. WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, 6 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. BOLTON HALL, 56 Pine'St., New York. BYRON W. HOLT, 54 Broad St., New* York. TOM L. JOHNSON, 2343 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. DAVID STARR JORDAN, Stanford University, California. GEORGE FOSTER PEABODY, 2 Rector St., New York. LOUIS F. POST, Ellsworth Building, Chicago, 111. WM. G. SUMNER, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. CHAS. D. WILLIAMS, 44 Campau Building, Detroit, Mich. July 5, 1909.

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