Mr. W. L. Wilson, chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee in the American House of Representatives, made a rather remarkable speech on Thursday to the London Chamber of Commerce. He is much more confident than Englishmen are of the ultimate victory of Free-trade in the United States. For twenty-five years, he says, Americans have followed a 'Chinese policy, have called off their ships from the seas, and have tried Protection as it never yet was tried in the history of the world. Their motive was a belief that wages and 'profits alike depended upon the taxation of foreign supplies. 'They have learned by experience that this is a delusion, that a protected industry does not permanently thrive, that wages are highest in the unprotected industries, and that farmers cannot sell wheat unless they buy something in return. Therefore the new Tariff Bill was passed, which, though not an overthrow of Protection, is the first and most difficult step in that direction. He believed that the result would be to make of American manufacturers dangerous rivals to Europe, for they have hitherto been crippled by their internal monopoly, which induced them to form combinations, to limit output, and to increase prices.
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