Land Problems and National Welfare 



tokens to articles the dearer must all com- 

 modities be. But this cause alone will not 

 account for the great rise of prices in America ; 

 there is little doubt that the main cause is to 

 be ascribed to the action of the giant trusts 

 and to the tariff they impose. 



Last winter the grocery trust decided to raise 

 the cost of all groceries by 30% throughout the 

 Southern States — and it was done ! 



The American farmer, quite as much as the 

 English farmer, is in need of co-operation, for 

 he is entirely at the mercy of these trusts, and 

 they are a great evil in the country, injurious to 

 the producer, consumer, and middleman alike. 



Taking all circumstances into consideration, 

 it seems quite arguable that the adoption of Free 

 Trade in the United States would at this stage 

 greatly benefit the country. Protection may by 

 now have played its part, at all events it is only 

 a question of a few years before the States will 

 be in a position to defy all competition ; they 

 produce all the foodstuffs they require, and they 

 can manufacture nearly every article of com- 

 merce more cheaply than can be done in any 

 other country — I am quoting Mr. Pearce. 



Elasticity is necessary in fiscal policy as in 

 every other. 



And further. Free Trade might prove the 

 most effective weapon with which to fight the 

 power of the trusts. 



216 



