The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-09-20
The Absurditics or the Commercial Press
The True Regulator OF Trade.

The New York Courier and Enquirer, in an
article published last week. showed how inti-
mateiy the editor Of that commercial sheet was
acquainted with things pertaining to the king
dom of Heaven; and the same paper, in an ar
ticie published yesterday, and which we trans
fer to our columns elsewhere. illustrates with
equal accuracy how much the editor knows of
the things Of earth. The Courier is so-called
commercial paper" published ostensibly for
merchants, and supposed to be supported by
them; it is, however, doubtful whether any other
existing publcaton--not excluding periodicals
devoted to light literature, music and the fine
arts-conld by any mischance have given cur
rency TO as much nonsense and balderdash on
the subject Of trade as are contained in the
article from the Courier now under review.
The article is devoted to that pons asinormn
of superficial economists, the balance OF trade.
After worrying himself very needlessly and un-
successfully in the attempt to answer silly
correspondent tho writer goes on to deplore
the fact that this country has been enabled
to produce and export $500, 900, 900 of specie in
ten years, which he thinks we had far better
have kept at home. We might have done so.
he conjectures, if Congress had enacted heavy
protective tariff. This is the point of the whole
article. We cannot stop to notice minor absur-
dities, such as the assumption that "the United
States are more in debt to Europe now than in
1877 the assertion that "a revulsion occurred
in Europe in the spring Of 1894 piece of
very conclusive financial intelligence; the
statement that "the drain upon capital pro-
duced by gold shipments 'deranges trade and
the currency; the insinuation that if we alter
ed our tariff the French would smoke more
American tobacco and need no American gold
the sagacious inquiry ''why we didn't ship gold
prior to l848g" and so on throughout the arti-
Gle which our readers can consult for them
selves.
There are two clear and obvious principles
are q perfect safeguard against such nonsense
as all this In the first place, in a series of
years the exports of every country are always
about equal to its imports. During single
year country may buy more than it sells, and
run in debt for the balance; but next year the
account must be squared, or nearly so. Nations
never give each other long credits as individuals
do: the late United States Bank remains a
memorable example of the folly of attempting
such thing. We repeat, then, the exports of
every nation, including, of course, negotiable
securities, must during period of ten years,
be the same, or nearly the same, as its imports.
1t can import just as much as it exports--no
more. fit can increase its production Of art-
cles marketable abroad, then it may buy more
foreign goods; if it cannot. then it cannot in
crease its imports without rendering financial
crisis inevitable. So much for the absurdity of
tariffs regulating imports. If, in obedience to
the crazy notions of the Courier, the United
States tariff were so remodelled as to shut out
foreign goods, the consequence would simply
be that the foreign demand for our products
would decline in proportion. If we bought
$lOO.0OO0O0 year less of European manu-
features, Europe would take slOO,OO0,OOO a
year less of American produce. The exports
Of the United States for the ten last reported
fiscal years stated in the gross at 524 e44o0o
Leaving balance Of only. ....."..... $22,614o 600
barely months business at this port.
The Courier evades the conclusion which the
facts force on the mind, by absurdly CHASING
gold as commodity which ought to be kept
not exported. Wherein we should like to know
would this country have been better off if all the
gold of California had been kept here? What
is the use of gold, except as an article of pro-
duce, like cotton. corn, tobacco and dry goods.
1t has over these, certainly, the additional ad-
vantage that it is a basis for banking pur-
poses; but as our banks had gold enough in
1856 and the spring of 1857 to get up an ex-
pansion which broke half the country, surely
it cannot be pretended that we should have
been better off if the banks had had $500 900 900
more-the amount exported since California
was discovered. In reality, there is quite gold
enough in this country, and cessation of the
export demand for it would be even more in
furious to the general interests Of trade than
cessation of the demand for breadstuffs, cotton
or provisions. The large gold export Of this
year ought to be just as much matter of con-
graduation as the large export of cotton:
neither the one nor the other were wanted
here, whereas, by sending them abroad, this
country obtained goods which were really
needed.
The second principle which shows the fallacy
Of the Courier's theories is this: importations
of foreign goods are always proportionate to
bank expansion, and are not governed by
tariffs. ghis proposition in measure grows
out of the last; for banks expand when crops
are bountiful and the export demand liberal.
Economists of the Corier's school never can
be got to see this; they batter their heads
against tariffs until they can distinguish nothing
else. The following table is instructive =
Exports Of Imports Of Bank
Years. Domcs prod. Foreign goods. Erponston
1885. .... SIPS 66S,o40 1S9,eS0035 457, 060S0