Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-07-03
AMERICA AND ENGLAND.
A State Of Affairs Which May Restore
Our LOng-LOst Prosperity.

Our LOng-LOSt Prosperity.
Correspondence of the New York World.
LONDON, June s, 1851 general,
endeavor about this time of the year tC
gather some information respecting the
harvest prospects in England for the
benefit of your agricultural readers. [
L had written three or four weeks age
on this subject should have had to re-
port that everything promised an un.
usually large yield Of grain-the grass
crops having already been far beyond
the average. But long and obstinate
spell OF cold and wet weather changed
the aspect of the growing crops, and
now 1t Is quite certain that our harvest
Will be but a poor one This is I'M
doubtedly great misfortune for Eng
land, and 1t comes at a time when all
branches of trade are stagnant. Per-
haps some Of your readers may remem-
Der that nearl y two years ago [ called
attention to the declining condition OF
English cotton and iron manufactures.
AT that time no one was willing to pay
any attention to the question here, or
laughed at the idea that American COM
petition could ever injure Lancashire
or otaffordshire. The "political econo-
mlsts came forward IN body and
proved by figures that England was i'm
porting far more than she was EXPORT
ing, and consequently must be growing
richer. In other words, they showed
that the road to wealth is to spend twice
as much as you earn. have some
tunes tried the experiment for q short
period, but it did not lead to the result
predicted by the philosophers.
Many months have elapsed, and the
f1gure-mongers are evidently beginning
to have their eyes opened. We no lon.
ger read in the Times city article that
England cannot possibly suffer from
foreign competition. American cali
Goes are IN every dry goods store
American IRON is being used on English
railroads. The change seems incredi-
BILE, but | have looked very carefully
INTO the facts, and there cannot be a
moments doubt with regard to them.
The trade returns for May. which were
onl issued yesterday, disclose startling
state OF Misunderstanding that is, to ali
who have an eye for facts and attach
more importance to them than to theo-
RES The exports again show a falling
OF OF over y per cert. In all depart
ments of the cotton and iron trade we
sell less and less to former customers.
The writer of the Times city article is
now fairly scared. Speaking of iron
and steel manufactures, he saws: "At
present it is trade which must mean
loss, and perhaps ruin in the long run,
to important sections of the commune
ty: tor 1t Is trade carried on at an obvi-
Gus loss" Now, when this very result
was toretold not long ago in your own
columns and those Of one Of your Lon
don contemporaries, the Times. Mr..
Griffen. and other political writer's treat
Ell 1t as mere display of stupidity and
ignorance. [ must say [ wish it had
been that and nothing more, for it is not
pleasant to see national trade falling
into decay
But what has all this got to do with
American readers, some one NAV say.
A good deal. In the first place, it is
America 4 hope Mr. Grant White will
allow me to use that word-I do not
know of handler one) which is the
most active and most successful COM
petltor OF England in her present mar
kets. Then, again, America not only
takes away England's foreign custom
ers, but is underselling her at her own
doors-in London: Liverpool, and every
large town. While thus cutting her
commercial resources down, she |
(America) grows harvests which no |
other country is able to produce and
which England is obliged to buy. This
year, understand, you Will have very
tine harvest. | can only say that it will |
be wanted in Europe. Russia has not |
grown much more grain than she wants,
apd the yield here will be compar alive
ly small. Europe must go across the
Atlantic for what she needs to make up
her deficient supply Of food. And then
recollect that It Is not for grain only
that England now comes with money
in her hand to United States ports. Tie
sale of American beef is simply enor-
NOUS, considering that when I left New
York IN 1876. the trade was almost, if |
not quite, unknown. And now we pay
something like $2O,OOO,OOO a year for
American beef,and the business is con-
stantly increasing. So that for the
stan OF lie, ana large proportion
of the meat consumed, this country
must now depend very greatly on the
United States. These are the
facts-draw from them what
conclusion you will. 80 There
is one conclusion which | should be dis
posed to draw, namely that this state of
affairs must inevitably restore your
long-lost prosperity 1t is an iii wind
that blows no one any good. Foreign
capital must necessarily pour into the
country, making up in large measure
for the losses of the last few years, and
infusing new life and energy into all
departments of trade. This Is as GER
tain as that the sun will rise tomorrow.
The recovery Of trade in America does
not now depend upon accident or arti
fetal causes, but is being produced by
fixed laws-for there are such things in