Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-04-24
The Material Interests of the Country,

IAe Watcl1dA aAteItStS vi Cuo country
Every person who took any interest il
the political campaign IN the various
States last fall is aware that the Republi
can speakers and newspapers defended
and extolled the policy pursued by thei1
party, in regard to the material interest!
of the country, during the years since the
close of the war, on the following
grounds:
First, the successful refunding of &
large portion of the public debt at low
er rate Of interest.
Second, that gratifying improvement
of affairs in shown by the fact that the
United States bonds, which were largely
owned in foreign countries few years
ago, are now mainly held by our own
people.
Third, that the rapidly increasing BAL
| ance of trade in favor of the United
States in its commerce with foreign coun.
tries, is certain indication of growing
prosperity.
President Hayes St. Paul speech was
made up entirely Of glorifcatlon for the
Republican party on these points, and
Republicans throughout the country very
generally expressed the opinion that the
President had struck the key note of the
campaign. These matters were very
fully discussed at that time; and we
would refrain from referring to them at
all, were it not that the Republican pa
pers have generally abandoned the un-
tenable notions that President Hayes adj
vanced and that they believed, or pre-
tended to believe. We confess to taking
some pleasure in calling their attention
to the theories they advocated SIX or
eight months ago. The Pioneer Press
of Saturday last says:
"There is no reason to expect an ex-
port of bonds unless the condition of for
eign trade changes, and we buy more
goods from abroad than we send there
This will only come with return of high
prices and business activity at home,
which would tempt the domestic capital
invested in the banks to seek other chan>
nels. So the syndicate may reason that
while the present reign Of low prices con.
tinues, four per cents are good property
at home and when things commence to
boom again, when the speculative fever
begins to rage, prices to rise and money
to seek active Investment, the exchange
will be reversed, and the bonds can be
unloaded in Europe."
There you have it in nut shell, the
very thing which, six months ago, you
couldn't have driven into the head of the
editor of the Pioneer Press, or OF any
other Republican politician, with ten
ton trip hammer. Business activity
makes higher prices; higher prices rend-
er 1t impossible for American labor to
compete with the cheap labor of Europe,
and thus the So called favorable balance
of trade is greatly reduced and as soon
as money begins to seek active invest
ment the government bonds must be
'funloaded in Europe" And thus the
whole Republican theory of what con-
stitutes prosperity, is torn to shreds and
is blown away by the winds. That the
ory amounts simply to this; if Mr.. A., of
Little Falls, has large amount of bonds
on hand, and he sells these bonds to St..
Paul bankers and invests the money in
mills and factories here, that is adverse
to the prosperity of this place. But if he
finds that his mills and factories are not
paying, and he discharges his employees,
gets his money out of the business on any
terms that may offer, buys bonds again
and locks them up in his safe and lives
on the interest, that is a sure Indication
that Little Falls is prosperous. That Is
the kind of doctrine that the Republican
leaders preached all through the last po-
}ltical campaign, and the whole Republi>
can theory IS fraught with untold evil for
the industrial classes of this country
One of the principal objects sought is
cheap labor. At present the price of
labor in the East is so near on a level
with the cost Of pauper labor in Europe,
that cur people can actually compete with
European manufacturers in their own
markets. OF course this increases the
balance Of trade in favor Of the United
States, but it means starvation to work
ingmcn. That "balance of trade' don't
find its way into workingmen's pockets.
What the moneyed interests Of the Unit
ed States now require IS a heavy Chinese
immigration, and protection for Chinese
laborers, and the Republican leaders,
with very few exceptions, favor this as
far as they can without entirely running
the chance of party success. With an
abundant supply of Chinese labor, at hall
the present price Of white labor, the fac
tories Of the United States could force
those in Europe to close their doors, and
a balance of trade could be secured that
would surpass President Hayes most ar
dent hopes, but what would be the condi'
ton Of the American white laborer? Il
may be we'll, in this connection, to refer
to the reason why the bondholders are
opposed to the necessary condition fol
business activity, even when such activi
ty would make it more profitable to then
to sell their bonds to European capital
lists than to hold them. The same
grounds have been gone over at consider
able length in these columns before, Sc
that now we shall only briefly state thai
the cause is to be found In the difference
between holding bonds when prices arr
falling and when prices arc rising, The
holders of the bonds of all countries
which have sound credit have realized {
vast increase in the value Of their bonds
during the past fifteen years, because tn,
demonetization Of silver in foreign coun
tries, the resumption of specie payments
in the United States, and various othe,
causes which have heretofore been ex
planned in these columns, have caused .
large increase in the actual value or pur
! oh - J, III, 4