New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-02-09

been $40 per ton SO with cotton fabrics. the. ara
| cheaper than they ever were, indeed cheap flat
| we are sending them TO England by the million .;
| yards and competing with you in your own market
Ii is 40 answer to say OF some OF these c0mmodties
| steel rails for instance, that they are cbeaner
| in England than they are here in America
So tar as the rails concerned ths at the present
TINE may be true but 1t is not so with regard Ia
| cotton goods, watches clocks and many other knds
| of protected goods which we are sending to your
| market. They are cheaper here and cheaper when
| exported TO England than those which you manu-
| facture, hence we are competing with you in yonr
own market. And with regard to steel rails. every
| one knows that if we were 10 stop manufacturing
we require the price in England would not
remain where il is, but would immediately vance
to extent probably more than the difference now
existing between the price here ana IN England 90
that the end would be that we snould have to pay
you more than we now paying for those made
here This is the natural consequence OF trade, and
follows lust as surely as the night follows the day.
You may ask why, II we can produce cotton
fabrics edge tools, clocks and watches cheaper than
YOU we require protection for these commodities,
ETC. Ny answer is, that it is quite proba bic that 10
some particular descriptions OF cotton fabrics and
manufactured products we cannot compete and re-
1ure protection to enable Us to work up to the pro-
ductiou of them; but in those branches where we
can compete and competing. we require protec-
ton to keep our market steady anu 10 maintain tns
domestic competition 49,
IL is a fact in the commercial world of which you
do not require an example. that foreign Compel
TORS. when there are no impediments VIII ~ orderto
disturb markets and break down competition, some
times combine TO flood The foreign market. They
will actually sell without profit 10 accomplish their
purpose in the hope that IN the end, with the confu
sion IN business and destruction in trade. IN breaking
down domestic competition, they can make up more
than they lose. L myself have known foreign
manufacturer to sell Ills goods in America for less
price than YOU could buy them for III England and
Tor less than he was selling the same kind of goods
for there. While Consul at Liverpool numerous
Instances came to my knowledge in which there
two prices one for the goods to be consumed IN
England aud another and lower price for those that
to go abroad, and the manufacturers pronts
were made up ON the average price OF the goods
sold at home and those sold abroad
Our r't tar Checks # it does not entirely prevent
this at least so far as foreign competition Is con-
cerned and enables our small capitalists freely to
enter with their limited means our markets and be-
come domestic competitors where they would not,
indeed dare not if exposed to the large foreign cap
talists 1t is our policy 70 encourage these ana al
cheaper the article produced, whlle he increases
our home market tor agricultural products, aud
assists in creating and accumuatng capital mere at
home and, In this way, III increasing our National
wealth.
PRICE AND NOT THE BALANCE OF TRADE TIE CON-
TROLLING AGENT.
There is another point to which must call your
attention, an error which most OF you English
men fall into when discussing this matter with cur
people, VIZ. That what You buy from US. depends
on what we purchase or take of YOU In other WORDS
if we do not purchase yOurdnanuiactured goods YOU
will not buy agricultural products from us. Our
friend Thomas Bayey Potter, in his recent visit to
this country fell into this error, and ia almost all
of his speeches laid great stress upon it, lie told
orr people in substance. that TINS result would
follow if we persisted in retaining our
tariff Now there never was greater tallacy You,
like all other sensible people. buy where you can
buy cheapest. and sell where you can obtain the
best price for what You sell. II you can buy your
Grain and bTeadstuffs IN Russia cheaper than you
can i'm America, you buy them there; IT, on the
other hand, We sell TO You at cheaper rate
titan Russia, you buy OF US. 10 Is price that regu-
lates and controls aud not the balance OF trade be-
tween the two countries. DO you suppose that any
grain dealer i'm England ever looks to see whether
The balance of trade is for or against his country
when he is about to make purchase He buys wher-
ever he can obtain the grain Tor the lowest price, As
proof of this take the trade OF your own country
with Russia for the last twenty years; lhefe mas
NOT been one single year during this period in
which Won have not purchased OF her greatly IN
excess of land in most years more than double In
valuel what she has bought OF you. Take the year
1879 the last for which you have made up the
figures and they stand as follows; Your imports
from Ku IS Russia s945S72S and for the
worse you imported from her 922 1922 9
while You exported sold to her only E6, 243,g!3-
less than one-third of what you imported. Your
trade with Russia for the last twenty years was IN
the aggregate as follows; Your imports were
f9e9 $50 059 and your exports f15S 436.l22 In
other words YOU buy OF Russia more than double
what she buys OF you. And II you Will examine the
statistics of your trade with other foreign countries
Won will find the same results. The same inequal'-
ties exist as IN your trade with RussIa-proyng
what have SAID, that what You buy Of nation IS
NOT dependent upon what she buys OF you that 1t
is price and not the balance of trade that regulates
and controls the business you do.
. RADICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND
AMERICA.
In the discussion of the question OF Protection
and Free Trade your people do not take into cOusd
Grafton the difference between our country and
yours with regard to land and population. You
have a scarcity OF land and redundancy OF popna-
ton aud IN consequence cannot raise sufficient food
10 feed yOur people.
land and scarcity of population, aud IN conse-
sufficient
our own people, but a very large surplus
for export. There is scarcely one article of
food that you can raise or produce IN sufficient
auantity to supply or feed your own people, while
with us. there Is not one OF the staples which wo
cannot raise in abundance, and with a large sur
plus OF course do not mean TO include III this
category articles of foreign production. such as
tea and coffee but domestic articles and IN most in
stances those common 10 both countries lt IS adj
mitted that your agricultural production varies ir
Ouantitv IN different years; good harvest yields
more than a bad; but theie Is no year when You
produce sufficient TO feed your people. You do not
and cannot raise enough. Now let us look at this
moment, and see TO what extent this deficiency eN-
lists aud we Will take an example the
wear 1878. which is not an exceptional one. You
paid during this year as follows Tor the Following
articles:
Cattle calves sheep and lambs, alive. e7.252606
Meat, including beef and pork etc.,. l2,e3ooyJ
~ a0 90,
Breadstuis, including corn. flour, wheat,
VY5 ooS
2,JllOtb
Fish. l,0fls3O
Lard OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. l,7S7S74
PnTatoes Observation-Disclosures. 2,3S6l43
Rice .......................... 3,2OUS43
Total - ......... aIO54S 4.9O5
Tbls fable shows for the ten articles above
named. In our money. over $510,OO0O0O. Now.
this being your condition, and since you have every
wear to buy these staple and indispensable articles
of food 1t is your interest to get them as cheaply
as possible; hence your policy is to induce ether ma
TONS including the United States, to devote them
selves TO agricultural pursuits for the foreign
nations YOU can persuade TO engage In this industry
fine cheaper the rood will be which you are COM
PEELED buy and to this extent you are or will be.
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