Omaha daily bee., 1881-06-16

81. LOUIS tlObe- Democrat.
The balance of trade in favor of the
United States for the year ending
June 80, 1880, vas S1G7 600, 900, but
the statistics of III foreign commerce,
present some curious details not gen.
orally SO well known as the aggregate
excess of exports over imports. We
sell to every country in Europe more
than we buy from it, with the single
exception of Greece. Our trade with
that little state is SO trtling that the
exception is hardly worthy of note, SC
that it may be said hat in the present
trade relations of the world, the con.
tinent of Europe is, throughout its
whole extent our debtor. Our ex-
cess of exports to that continent,
over imports from it, amounts to
$34S, 600, 600. During the year UNI
der consideration Great Britain took
from us in excess of what she sold us,
$243, 600, 00O. The sum of our i'm
ports from that country was $780,
600 1000, so that she paid us cash for
more than half her purchases from us.
This enormous cash balance was not
settled entirely by an actual transfer
of money, but the equivalent of
money was paid for it all in some way
or other. Of the other nations of
Europe, France owed us a cash balance
of oversee, 600, 900, Belgium 800, OOO,-
600, Russia S12, 600, 900, Netherlands
$40, 0OO, 900, Spain So 600, 900, Ger
many 8 5000, 600, Portugal $4,000
600, and Italy 81, 900 900. We are
not a profitable customer for that con-
tinent whose civilization is old and
whose labor is cheap. We do not
want its cheap products to a very great
extent, and we draw on it largely for
its money. 1t is perhaps an injury to
the prosperity of Europe that it is not
able to control the best market in the
new world, and more especially is the
industrial enterprise Of Great Britain
cramped and deranged by our policy
of governing our own exchanges.
When it is remembered that her
trade with us exhausted her of S243,-
600 of her money in a single year her
violent tendencies to free trade will
not excite surprise. But it must also
be remembered that there was no free
trade in British craftsmanship until
Great Britain achieved through pro-
lection the complete control of her
home market-that is to say; until
there was no danger Of competition
with her home manufacturers at
home. Her example is too instruct
i've to be cast aside by us in order to
relieve her present necessities, and
we must reach the stage of develop
ment when free trade will become
profitable to us before adopting it.
Bnt while we draw SO largely on
Europe for its money we ex-
port very little to the rest
of the world, and here the balance or
trade is against us. We are largely
over-buyers in the rest of the new
world, where, it seems, Europe finds
markets for the wares which she can
not sell to us. We paid S54, 900, 900
in money to Cuba, which was chiefly
on account of sugar. Out of a total
import of 500, 000, 900 from that is
land, only 81, 900, 900 was paid for by
exported merchandise. To Brazil we
sent "A cash balance of S43 ,00O, 900,
having bought of her to the amount
of SOL 600, 900, without selling her
more han SO, 900, 600. This is
mainly a coffee bill, so that we
paid for sugar and coffee, in
cash, to those two countries nearly
500, DOC, 000. China also took over
SIC, 900 900 from us i'll cash, and only
81, 600, 600 in merchandise, to pay
for u purchases there. The British
East Indies drew from us Sl9, 900, 600
in money to pay for $21 ,0OO, 600 of
imports, thus showing a payment of
nearly $40, DOC, 900 to the great silver
using countries of the east. But our
silver dollar, containing as it does, 10
per cent. of fiat, is not available for
the payment of this balance, our sill
yer producers, strangely enough, be-
ing determined, if possible, that
their product shall not be used
as money anywhere else than
at home During the railroad tenn
pest about to sweep yer Mexico; not
a dollar of our silver can be used in
thst country, although it is just the
money the Mexican laborer wants.
The fiat in the silver dollar is not good
over the boundary. Our trade with
Mexico is very light, yet she is caps-
BILE of producing all the sugar and
coffee which We need. Instead of less
than %, 1000, 900 of imports and e1-
ports, if Mexican production were
properly stimulated, our commerce
with Mexico would soon equal hat
with Cuba and Brazil combined. Nor
would it be so one-sided an af-
fair as it is with those two coun-
tries. We eXporI To Mexico now