The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1881-09-05
MONDAY, SEPT. .. 1881.


: MONDAY, SEPT. .. 1881.
"FAIR TRADE" AND "FREE
TRADE."-The elections ttat have
taken place within the past few days
in England have resulted in heavy
majorities for candidates who entered
the campaign under the banner of
'sFair Trade" against those supposed
to be favorable to the existing Eng
lish revenue laws, or Stree Trade" 1t
ID not definitely and accurately under
stood what the English politicians
mean by these terms. But it il
olsar,y enough UNDERWOOD from the
comments Of the English journals
that It ID the purpose of the "Fair
Trade" advocates to conteract If they
can by legislation the natural course
Of trade as it is now running toward
the United States. The English
farmers find that the grain and farm
produce that they raise is reduced in
price by competition with the grain
and farm produce from the United
States, and that gold il required to
buy our produce, because we do our
own manufacturing to greater exc
tent and, therefore, do not need to
exchange the products Of the farm for
products Of the loom or forge. This
has set the English manufacturers to
some extent against as, and the de-
sire TO keep their gold induces the
English bankers to join the ranks OF
the Fair Traders. Providence has
favored us with good crops and has
not 30 favored the English. Had our
crops been as great this year as last
We might have been better prepared
TO meet the English cry of "Fair
Trade" by considering the proposition
to remodel our revenue laws in order
TO get of as much of our surplus farm
produce a. possible. But from pres
emit appearances there will be short
crops In this country as well as in
England and, therefore, we may not
have more than will be demanded at
high prices in cash. We have been
doing so well that there has been
disposition in all sections of the
country to ''let well enough alone"
But this is good time to examine
what our British cousins mean and
ascertain whether we arc not ourselves
risking the loss of valuable customers
Tor our products.
As we understand the English mer-
chants, they mean by "Fair Trade"
thai the laws Of each country shall be
80 modelled as to permit the fair ex-
change of one commodity for another.
They want our grain but they want to
buy it with something else than
money; and If they cannot exchange
TO: it with us they propose that a
heavy duty shall be put on all farm
produce coming into English ports
from the United States, while the
laws shall remain as they are on all
such farm products That are raised in
the English Colonies and shipped to
English ports, and that all American
manufactured articles shall be heavily
taxed that are shipped to any of the
English ports or colonies. By this
they mean to exclude our grain and
our manufactures. Thus they propose
to build up trade with their own
colonies, by inducing them to raise
grain and supplies for The mother
country while the mother country
furnishes the colonies with manufac.
tured goods by excluding the goods
made in the United States. We
don't believe this experiment will
work as well in PRACTICE as 1t is made
to appear in theory.
Still the cry Of "Fair Trade" against
''Free Trade" has had its triumphs on
the hustings, and may have been the
cause Of reducing our exports, for it
Il significant fact that we have not
sold 90 much to Europe this year as
last The total importations In eiqh,
months, at the port of New York,