Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-04-11
FREE TRADE AID FAIR TRADE.

uTS anu aEauuOHlltus VI rTee lEauc ny
the country of its adoption, has died out
completely. The talk was originated by
the prevalence CT trade depression,
which always and everywhere brings the
"cranks" to the front, and shakes the
faith of the specifically informed IN the
wisdom of their economic doctrines. The
fact that British trade has shown great
revival of late, has no doubt had very
much to do with the cessation of the fair
" trade discussion, but what has given it
is uuietus is the discovery that after all
the tariffs of the Continental powers and
the United States really do not injure Brit
ish trade, but in some important respects
help it. The careful consideration of
this aspect of the question is to be CON-
mended to those American politicians and
journalists who for SO many years have
been insisting that British gold is at
the bottom of all the agitation on behalf
OF free trade in this country. The " Fair
Graders " argued that though Free Trade
was very good system if all the world
would adopt it, it could not be maintained
by single country against chain of
Notwithstanding governments. The pso-
pie who held this view were presumably
not engaged in foreign trade themselves,
and probably were not firmly grounded in
economic doctrines of any kind. Had
they spoken from the standpoint Of expe-
rience they would have known from the
first what they have only just discovered,
namely, that England has an immense ad.
vantage over all the Protectionist coun-
tries in her relations to the rest OF the
world, and that in fact every foreign tariff
operates as a positive benefit to her manu-
facturers and merchants.
And the proof of this is perfectly easy.
For it is plain that tariff bound countries
are shut out from foreign markets. The
United States finds it impossible. because
of the tariff, to extend its foreign commerce
appreciably in any direction. We cannot
secure the trade of Brazil, or the West
Indies, or of Chile or Peru, or any of the
South American countries. Wherever we
90 we find the tariff handicapping US. We
are unable to compete with the cheap
goods of England in Asia and Africa. And
the same restriction applies to the commerce
of all the continental powers which have
undertaken to protect native industry.
England, therefore, has all the world out
side of these countries for her market, and
she encounters SO little competition that
she is enabled to build up and maintain an
immense traffic. But if Free Trade was
accepted by Germany and France and this
country, they would each and all contest
the prizes of Asiatic, African, Colonial and
South American trade, with England, and
they might, and in some cases doubtless
would, wrest the supremacy from her.
These facts show, however, that it really
is not the interest of England to convince
her neighbors of the benefits of Free Trade,
but that if ''British gold" is spent at all
in this connection, it is more likely to be
spent in unfolding Protection than for any
other purpose.
Great Britain has not really won the
ocean carrying trade of the world,
moreover. 1t has been given to her. The
nations which have adopted American
fiscal doctrines have by SO doing re.
nounced all hope of sharing that trade
with her. They have insulated themselves
for the alleged purpose of benefting
their own people. They have adopted the
singular theory that commerce is to be
increased by reducing its volume and con.
fning the area of its activity. The
natural result has followed. The one
country which has refused to keep shackles
on its commerce has secured the lions
share of the worlds traffic, and as long as
the Protectionist doctrine is upheld this
| will continue to be the case. The cheap
goods of England have given her an advan-
tage which cannot be obtained by manu-.
facturers existing under a tariff. The
marvellous elasticity and recuperative pow
ers OF that country are also due to the
freedom of her trade. In spite of all the
drawbacks and the losses she has suffered
during the past ten years, her revenue re-.
turns for 1881 showed large gain, and
demonstrated that her foreign trade can be
relief on to more than make up for her
domestic endorsements. Oar Pennsyl-
vania Protectionists will have to find a
new text wherein to expatiate in this con.
nection. Fair Trade has failed them.
Free Trade holds its own, and f1ourishes,
and grows continually.
England has no need to care what our
Congress does with the tariff, but her selfish
interests must naturally lead her to hope
that it will not be seriously reduced. So
long as it remains in its present condition,
American manufactures will never be
thorns in the side OF England. Even
the tariff cannot prevent the steady in
crease of our imports of heavily. taxed
goods, besides, and the more we try to
keep these goods out the more we hasten
the advent of period of over-production
and consequent commercial paralysis. Free
Trade gives to those who enjoy it the COM
mand OF the worlds markets, and places
them beyond the reach of those periodical
depressions which are inseparable from
confined and artifcially restricted produc.
ton. The principles OF Free Trade have
in fact never been more triumphantly vim
dicated than during the past year, and the
revival of British trade shows how super
fetal and ignorant were the predictions Of
our Protectionists, that the Continental
tariff system would compel England to
abandon her present fiscal policy. Ga the
contrary, she has better reasons than ever
for maintaining it; and what is more. she
can afford to await the enlightenment of her
neis hbors with the most perfect indiffer-
ence, since it is evident that their purbliud
and unscientiic policy plays into the hands
of her merchants and manufacturers all the