Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-09-18
BLAINE'S POLICY.
The Benefit Which This Country Would
Have Derived from the Peace Con-
gress.

A New York special, dated Friday, says:
''The article from the pen Of Mr. Blaine,
to be published tomorrow In the Chicago
Weekly Magazine, short abstract of which
has already been published, contains the
following references to the policy which he
declares had been decided upon toward the
South American States by the late President
Garfield.
"The date to be assigned for the meeting
of the Peace Congress was the 18th of
March, 1882, and the invitations would have
been issued directly after the New England
tour, which the President was not permit
ted to make. There can be no doubt that
within brief period all the nations invited
(afterward by President Arthur would
have formally signified their readiness to
attend the congress; but In six weeks after
the invitations had gone to the several
countries President Arthur caused them to
be recalled, or at least suspended. The
moral Influence upon the Spanish-American
people of such an In ternationRl assembly
as the Peace Congress, called by the invita-
tion and meeting under the auspices Of the
United States, would have proved benef-
cent and far-resching. 1t would have raised
the standard of their civilization. 1t would
have turned their attention to the things of
peace. A most significant and important
result would have followed its assembling.
A friendship and an intimacy would have
been established between the States
Of North and South America, which
would have demanded and enforced
a closer commercial connection. A
movement in the near future, as the legiti-
mate outgrowth of assured peace, would, iE
all probability, have been a great CONNER
cial conference at the city OF Mexico or
Rio Janeiro, whose deliberations would be
directed to a better system of trade on the
two continents. To such conference the
Dominion of Canada could properly be
asked to send representatives, as that gov
ernment is allowed by Great Britain q very
large liberty in regulating it's commercial
relations.
referring to the benefits to be derived
from improved commercial relations with
South America he says:
"In our current exchanges 1t requires
about $12O, ,OOO, 600 to pay the balance which
Spanish America brings against US every
year. This vast sum does not of course go
to Spanish America In coin, but It goes
across the ocean in coin or its equivalent to
pay European countries for manufactured
articles which they furnish to Spanish
America, large proportion Of which
should be furnished by the manufacturers
Of the Ual ed es. at present the
trade with Spanish America runs so
thoroughly in channels adverse to us
that besides our inability to furnish
manufactured articles, we do not get the
profit on our own raw products that are
shipped there. AS our exports to Spanish
America grow less, as European exports
constantly grow larger, the balance against
us will show an annual increase, and will
continue to exhaust our supply Of the pre-
cious metals. We are increasing our
imports from South America, and the
millions we annually pay for coffee,
wool, hides, guano, cinchona, caoutchouc,
cabinet woods, dye woods and other
articles, go for the ultimate benefit Of Eu-
ropean manufacturers, who take the gold
from us and send their fabrics to Spanish
America. If we could send our fabrics our
gold would stay at home, and our general
prosperity would be sensibly increased. But
90 long as we repel Spanish America, so
long as we leave her to cultivate intimate
relations with Europe alone, SO long our
trade relations will remain unsatisfactory,
and even embarrassing.
"Mr. Blaine, in conclusion, says that IN
the progress of our Republic, while we
have added thousands of miles to our ocean
front, our commerce has fallen off, and
from ardent friendship with Spanish Ameri.
ca we have drifted into Indifference IL not
into coldness. 1t is but one step further to
reach a condition of positive unfriendli-
ness, which may end in what would be
equivalent to commercial alliance
against u.s. Already one of the most dan
gerous of movements, that of a European
guarantee and guardianship Of the inter
oceanic canal, is suggested and urged upon
the great foreign powers by representatives
Of South American country. He believes
that in no event could harm have resulted
from the assembling of the Peace Congress.
Failure was next to impossible. Success
might be regarded as certain. The labors
of the Congress would have probably ended
in a we'll digested system OF arbitration,
under which all future troubles between
American States could be quickly, effectu-
ally and satisfactorily adjusted"