New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-10-29
INDUSTRIAL FRANCE.
Nv ROBERT r. PORTER, MEMBER OF THE LATE
TARIFF COMMISSION.
crNl,pAI. INCREASE OF WEALTH AND
MANUFACTURES.


,,,, sproI.I CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIBrNs.l
pms Aus. 25--About 90 per cent Of all the
,n,uai imports into tbo United States or an round
;o,,,s about 1875 O00. 900 worth. comes from FIVE
I,,,,,cap couutlTes--lreat Britain, France, Ger
my Bclqinln as.d Holland. From these countries
my he SAID t. come tho bulk of Americas manu-
,ctur.d goods From other countries, such az
Cuba wuIca IN value seEds about 10 per cent Oh
me total imports closely followed by Brazil VITA
< per cent and China with per sent. come sugar.
coffee tea and othcI raw products. Tor queS"on'
rotating 20 the Tariff aud tho difference IN tue CON
ditinu ood cost OF labor in industrial centres "'
homo aud abroad. the five iirat-ndmed c"un'i'''
form the principal field of inquiry. VI '"0 ~ -
conf Of imports received annuaIl9 H''"
countries, without having the eAac' - - -,
,ne | may say that Great Bn'alh sonu' w, 80
- .hout 81 per cent of the whole France
,.,ts second with about IL per ceh'; "vl"anl
,;.I ,,,tb ,bori . per cent; Belgium fourth WIN
-. ,o,t and Holland fifth with per cent
80 cant In prosecuting the present III
80. 40 the industrial condition oil these couh-
c,,, whence comes over 90 per CENT OF
-. i,,noris and nearly all her manufactured
hove devoted six months OF the time at
e, Command to Great Britain, two months 70
Cermouv. and shall probably give IN all about TWO
,,,tbs 10 France. and three or four weeks 10
R,lgmm and Holland together
a. limited States theory of restrained commerce,
.pecious aud captivating as it appears, las never
be.n carried iuto operation in France even to the
extent il has been in Germany. at the beginning
Of this century France found herself exhausted by
bloody wars Of about twenty years duration ana
for two years afterward dcyoured by hostllc
armies aud subjected 10 an enormous Contribution
10 all aDpearance she was crushed. In three years
Il E., L,,.e ttpr' NO q n [
most prosperous nations in Europe.
And whence has this mighty change Rrseuf IN
opir,d AN eminent writer of over half century
ago
And the reply came promptly: She fostered and
protccted the industries Of her subjects. This is
The only genuine source Of wealth She submitted
m some cases 10 pay higher prices for inferior
articles in the incipIency of hcrcstaOshmonts than
She cnula purchase the most finished articles Tor
abroad. The consequence OF this sound policy was,
that m short space OF time her own manufactures
arrived at perfection aud were sold cheaper than
the foreign"
Over half century ago, in a valuable work
under the title DE PInauStrje FIancalse," The
celebrated political economist Chaptal said:
Should we then have abandoned these attempts
at manufacturing superiority No; we should per-
sist and carry our own iabors perfection Such is
the course we have pursued and sUch is the skill
10 which we havo arrived that our industry has
already excited the jealousy of that nation from
which we have derived IT,"
What has been the result of this policy TO France
In1Sl2, 10y four branches, the cotton, linen. wool
len and lea her. Great Britain gained clear profit Of
S3l5. 600 900 (sce Colquhoun wealth, Power and
Resources of Great Britain" page 9l At that
time. according 10 Mulhall lsee Progress Of Ma
tons" page 245) the manufacturing industry Of
France did not in ITS entirety amount TO more than
$50 900 900, OF winch silk stood ion one half Ac-
cording to the same authority 1t exceeds
So OsO 900. 600, classified follows: