Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-02-07
sTupREpous STUPIDITY.

sTUPREDoUs STUPIDITY.
The concrete wisdom of the San Fran
cisco railroad, anti-progressive Chron-
;cle is at times paralyzing in its force and
delivery. The general shallowness of its
positions become depths Of profundity by
contrast with it's occasional expressions.
The latest example it furnishes deserves to
be placed on record as literary curiosity,
for its total absence of contribution to the
general comprehension Of the principles OF
political economy involved in the Mexican
reciprocity treaty. After tedious theo-
retic thesis, in which painful effort is
made to establish the position that
abridgment of space between producer and
market, and the opening up and peopling OF
new sections consequent upon railway con-
struction, are not among the causes of ma
tional prosperity and, after observing a
whole rest in the monotonous chant Of
hatred to railway enterprises to permit the
stereotyped line concerning selfish, grasp
ing and wasteful corporations" to be inter-
polated, it proceeds to advise Mexico that
the greatest calamity possible to befall it
will be found in the railway construction
now promising to open up that re-
public to closer and better relations
TTo,kal Sfafao Z hat
the railroad companies of this nation
have, in great measure, captured ocean
traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific
States at double and treble expense to
the country. This statement has rivulet
of truth in its ocean of falsehood. 1t
needs no superior intelligence to cempre-
bend the fact that if long routes of car
rage around the Horn have been super-
seeded by shorter routes across the conti-
nent, it is because commerce has found the
latter the better, safer and more profitable.
This is fact in economic science Of uni
versal range. But the climax of the stu
pendous stu pidity of the journal is found
in its declaration that American capital is
seeking to build up the railway systems of
Mexico with the prospective danger to that
country that they may "pay." Bat the
direct threat of all the ill portending, it is
gravely pointed out, is the proposed Next
can reciprocity treaty, which will contrib
ute, it is alleged, to that profitable but I'M.
desirable end worse yet, that the profits
American capital may reap by such invest
ments, together with the consequent stimu-
lation of Mexican industries, must be re-
allied at the cost of the American people,
their labor and industries being taxed to
promote the railway traffic into and out of
Mexico. How this, even if admitted
to be true for mere arguments
sake, is to be considered by Next
cans as calamitous to them, passes
comprehension or how the investment of
American capital in Mexican enterprises is
to tax American industries we leave our
readers to work out, in the face of the fact
Shob VIC ulC@kOOs AiCV VI
duty, but S., 600, 600 values, while we pay
duty on more than SIS, 900, 600 of imports,
and over $l3, O0O,OO0 of exports. We leave
them to digest the logic of the situation in
the face of the fact that the reciprocity
treaty is step forward to open, somewhat,
wider doorway to our industries for a
larger market. The truth is, there should
be no barrier between the two countries.
Malgnity and hatred of railways, bred in
the bone, inspires such stupid emanations
as we have referred to, and lead their VIC
Tins to declare, in effect, that the free list
should not be enlarged for fear the goods
carriers may profit by the increased traffic
to result from opening, even in small de-
gree, to our products and manufactures
new markets easy of access. and to the
manufactures and products of Mexico
easier outlets in the direction of our marts.
The same logic, carried to its full possibil-
ity, will establish the necessity of a Chi
nese wall of protection and exclusion be-
tween the two Republics.