The National tribune., 1883-02-22
NATIONAL TOPICS.
The Proposed Mexican Reciprocity Treaty-Presi-
dency of the Senate.

An effort will be made to ratify the Mexican
reciprocity treaty in the Senate before adjourn
ment. 1t has been agreed to by the Committee
on Foreign Relations and reported by Mr.. Win
dom, the chairman. The articles embraced in
the free list are seventy three, which Mexico is
to admit duty free from the United States, and
some twenty-five Mexican products which are
to pass the United States custom house
Should the treaty not be ratified during the
present session of the Senate, it is doubtful ii
the Mexican Congress- which meets in the fall
will do so, so one-sided document does it ap-
pear to be. The Mexican Senate will hesitate,
no doubt, to reject an instrument which has
been accepted by their commissioners and rat
fled by the Senate of the United States, but
that there is great deal of public sentiment
against it in Mexico is well known.
The articles which Mexico is to pass duty
free from the United States include nearly all
kinds of machinery, both for agriculture and
manufacturing; all our raw materials, vehicles,
musical instruments, and large class of mis-
cellaneous manufactures. In short the bulk of
the merchandising in Mexico is handed over to
Americans, or, at least, American markets are
made the source of supplies.
In return we are to receive from Mexico a
class of articles such as dye woods, fruits, cof-
fee, and other things which are already on our
free list in the main. We are to admit sugar,
of which Mexico has none to export, and to-
bacco of q grade which we now get from Cuba.
There is a violent opposition, of course, to
this treaty, all sorts of stories being started
from remote and unexpected quarters appar-
emily but really emanating from asingle source.
The foreign diplomats are busily engaged in a
desperate effort to bring diseredit upon the
treaty and secure its rejection. The reason is
that at the present time the Germans practi-
cally monopOlize the business of the country,
and very naturally draw their supplies from
European markets, where they have the ad-
vantage of pauper labor and cheap production.
With the difference, however, of the tariff on
European goods and none on American manu-
factures, the foreign merchants in Mexico must
either surrender to Americans or come to the
United States to purchase. This state of things
naturally, from commercial point of view, the
Germans, English and French especially, are
sturdily resisting. The only other power largely
interested is Spain, and this treaty is a death
blow to her influence in tropic America. Her
West Indian possessions are being bled year
after year for the support of the home govern
ment, and at the same time over ninety per
cent. of their means for paying this tribute is
drawn from the United States through the
enormous purchases we make in Cuba and the
other islands, for which we pay cash, selling
nothing in return. Spanish craftsmanship is
running her colonies steadily, and any diversion
of the trade of the United States to Mexico is
depriving her of resources which she draws
from her islands. Naturally all the machina-
tions of Spanish diplomacy have been turned
to the Matching of schemes to throw the pro-
posed treaty into discredit First, it was said
that General Grant, in return for subsidies of
land to railroads in which he was interested
had secured the treaty. This did very well
until it was found that the treaty was more
beneficial to the United States than to Mexico
Next the tobacco and sugar interests were ex-
cited by predictions of free importations of
sugar and tobacco. 1t has since been found
that what tobacco does come will only take the
place of like amount from Cuba, while Mex
leo can only make about eleven per cent. of
what sugar is needed for her own people.
Finally, word of warning comes from ex
Governor MeCOok, of Colorado, predicting
dire commercial calamity in the way of whole
sale smuggling, to which the treaty will open
the doors. The trouble with Governor Nc
Cooks prophecy is the utter impossibility for
it to be carried out. In order that goods may
be smuggled across the border from Mexico to
the United States they must first enter the
former country, and the Mexican tariff is SO
high that it would be cheaper to enter them
regularly at New York and pay the duties i'm
posed by the United States, rather than to sub
nit to the Mexican tariff, and then run them
free across the border into this country. Should
this treaty be ratified by both governments it is
a sufficient guarantee against another of q SINH
lar character with any other country, because
Mexico cannot spare the duties, so that the
free list at the Mexican custom house is in
no danger of extension. At any rate, but
twenty-five articles are on the free list under
the treaty to be admitted from Mexico.
THE PRESIDENCY OF THE SENATE.
1t is reported that Senator David Davis
has given assurance to friends that there