Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-04-03
There Is mo IsecIprOciiy in
Trade.

There Is NO IsecIprOciiy in
Trade
Extracts from the address Of
Hon. Thomas II. Dudley, delivered
at Astoria, New York, Oct. %,
1891.
But the Free Trade brings for.
ward this argument-the doctrine
of reciprocity; that is, if you don't
buy of me, | won't buy of you. And
they say if we will bat repeal our
tariff and admit English goods and
French goods and German goods
into our country free Of duty that
our trade would be greatly lncreas.
ed. That these countries in Europe
would buy more of us and we more
of them. That every import would
bring a corresponding export. We
certainly would have to buy more
of them if we destroyed our own
manufactures. Suppose we were
to do this, would they buy or take
more of us ! They would buy them
just as they do now. They would
take what they required and moth
ing more.
My fellow.citizens, tell you there
never was a greater fallacy attempt
ed to be imposed upon an intelli-
gent people than this doctrine of
reciprocity.
You may search the commercial
history OF the nations of the world
for the last hundred years,as | have
done, and you will not find a single
instance in trade between any two
nations of Europe, during this peri
od of a hundred years, where this
principle has ever applied. Not
one There is nothing whatever in
tac doctrine.
If you will look at it onemOment
for yourselves you will see the utter
fallacy Of the argument. There Is
no such thing as national wealth,
in the ordinary acceptation of that
term,l mean as government wealth.
When we speak Of national wealth
it is the aggregate wealth of the
individuals comprising the govern
ment. Nor is there any such thing
as dealings between one nation and
another nation. All transactions
in the way of trade and business
are done by the individuals of each
natiOn-an American dealing with
an EnglishmaR, and an English
man dealing with an American.
And in their dealings they never
take into consideration the balance
of trade-whether it Is on the one
side or on the other.
Why, this will come home to every
practical man in this meeting if he
will consider it for one moment.
Ny friend John Patterson is a corn
merchant in Liverpool suppose he
wants to buy ten thousand bushels
of wheat, what does he do ? Does
he examine to see whether the
balance of trade is in favor of the
United States or against the United
States before he buys Not at all !
! If merchant were to do this he
wonld be called a Ounce or fool.
What he does is to Telegraph to
| New York to learn the prices there,
and to the Crimea or other wheat
market to get the prices there, and
he buys wherever he can purchase
at the lowest price. 1t is matter
of business, and he buys where he
can make the money he does not
care about the balance of trade. Sc
with a broker or merchant who
wants to buy n thousand bales OF
Gotten he buys wherever he can
get them the cheapest.
So does Mr.. Vanderbilt il he
wants to buy thousand tons OF
steel rails. DO you suppose he
looks at the balance of trade be-
tween the United States and Eng,
landl Not for a moment. Ii he
can buy them cheaper in New York
than in England he buys them in
New York, but if cheaper in Eng.
land than in the United States he
buys them there.
What does hecarc about the bal
ancc Of trade? 1t is a question OF
price and nothing else and, as
general rule, all these contracts
between the individuals Of the diff
fercnt countries are for cash OF
money, and there is no barter or
exchange Of different commodities
in them. The individual buys
where he can obtain the cOmmOdl.
ties the cheapest, and pays Tor it in
cash or money. This is the rule
And there is neither exchange mol
barter in 1t.
Therefore | say there is nothing
in the doctrine of reciprocity as put
forth by the Free Traders, and
never has been.
TWAS VERY BEAUTIFUL.-They
sat in lover-like simplicity at the
starboard end of the sofa, twitter
ing sweet nothings that were car