Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-25


iute mind feels on finding itself cramped
into narrow channels. There is chance
i n tne new congressman, like Lodge and
hussell, TO do something to make the voice
vi massachusetts, heard In behalf.of wider
commercial relations. Both will repre-
sent manufacturing districts. Lynn
makes nne shoes, and Mexico imports
me shoes from France. Worcester county
makes little of everything that this
country requires. l do not speak for
mexico alone, but for all Spanish America.
massachusetts, has a vital Interest-to
use trlte phrase-in securing an outlet
lor ner manufactures, and 1t is foolish to
say that, under proper conditions. she can
not supply the southern part of this hem.
isphere With
HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES IN DAILY USE.
rake paper, for example. ] have seer
~lthin few months, a very fair Begin
nlng or direct paper importation from
massachusetts, into Mexico. True. the
mexican tariff weighs heavily on paper,
but no heavier on Massachusetts paper
IMAM on the paper of the German, Belgian
OF French manufacturers. The paper
mace In Massachusetts is not 60 be sur
passed in the world, from the splendid
ledger paper made at Dalton to the fine
grade book paper turned out at busy
dolyoke. only wish we could supplant
european paper with the standard
grades produced in Massachusetts. But,
as said, beginning has been made,
ana II the present free paper agitation
now going on here induces the govern.
ment to take off, or greatly reduce, the
paper duties. 1t will be well for paper
makers at home to strike for the Mexican
market.
1t costs great deal of money here to
maintain Newspaper, ana speak from
daily and practical experience. The same
grade OF paper which in Boston cost &c. a
pound, gold, will cost 1Sc.. gold, here
with freights aud duties added. Paper is
the raw material " The newspaper; all
the rest is labor and brains. Triple the
cost oftheS Boston HeraId's paper and it
could not be the popular peoples journal
it is. That incubus of a heavy duty on
paper is what we must stand here. There
are few Mexican paper mills, but in
thirty yfRss, under virtually protection,
they have not succeeded in turning out
cheap paper. So the agitation for free
paper here has a solid ground to stand on.
The newspapers, daily and weekly. with
but an Insignificant exception, are fight
ing for tree paper. They point TO the
complete exposure of the protection
theory as applied to paper manufactured
here. They urge the claims of ma
tive authors and journalists. They
show that Mexican youths study.
TEXT BOOKS PREPARED IN FRANCE,
Spain and the United States, and that,
when native text book is gotten up here
it is printed on such wretched paper that
it is disgrace to the country. l made a
tour of the bookstores this week to look
into the matter and found that fully 80
per cent. of the books sold were printed
10 Paris, Madrid or New York-mainly In
the two former places. Yet we have here
accomplished men OF science, poets and
prose writer's, equal to the best OF the lit
erateurs OF Spain, and also skilled teach
ers, who cannot publish works on account
of the enormous cost. Printed books
come in at cent pound duty, but the
paper on which they are printed must pay
from five to ten cents a pound, If it comes
unstained by printers ink.
This policy stflesIthe native intellect; II
makes education costly; it keeps down
the national literary spirit; it reacts on
the progress of the country. Thus is the
protection to home industry theory ex-
empli6ed in Mexico. We have here
some excellent engravers and lithOgraph-
ers, but they cannot extend their bust
nesses as they might for the reason that
paper cost so high.
The trouble with the high tariffs is that
they cut both ways. Take paper in
Mexico. II we had no duty on paper, or
a mere nominal duty, Mexico would en-
ploy the services of vastly more printers
and many more engravers, and the ma
tional education, on which depends the
hope of the country for the future, would
be rapidly extended. If you took Next
can wool and henequen and textile fibre,
etc., without exacting duties, people
here could trade much more with
you. and your mills would not have to
shut down so often. There is PROBABLY
A GOLDEN MEAN
between absolute free trade and high
tariffs; certainly, free trade in raw IN ATE
rails would benefit everybody.
To show how pushing German and
Austrian merchants are, and how far
they 90 afield for trade, have been told
by merchants here that they have recently
received tenders for various classes OF
goods from people in Germany and Aus
tria of whom they have never before heard.
TheGermans watch The expectations ofthe
United States and England, then go to
work to see If they can't make and sell
the same goods cheaper. They study
every pointyand then, having mastered
the intricasiss Of the game. 60 to work to
Americans pride ourselves on being
s'smarter than all creation, but we fire.
quently get whipped soundly in foreign
commercial competition.
Had the recipr10ityltreaty been passed,
several of the heayiest mercantile houses
here would have established their pur-
chasing agencies in New, York city in-
stead of continuing the same In Ham
burg, Vienna and London. The slowly
but surely increasing trade with the
United States Is due to the endeavors
OF the American merchants here and OF
the commercial press in making known
the merits OF American wares. But 1t Is
a constant battle against active and
sharp German competition. The English
Minister here has recently said that the
Germans are outwittiDg the English, and
his testimony is the result OF experience
in Peru as wellss Mexico. Where are
the great Englieh commercial houses
of thirty and forty years ago? Once they
dominated the Mexican trade, now they
have given place TO the thrifty, busy,
HARD WORKING GERMAN MERCHANTS,
who are economical, clear-headed and
adaptable to the habits and ways OF the
people and government.
In the matter of electrical supplies, the
Austrians are competing with the Ameri-
cans and English here in this country.
They offer low prices and guarantee sat
isfaction with their goods. IL Is point
we must not forget, that the Germans and
Austrians are giving us, and are going to
give us, much trouble. II the American
Congress will help our manufacturers by
wise laws we can whip them out OF sight,
I'm, II No such help comes from Washing