The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-02-23
WANTSCLOSER RELATIONS
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND
SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS.

Important Measure for Congress to Talk
About-.Points of Bland's Plea for Sill
yer - Generous Northern Veterans -
Picked Up at the Treasury-Facts.
WASHINGTON CrrY, FEB. &.-An i'm
portant measure will be presented to the
senate soon having for its object closer re-
lations between the people of the United
States and South America The author OF
the measure is Senator Frye, and he con-
siders it the most important one that Is
likely to come before congress. The bill
dire is the president to invite the American
nations to send delegates to a peace congress
to be held in Washington Oct l, 1S'6. Each
country is to send as many delegates as it
chooses, but is to have but one vote. One
hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to
entertain the delegates.
The objects OF the convention are to form
a defensive alliance against European MOL
arches and other aggressors, to establish a
customs union, steamship communication
between American ports, uniform system
of customs regulations, classification and
valuation and invoices, common silver
coin to he legal tender in commercial trans
actions between citizens Of all the
contracting nations, and Ito devise plan
for the arbitration of disputes arising be-
tween the nations. The president i, author
lied to appoint twenty-four delegates,
equally divided as to politics, three of whom
shall be learned in international law, and
the remainder men who are actively en-
gagged in agriculture, manufacturing, and
the expectation and importation of mer-
chandise. These delegates are to serve with
out compensation other than the payment Of
their actual expenses.
In conversation regarding this bill Mr..
Frye said 81 am in favor of customs
union, an American zollverein, if you please
reciprocal Concessions by each Of the
American nations We now admit free of
duty nearly all of the products of Central
| and South America, while high duty is
levied upon all our products that go down
| there I'm quite sure we could get some
valuable concessions by asking for them
The report OF the South American commits
| sion proves this" He added that a most
| important element in this scheme was lines
| of American vessels to South American
ports 1t was impossible that we could do
anything commercially with our South
| American neishbors as long as all
the lines of communication were in foreign
hands, as they would naturally divert the
trade to their own country. Although we
| paid from S.;,,O0,o00 to Sloo,0o0,0o0 a year
| to South America for goods We bought there,
| all this money found its way into tue peck
| cts of British and German Uraleimen This
would probably be the case if the proposed
international legal tender silver money
| proposition was accepted as long
| as the balance of trade with
| South America was against us; but
| even if such was the case and much OF
the silver again came back to this country
from Europe, it wolld still put a large
amount of that kind OF currency in circua
ton and help to dispose of our silver, as 9
great deal of it would necessarily be alb
sorbed by South America, leeause only
| three of those countries were silver produc
ing nations The great object of making q
silver coin that would be legal tender al
over South America and in the United
States would be to enable this country to pay
It's balances to South Ameri q in that coin.