The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-01-13
Che Gtttettigencer~
wuEIllNo, W. va, JANUARY IS, 1850
An Hnllpenl EIse TradsII. Ilsa..

1uld tlLllb 4lg AlAIAS9Se VIZ tSSNNAsA "sNN~
in the reasonable limitsOlauewspSper arti'
Gle and is forced to be short, to COndense
his argument and state his propositions
in q Eord.saying manner which goes
straight to the mark and enables every
body to understand him.
The present complaint Of this scholarly
and eminent free trader Is that while we
sell to the world "the things which are Of
the highest and most universal demand
cotton, wheat, corn, meat, tobacco and
petroleum-we are 80 ungenerous as "a
refuse to buy in exchange the manufac
tured producta Of the countries to which
we sell, 'gThe Americans" says Prof
Sumner, "oiIer thIngSin the market which
the others must have, but refuse to taks IL
exchange what the others produce and
offer in exchange" and this attitude the
professor finds to be "arrogGnt and otien'
siye." He would change all this, and take
from other countries the products (mAnu'
iacsures) for which they cannot, certainly
do not, find market elsewhere.
How much would he takOP AS much AZ
much AZ We want2 We always GO-that
We 70 even further, aud for the sake Of
au apparent present saving rob our own
labor and capital Of employment which
ought 10 be theirs, and our farmers OF an
addition to the home market, in which
they already sell nins.tenths Of their pro-
ducts. Should we take Of foreign manu-
facturers as much as they offer us2 What
Is to become Of the American labor aud
capital invested at home in the indus
tries which produce articles similar to
those offered US by the manufacturers Of
other CountrlesP
The logic OF Prof. Summers argument
as Of The arguments Of all free traders, takes
no account OF American industries, which
are held to have ''slckly growth" under
protection and are said 10 live only as par
Gsites. Weare to "buy yin the cheapest mar
ket." Itiron can be bought cheaper In Eng
land and coal cheaper In Nova Scotia, than
in Pennsylvania and WeIt Virginia,we are
to buy the foreign products, otherwise
our attitude will be Arrogant and often
sive." Certainly our attitude cannot be
regarded by England as more arrogant
and offensive" than that Of Canada, or Of
her other dependencies which have set up
tariffs for the express purpose Of exclud'
ing English manufactures and fostering
their own. We are reminded by Prof.
Sumner that
Tho plans WHICH are now on foot, or
in process cf execution, for opening
up Asia, Africa and Australia are such
as must completely change the face oil the
globe, individually speaking, within the
next generation. Every development Of
now continent will be competition with
us in the way OF producing food and raw
materials, Cotton, wheat, meat, tobacco
and petroleum, are Just the things which
will be produced III Asia, Africa, Aus
tralia and South America, as those CONT
nents are developed.
This Is statement Of undisputed fact,
and 1t offers one Of the strongest reasons
why the country should never consent to
play the part assigned to 1t by England
from the foundation Of the American
colonies--why we should not devote our.
selves exclusively to raising cheap food
and cotton for England, that on tho basir
OF cheapness she may add to her enor-
nous wealth gained in manufacturing
for the world. flour agriCulturists are to
havein Liverpool SrowingCompetitionir from
Asia, Africa and Australia, there is more
reason why their home market shall be
made better by the increase Of our man
ufactures, not worse by the assassination
OF those industries.
Prof.. Sumner has fine contempt Of "a
political economy which Is built on the
theory Of putting truck farm alonGside Of
factory" which theory, he says, mo
matter how Historically II may be advo.
Gated, is not big enough for u.s." Yet
curiously enough 1t is this very theory put
in practice that has given this country Its
unexampled growth OF the past twenty
five years. We have, however, reversed
the order Of the evolution, planting the
factory in the woods or on the farm,which
by a process Of industrial development has
become truck patch, having lis market
made by the factory GlongGide.
The benefcent results Of this policy
Prof. Sumner will And in his own State Of
Massachusetts,, whose farm land Is worth
more than that Of Kansas because 1t is
nearer the factory and is used to raise
truck Tor the factory operative. This
policy may indeed lack bisnesg, but II is
safe and sure. For us the ilrst thing is
our homo market, which 10, and with ptu.
dent policies always will be, more TO us
than all the world beside. Alter this
foreign conquest BY our products. The
Yale economist vouchsateS this further
warnings
We are rapidly coming 10 q point where
The question will define itself very sharp.
" whether nation can have any policy
a. q nation except "a 4 member Of the
family Of nations. The arts and sciences
Ara every day obliterating the barriers and
demAfcAhonS which have DIVIDED the
human race, aud are uniting all mankind
In common destiny aud asolldAflty Of
interests.
This was quite a. we'll said forty years
ago by Golden, and has been said many
times siuCe by other free traders. Yet the
millennium has not dawned. The nations
Of the Garth have not become one family,
and each pursues It's own objects, with
legislation, With diplomacy and with war.
Nations do have, and until the mil.
lsnium will have, policies exclusively
their own, for their own protection or ag.