Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-11-23
Our Brazilian Commerce.

"A correspondent OF tue new oTleaIls
Picayuns, in an article that has been
widely copied, sets forth the lopsided
condition Of our trade with Brazil, and
argues from 1t that our government
should straightway subsidizs steamship
lines to that country:
"Our annual imports OF Brazilian coffee,
sugar, rubber, hides, DC, have amounted
Of late TO upwards OF e50. 000. COO on an aver.
Sesypsnd light mschinery, iron and steel,
locomotives. agricultural implements, pc
$roleum, hardware, cutlery, IS, &c,
amounts 70 about 80, 600, 600 annually on an
average. The balance Of
Braxiiian trade against us averages, there.
fore, en, COZ. 600 per, year, stated in round
Brasil In cash, which ia sent from that
ecuntry to Europe and expended mainly
n purchasing products OF English, German
1nd French manufacture that can be made
heee - well, and sold % low, II our gov
esnment would put our ship owners on
footing with those OF Europe"
he places quite too much value
upon the transportation problem and
totally neglects the endemic effects of
the excessive tariff. We ought to pay
Tor our coffee In manufactured goods,
but we pay ncash, ,because.the Brazilians
can get more for this money in England
Shan they could in America. They can
do this because the British manufacturer
Seb his raw materials cheaper, and the
~feight 70 Brazil from England is less
than the freight to Brazil by way of
England, as Americans goods have to
travel. Our exports must follow this
very circuitou5 route, because American
built steamers can not compete with the
cheap and heavily subsidized British
ships. The government is urged
TO force this competition by subsidlzipg
American lines OF steamers which would
make channels Of trade to Brazil. In
other words, the people are asked to pay,
In the form Of postal subsidy, the differ
ence In freight between the British and
the proposed American line, and the fact
that all the great powers of Europe have
adopted . similar plan Of subsidies gives
weight to the suggestion. But even with
this arrangement it is very doubtful
whether we could, without a modification
Of our tariff, induce Brazil to take pay
f0r coffee In merchandise made costly by
too highly taxed material and labor, and
u should bs noted that the history of
subsidixed steamshiplines isnot altogether
: record Of prosperity. France has made
. notorious commercial failure of subsi-
dies though she still maintains the lines
= . matter Of pride and military policy.
The more ns.dral and proper way to build
up An export trade with Brazil, as we'll as
with other nations, is to first make the
trade American and then the ships.
When the bulk of the merchandise going
into Brazil comes from the United
States the ships will take the
shortest route with their cargoes,
whatever their nationality, and the
British will then soon tire OF paying
subsidies to lines working solely for our
benefit. We can and should control
with our manufactures otter markets
besides our own, and under a tariff
properly arranged our more intelligent
labor and better machinery would enable
rs to do so. Spain, the Netherlands,
Russia, Belgium and Australia take
more Of our goods than they send us, but
from most of the world We get more than
Ne give and the balance paid in cash is
usually expended for British manufac-
tures. 1t should also be remembered
that when ships only carry cargoes one
way the freights are heavier.