Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-05-22
WILL THERE BE RerALlArIoNq

merciai Independents and Commercial
War.
1t is considered by many to be a mark
of our sturdy Americanism" that our
tariff makers have gone about their
work with absolutely no regard for other
nations With these people it is held to
be high and glorious sort of patriotism
to shut ourselves OF from the rest of the
world. to build a Chinese wall of high
protection around us and to live in hap
py exclusiveness from the rest of man
kind. We are such a vast country, they
argue, we have such enormous undevel-
oped resources within our borders, and
we are withal such an ingenious and en-
terprising people, that we are sufficient
unto ourselves and should make our
selves commercially independent" of
other nations. AS we have got the best
bone on the tray, we will snap and snaI
and fight for it against every dog in the
pack.
But nations that try to live on the
swapping and snar1ing principle will
find out sooner or later that it does not
pay, whether this principle be held with
view to protecting our own bone or in
order to infiict an injury on some pauper
dog not so close to the tray as we are.
When we talk about making ourselves
commercially independent by shut
ting out foreign products in order that
our own people shall be compelled to
manufacture those products for them
selves, we forget that our prosperity de-
ponds in large measure upon our abil-
ity to sell our own products in foreign
markets. This is especially true of our
agricultural products. The farmers are
complaining everywhere now of hard
times; all agricultural products, except
cotton, are lower than for many years;
and corn has been burnt for fuel in sew
eral Western States during the past win
ter. Farmers will readily understand
then the Importance to them of foreign
market for their surplus products
Last year we sold abroad a grand total
of $S14, 600, 900 worth of goods of all
kinds. Of this total the growers of cot
ton sent out S266, 1000, 900 worth; the
wheat growers over SIS, OO0, 900 in wheat
and flour, and the corn growers
some 1876, 900, 900. Adding other farm
products it is found that our farm
ers sold abroad last year very near
$500, OOe, 900 worth of products. These
figures are taken from the official re-
ports Of the Treasury Department. They
show that our farmers sent out three
fourths of all our exports for 1889. This
large proportion of agricultural prodacts
shows the farmer how important the sor-
eign market is TO him. The greater the
demand for our farm products abroad,
the higher and stead ier Will prices bein
Our own market 1t is in liverpool that
the prices are ixed, and the condi-
tions affecting prices are She demand
and the supply in all parts of the world
Just now there is danger that on,
farmers will lose a part of tFreir foreigr'
market. and that portion of their
products heretofore exported will be
kept at home to- 6epress prices still
further. Reports come from various
sources that fareigm nations are about
TO enter upor a. plan of 5etaliat on
against us, in view Of the Chinese wall
that the high tariff party in Congress
means to erect against those nations
The Canadians are up in ARIES against
us The Mckinley Eill wils operate
disastrously to the export trade of Can
ada, as about half the foreign trade of
Canada is with the United States We
said the Canadians lasIyear some fifty
million dollars worth. of goods, and
bought from them about seven millions
less than that. Tie protectioniBts ought
certainly be satisfied with this showing,
as what they CALI the ''balance' of trade"
is largely in OUT favor. But the pro-
teasionists are notfsatisieds the balance
of srade'' must be- made sill mere favor
allie to US, and so up goes<the tariff wall.
Bat the Tory Government of Canada
does not mean tOsit idlwby and see the
Canadian export trade damaged without
striking blow ts5save it, By mo means.
The Tory Cabinetsat Ottawa, has boldly
proclaimed policy of. commercial war
fare against US. If we. refuse to buy
from Canada, the Cabinet at OTTAWA does
not mean that Canada shall buy from us.
live refuse to buy forty-three million
dollars worth of goods from, Canada, she
Will refuse to buy fifty millions from us.
And who among usare to' be hurt by
this? One provision: of tine proposed
Canadian tariff is to increase the duty
on cattle, sheppard hogs, to- 80 per cent.
adj valorem; and large delegation of
meat packers from MONTREAL has been to
Ottawa to protest against this and to
show that unless they camget their live
animals from us they will have to close.
We sold Canada last year more than
twenty million dollars worth of agri-
cultural products, and: many of the
manufactured articles sold to Canada
were composed of farm products as their,
raw material.
From all this the American farmer
will see that Canada's- market is of great
Importance 10 him. If this market is
closed to the American farmer by the
recently proposed Canadian tariff it will
mean that a large part Of the twenty
millions of farm prodhe4s now solds to
Canada Will have to stay 1T home, to- be
sold in the already glutbed home market.
Is it not wiser to faklow Mr.. Butter
worth, of Ohio, and offer unrestricted
reciprocity to Canadb2 He has a, bill
before Congress which proposes absolute
freedom of exchange between US and
Canada. Let us have free trade, says
Mr.. Butoerworth, buh only in longitud-
inal lines; and theme is a large party in
Canada that is in sympathy with this
movem ent. The Canadian Liberals
have made Mr.. BsGterworth's bill part
of their platform and if wise. counsel
prevails at Washington the two coun-
tr es, may be brought into closer trade
relations in the future.
E,.z.y,, a1Sr, fhpro res r,f