Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-18
AGAIN
Mr.. Blaine Sets Forth His Ideas
Regarding Reciprocity.
Forcible Answers to the Arguments
of Certain Wise Men.
His Opinion of the Proposed
Tariff Bill.
OUR SECRETARY OF STATE DRAWS
A STRONG CASE.


Islands and South America should BE
Allowed to Show Themselves-The Sub
ject of Sugar Taken Up as AN Object
Lesson Latin American Affairs in Gem
eral Discussed.
Boston, Sept. 18.--The following let
ter has been received from Hon. James
G. Blaine:
BAR HARBoR, Me-, Sept, 1j 1890.
Colonel w. w. Clapp, Editor Boston
Journal, Boston:
Ny DEAR SIR am in receipt Of your
favor, asking me if | can attend the annual
banquet of the Boot and Shoe club, of
Boston, in October. You add that the
members care in hearty sympathy with
my views regarding the best method of
extending American trade, and would be
glad to have me address them.
regret that my engagements will not
permit me to accept the invitation, but
you will please thank the club for the
compliment they pay me. ] am glad to
hear that the members of the club are in
terested in II system of reciprocal trade
with Latin-America. They can do great
good by counteracting = certain phase ol
New England opinion, entertained at
home as well as in Washington IA opin-
ion | must regard as in the highest degree
unwise and hurtful to New England inter
ests New England is to receive in the
new tariff the amplest protection for every
manufacturing industry within her bOr-
ders, both great and small and it will r.
my judgment be both ineXpelient and
injurious for her representatives to disce
gard measure which will promote west
ern interests
/ have lately received letter fro II NJ Z.
j. +. limbs, of St. Louis, a leading repre-
sentative of the flour interests and prcsi-
dent of the late convention of miller at
Minneapolis. Speaking for the graia aai
flour interest of that great section, Mr.
lmbs says that "advices of rcc3nt d1te
from Cuba state that the duties now col
lected on American flour are ut a hi 1er
rate than was first supposed TO be tn
case And he adds: II respectfully snG-
NIT that the gAmerican miller will be
unable to retain any part OF the Cubln
flour trade unless immediate relief Is Sc
cured.
In view of these facts, is it possible taat
protectionist congress can even think OF
opening our market to CuEa'3 products
free, while allowing great western In
interest to be absolutely excluded from
her market by a prohibitorY tarirI2 With
reciprocity, the west can annually sell
many hundred thousand barrels of flour
in the markets of Cuba and Porto Rico,
together with a large mass of other agri
cultural products. Without reciprocity
she will be driven more and more from
those markets.
Giving the fullest protection to nll east
ern interests, as the proposed tariff bill
does, surely no man of good Judgment,
certainlylnO protectiOnist of wise forecast,
wishes to expose Il western interest to
serious injury, especially when it is mani
festly easy to protect it and promote it,
manifestly cas- because at this very time
the boards of trade, the chambers OF com
merce and the public opIion in Havana
are demanding reciprocal trade with the
United States, select Cuba and Porto
Rico for examples because in certain quar-
ters it has been said that while we might
secure reciprocity with some little coun-
tries in South America we could do moth
ing with the Spanish islands. Let us at
least give the Spanish islands an opportu-
nifty to speak for themselves.
Certain wise men ask: How can we sell
farm products in South America when
the same things are produced there? Ce-
reals are undoubtedly grown in the south
ernmost parts Of South America but the
wise men will remember that cereals and
sugar do not grow in the same soil, and
that the sugar countries Of South aud
Central America and the West India
islands contain forty millions of people
who import the largest part of their bread
stuiTs Indeed the larg, st part Of tine
sugar product of all Latin America is at
our doors, and we can greatly enlarge onr
exchanges there if congress will give rs
the opportunity for reciprocal trade,
Another class observe that they want
time to study the system. TO this might
reply that the best method Of studying
a system is to observe its practical work
ings. While studying in the ahstract and
refusing to take some object lessons, these
gentlemen propose to open our markets
to Latin-American products free of
charge without asking Latin America TO
give us in turn some freedom in their
markets. The object lesson Immediately
before us is the treatment of the sugar
question. Shall we make Latin-Amer.c ca
n gift of that trade? When we have
studied that lesson we shall be prepared
for the second,
The worst proposition of all is put for
| ward by those who say: Let us put sugar
on the free list now, and next year
| we will take up the subject OF
| reciprocity" If | understand their
! logic, it is to make sugar free this year
/ without condition, and next year to ask
Spain if she will not kindly consent to
| grant us reciprocal trade. Holding the
| complete vantage ground ourselves. the
| proposed policy transfers % vantage
! gIound to Spain. Instead OF granting q
| favor to Spain to-day, we are TO ask her
! for a favor tomorrow. Those who axe
this ground belong to that class Of care
! fnl guardians Of property who prepare y
very strong lock fer the stable after the
horse is gone.
do not mean, in anything have saId
to imply that reciprocity is only western
interest. As remarked in a note to sen
ator Frye, it will prove beneficial aad
! profitable both to the farm and the shop
| What, for instance. could be more natural
or more just rhan that. ia giving free
market in the United States to hide,
from the Argentine Republic, We should
ask the Argentine Republic 10 give q
better market than we now have for tht
product OF leather from the United
states The many forms in which can
business interests will be promote
by reciprocity cannot be known
until the active commercial mrf