San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-17
PROTECTION AND RECIPROCITY.

TO unuer5laud now Que CAL De u COu-
sistent protectionist and yet honestly
endorse reciprocity. They assume to
think that blind following of Mr..
Blaine has led the republican party
to accept reciprocity, despite its al
legged antagonism to protection, and
that Mr.. Blaine in advocating reci-
procity has necessarily repudiated
protection. Nothing could be farther
from the truth.
OF the commodities received into
this country from abroad, the major
ity are entered free of duty, showing
that free trade in some commodities
does exist side by side with restricted
trade in others. The tree trade is ad-
missable where it does not interfere
detrlmentaliy with American indus
try, and is not considered antagonis-
tic to protection principles. Reel
procity carries this idea one step
farther and arrapges to admit, free
of duty, goods and products
against which American producers
would ordinarily demand protection,
but which protection is waived on ac-
count of some counter balancing ben
eft, some reciprocal advantage Sc
cured in return for such waiver. The
only question is one of benefit, and if
a greater good is secured through re-
ciprocity than by its refusal a greater
practical protection is the result.
This is just what is contended for
in the proposed reciprocity measures
advocated by Mr.. Blaine and the
republican party. Some few articles
will be admitted free that will come
into competition with American pro-
duction, but offset to this will be the
advantages of an enlarged trade, and
the opening of market, now practi-
cally closed to us, which will absorb
millions of American goods annually.
Mr.. Blaine has made himself perfect
ly clear on this point. He would ad-
NIT no foreign products to our mar
kets without corresponding, recipro-
cal concessions to our own goods.
In this proposed reciprocal ex-
change with the other American re-
publics, however, there is a political
feature of the policy not to be over
looked. The Americanism of Mr..
Blaine is the Americanism of the old
Monroe doctrine. The policy of this
school is to build up a distinct
Americanism and to strengthen the
commercial ties that bind the family
of American republics together and
make them, as tar as is profitably
practicable interdependent one upon
the other. The idea is to distinctive
Iy and openly individuaIize the re-
publics and form them into COM
mercial alliance offensive and defen-
sive, as against old world and mon
archical alliances. Mr.. Blaine and
the Monroe school see that this thing
is practica ole and perfectly con-
sistent with the protection of the
new world industries from rulnous
competition with the underpaid labor
Of the overcrowded populations of
Europe, Asia and Africa. The policy
is certainly a shutting up the gates
t)wards the old world, but it is equal
ly an opening of the new world gate g,
and this no less because this course is
profitable than because it is in line
with the Monroe principle. II
is the absolute conviction , oil
the political wisdom of this govern
ment, today, that our largest
returns lie in the direction of South
and Central American trade; also
that trade can be withdrawn from
European channels, and that its with
drawal and transfer to the United
States will more than compensate fol
any concessions we may be required
to make in order to secure it. Thus
it is that the protectlonIsts find in re
cipocity with the sister republics al
enlargement of their trade borders
without in any wise opening our mar
kets to the ruinOus competitions c
the pauper labor of the old world.
; L lie Effects OF Mental Exhaustion
, Many diseases, especially those {
| the nervous system, are the product
T of daily renewed mental exhaustion