St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-30

in the air, in the water, on the earth and
under the earth. The necessities of the
government were so great that we could
allow scarcely anything. to be i'm
ported without paying tribute.
and l think no patriotic man
can deny that that was a
wise policy. We weae not then study
ing the philosophy of trade relations,
but how to save the life of the natlen.
Money was the primal necessity. and we
seized it wherever we could reach it
lawfully, but during the last eighteen
yeaas great change has been made. SO
entirely has the war tariff been abol
ished that in the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1899, the articlhs admitted free
were considerably more than one-third
of all the importf. To be exact, the i'm
ported articlas that paid duty exceeded
38,000,000 in value. The inevitable
tendency is, think. toward an increase
Of the free list. Our great mistake was
made when we began to repeal the war
duties on so large an amount of i'm
ports. Any duty repesled was favor
and an advantage to the exporting
country, and we have
Asked Nothing in Return.
Instead of this course (Which l must
say was one of careleSSneSS and waste
fulness by both political partieS) every
repeal of duty should have been pre-
ceded by a most thorough investigation.
and whenever it was found practicable
to export anything from the United
States and thus establish reciprocity OF
trade it should have been done. l do
not. of course, intend to declare or to
imply that we could have secured the
fr1 In, rDfS SOSn Of nri
can products into countries whose prod
uctS we purchase annually to that
amount. The richer country cannot eX
pect to get a complete reciprocity uin
amount from countries less wealthy;
but whatever we should have received
would have been a clear gain,
as in all future repeal OF duties
whatever we may be able to
get with a clear gain. 1t is not ques-
tion of setting deliberately to work to
establish reciprocal exchanges. But
with all the duties we have thus far re-
pealed, it has been question OF wheth-
er we should get something or get moth
ing. We have chosen with our eyes
closed to get nothing. l hope now with
our eyes open that we shall in future
choose to get something. We encounter
opposition to this policy from those who
declare that if we enter into reciprocity
of trade with one country, we must do
SO with all countries, and thus Indirect
ly bring about complete free trade. l
do not see the logic of this, and | am
sure the fact will not prove what is pre-
dicted. We may enter into reciprocity
with one nation because we find advan-
tage in it. We may decline to enter into
reciprocity with another nation because
Il fCrr nnJ fN
is simply
A Policy of Circumstance
to be determined favorably or adversely,
according as its operation may make or
lose for us. To say that because we en-
ter into reciprocal relations with one
country on one thing, we must enter
into reciprocal relations with all other
countries on all things is to my mind as
absurd as to say that if L buy horse to
day must necessarily buy a drove OF
asses tomorrow. All objections of that
kind are, Iamssure, unfounded, and will
practical trial. Our people do not
realize the great fact that if specie pay
ment is endangered in this country it
is likely to be endangered by our pres
ent system of trade with the Latin
American states. The few millions of
gold that have gone out of the country
within the last three months have
created uneasiness in certain quarters
as to our financial condition. 1t
is very extraordinary that the
loss of these millions from banks in
Wall street should be accounted SO Sc
rious an event when we have lost
much larger amount during the same
period from the condition of our trade
with the countries south of US without
exciting the least observation. When
our merchants and bankers come to
thoroughly appreciate this fact we shall
receive aid and influence in the reform
of our trade from quarter which thus
far it has been impossible to enlist.
The large audience listened with the
profoundest attention. and his speech
met with great approval. Hon. William
E. Mason, of Illinois, followed, indors-
ing in an enthusiastic speech the prin-
ciples of reciprocal trade. The meeting
closed with an earnest speech by Hon.
Henry Cabot Lodge, advocating, before
the people, the federal election bill,
warning the voters that the govern
ment must protect all it's citizens in the
right to vote. His presence was uneX
pected, and the people greeted him with
a warm welcome. About $500 persons