San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-01
RLAINE,S SPEECH.

terest of the republican candidate for
governor, James q. Blaine spoke as
follows on national matters:
81 wish to declare the opinion that
the United States has reached the
point where one of its highest duties
is to enlarge the area of its foreign
trade. We are seeking the annexa.
ton of territory; certainly we do not
desire it unless 1t should be the Volt
ton of a people who might ask the
| priceless boon of a place under the
flag of the Union. 1 feel sure
that for long time to come
the people of the United States will
be wisely intent with our present
and will not launch out upon any
scheme of annexation. At the same
time, think We should be unusually
content If we did not seek to engage
in what the younger Pitt so we'll
| termed the annexation of trade.
| What mean to speak of briefly is
the spirit of reprocity, not in conflict
with the protective tariff, but supple
mentary thereto, and presenting a
field of enterprise that will richly re-
pay the effort and energy of the
American people. We shall find
it instructive and valuable to ex-
anime into the sources of our imports
and the destination of our exports,
| and to strike balance between the
| two. Take last year, 1889. We lost
forty-one millions in Cuba, from
which our imports were $22S, 000, 900,
and to which our exports were only
Sill 900, 900 in the republic of Brazil we
lost S5l, 100000. Our imports from
Brazil were $6O,OOO,OCO and our ex-
ports to Brazil were S9,OOO,0O9.
In Mexico We lost $4,000, 900.
Our imports from Mexico were
S2l 100000 and our exports to
Mexico were Sl1,O0O,00O. To sum
1t all up, our imports from the coun-
tries south of us, both insular and
continental, on this hemisphere were
S2l6, 100000. Our exports to them
were SAT 100000. The balance against
| us in our trade with those countries,
therefore, is Sl42,000,000 By no fig.
ure of speech can we flatter ourselves
into the belief that our trade
with American neighbors is in
prosperous condition. How
can this state OF affairs be REM
| edied? 1t is not due to the war tariff.
So entirely has the war tariff been
abolished that in the fiscal year end
ing June 80, 1889, the articles admit
ted free were considerably more than
| One-third of all imports. To be exact,
the imported articles that paid duty
eXcee led S4SS,000,000 in value, and
the imported articles that paid no
duty exceeded 1856, 900 in value.
The inevitable tendency is, think,
toward an increase of the free list.
"Our great mistake was made when
we began the repeal of the war duties
on so large an amount of exports. Any
duty repealed was favor and an adj
vantage 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 preceded by a most thorough
investigation and whenever it was
found practicable to export anything
from the United States and thus es-
tablish reciprocity of trade, it should
have been done. do not, of course,
intend to declare or to imply that
we could have secured the free ad-
mission OF 25S, 900 of American pro.
! ducts into the countries whose pro.
| ducts we purchase annually to that
amount. The richer country cannot
expect to get complete reciprocity
in amount from countries less veal
thy, but whatever we should have
received would have been clear gain
and In all future repeats of duties
whatever We may be able to get will
be clear gain. We encounter op.
position to this policy from those
who declare that if we enter into
| reciprocity of trade with one coun-
| try we must do so with all countries
and thus indirectly bring about COM
plete free trade. do not see the
logic of this, and am sure the fact
will not prove what is predicted. We
may enter into reciprocity with one
nation because we find advantage in
| 1t. We may decline to enter into
reciprocity with another nation be-
cause we see no advantage in it. Our
people do not realize the great fact
that if specie payment Is en-
| dangered in this country it is
likely to be endangered by
our present system of trade
with 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
| position. 1t Is very extraordinary
that the loss of these millions from
the banks in Wall street should be
accounted serious event when
we have lost much larger
amounts during the same