The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1890-10-24
EXPORT DISCOUNTS.
THE DISHONEST ARGUMENTS OF
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS.

Exposed-The Discounts for Export
Only of Foreign Railroads.
The Reform clubs experts, in circulat-
ing ISLANDERS against American manu-
facturers, are merely doing the work Of
the foreign mill owners, who expect
some return from their contributions.
Free-trade newspapers, lacking honest
argument, reproduce in all their bald
untruthfulness the sensational state
ments about export discounts. and Dem
ocratic senators father the calumnies by
having them inserted in The Congress
sional Record.
These statements are maliciously dis
honest and misleading. When Senator
Vest, assuming their truth, says: ''For-
ty-fve per cent. is put upon agricultural
implements for the purpose of protecting
the manufacturer, and | say that it has
protected the manufacturer so effectively
that he is now able to go into the unpro-
tected markets of the world and sell for
one-half to the foreign consumer or user
of agricultural implements that he sells
to the American farmer" he must know
that he is slandering his fellow citizens.
He mas undoubtedly read the state
ment of The Mail and Export Journal
the best authority on the subject.
''The truth of the matter is just this:
The quotations named, as taken from
the foreign price current, are for the
wholesale or jobbing trade, and not for
the foreign consumer, the latter being
required to pay as much for the goods
which he buys from the dealer in his
own country as the latter deems sufi-
Gent to reimburse him for the cost of
importation, with his profit added"
He knows perfectly well that the price
currents of all sorts of hardware and ag
ricultural implements issued for the
trade in the United States give prices
which are subject to large trade dis
counts, running from 10 to rs or even 80
per cent.
For the senator to go on from day to
day repeating statements and drawing
differences respecting American manu-
facturers, and to their prejudice, which
he knows to be false, is, we submit I'M
worthy of his position and cannot fail in
the end to detract from his reputation
for common honesty.
1t is dishonest in Mr.. Vest to attempt
to distort into robbery the refusal of
American manufacturers to sell agricult-
ural implements to farmers at wholesale
rates when he knows that the same rule
obtains in every other industry, whether
protected or unprotected. The manu-
facturer does not profit by listing plows
at the retail price while selling them
with discount to the dealer. The well
known effect is that he sells almost no
plows at the retail price. The trade is
thrown into the hands of the middle
nan, and the manufacturer refuses to
undersell him. If there is any injustice
in this it has existed in trade from time
immemorial, and has nothing to do with
tariffs. There is no robbery" about it.
Senator Vest blunders in assuming
that the export journals circulate among
the farmers of South America and ad-
vertise to supply them with agricultural
implements at lower price than charged
American farmers. The fact is that
farmers rarely, if ever, see such papers.
The Mail and Export Journal and The
Australasian circulate almost exclusively
among large purchasers, and The Engin-
eering and Mining Journal contains lit
tie, as its name indicates, that would in
terest farmers.
A true index of the class to which the
readers of any paper belong is its adver-
Using list, and that of The Engineering
and Mining Journal shows that its agri-
cultural readers are few indeed. The
issue of Aug. 80, for example, has nearly
400 advertisers of at least 100 different
classes of goods or services, and not one
of them offers agricultural implements.
This paper knows that it is quite safe in
asserting that "any foreign subscriber"
can buy at the low rates advertised, for
1t knows how few Of them are farmers.
In this connection the following, show
ing the export discounts on freights
given by English roads, viii be interest
ing:
Export discounts are given by the En-
glish roads in many instances, and where
such reductions in freight charges are
made on English roads they are met by
German, Belgium and Holland roads,
except as hereafter mentioned:
Coal-Average British reduction in
freight when exported, rs per cent, and
there is note that ''There is no Ger
man or Dutch seaport so near the
1nines." The Belgiums make reduc-
ton.
In hardware, cutlery, saws and tools
export rates only are given in all four
countries.
Cotton Goods Average British reduc-
ton on export, 20 per cent; none in the
other countries.
Wooden, Worsted and Stuff Goods
Average British reduction on export, 13
per cent; none in the other three coun-
tries.
Earthenware and China = Average
British reduction on export, 40 per cent.
There is also reduction in the other
three countries
General Machinery-Average British
reduction on export, 67 per cent. There
is also a reduction on Belgian exports;
none in the other countries.
Agricultural Implements Gron)-Av-
erage British reduction on export, 20 per
cent. The Germans and Dutch also