Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-09-04
Blaine on Reciprocity

" kLcLfll-Cs oAc-s EAA1of A4z~tf 100
James G.. Blaine touched on our rela
tons with foreign countries and the
necessity OF reciprocity with the South
American states He said
As have already intimated, am
here to speak Of the expansion Of our
foreign trade, not By any novel process,
not by any mode that will shock or dis
| turb home industries, not by any mode
/ that will invite our people 10 rash ex-
periments or that will launch Us in
doubtful and dangerous investments
What mean TO speak Of briefly. i q
system of reciprocity, not IN conflict
with protective tariff. but supplement-
arr thereto. and presenting a field of
enterprise that will richly repay the
effort and energy Of the American peo-
pie. We shall find it instructive and
valuable TO examine into the sources of
our imports and the destination of our
exports. and to strike balance between
the two. Take last year-iSS9. In that
year our whole exports to all the cOun-
tries in the continents of Europe, Asia
and Africa, and TO Australia, Canada
and Hawaii, amounted in round num-
bers to 1868, 600, 900; and our imports
from all those countries amounted in
round numbers to 1929, 900, 600. show
that from that vast trade we had a ball
ance of S129, 100000 in our favor.
equivalent to that amour. OF gold
among our people. But when all the
accounts were closed, instead of having
1929. 10000 in our favor, we had a bal
ance of S13.000.000 against us from our
foreign trade. We must therefore have
lost Sl42. 100000 in our commerce with
the countries outside of those to which
have referred. Where could we have
found such large adverse balance?
lie. me tell YOU, we lost Sal 100000 in
Cuba, from which our imports were
S52, 900. 900 and to which our exports
were only S1l,000,000. Forty-one mil
lions is a pretty large sum to lose IN one
island in a single year In the republic
of Brazil we lost S5l 100000. Our
imports from Brazil were 500, 900, 600.
Our exports to Brazil were S9.000,O0O.
In Mexico we lost S10,000,000. I'm.
ports from Mexico were S21, 900, 900;
our exports to Mexico were Sll, 10000
To sum it all up, our imports from
countries south of US, both insular and
continental, on this hemisphere were
S2l6, 900, 600; our exports to them were
S74, 900. 600. The balance against US in
cur trade with those countries, there
fore, is S142, 100000, exceeding our
gains from all the rest of the world by
SIS, 600, 900. BY no figure of speech
can we tiatter ourselves into the belief
that our trade with our American neigh
bors is in prosperous condition.
Ii is not q question of set
ting deliberately to work to establish
reciprocal exchanges. But with all the
duties we have thus far repealed, it has
been a question of whether we would
, get something or get nothing. We
| have chosen with our eyes closed to get
nothing. | hope now with our eyes open
that we shall in the. future choose to get
something. We encounter opposition
/ to this policy from those who declare
that il we enter into reciprocity of trade
with one country, we must do so with
| all countries and thus indirectly bring
about complete free trade.
Il do not see the logic of this and
am sure the fact will 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 we see no advantages in it..
RECIPROCITY is simply policy OF circum-
stance. 20 be determined tavorablY or
adverse, according as its operation may
make or loose for US 70 say that be-
cause we enter 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 | buy
a horse to-day | must necessarily buy a
drove of asses tomorrow. All Oblec-
tIons If that kind are. | am sure, I'M
founded and will not stand the test of
argument or a practical trial. Our peo-
pie do not realize the great fact that if
specie payment is endangered IN this
country il is likely to be endangered by
our present system OF trade with the
Latin American states. The few mil
lions of gold that have gone out Of the
country within the last three months
have created uneasiueSs in certain
quarters as 10 our financial position.
1t is very extraordinary that the loss of
these millions from banks IN Wall
street should be accounted so serious 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 mer-
chants and bankers come to thorough
" appreciate this fact we shall receive
aid and influence in the reform of our
trade from a quarter which thus far il
has been impossible TO enlist.
STANLEY NEW BOOK.
Two handsomely bound books have