Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-06-28
CUSTOMS UNION.

| gre.s Declared to be OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
tary BIainc's Recommendations Con-
| cerning the Matter.
WASHINGTON, June 20.--The Presi-
dent yesterday transmitted to Congress
the report and recommendations of the
international conference on "customs
union" The report upon the customs
union" adopted by the international
American conference is accompanied by
letter Of Mr. Blaine to the President,
briefly reviewing the proceedings of the
conference, which declared that partial
reciprocity between the American re-
publics was not only practicable but
must necessarily increase the trade and
development Of the material resources
Of the countries adopting that system,
and it would in all probability bring
about as favorable results as those oh
tained by free trade among the different
States of this Union.
The conference recommended, there
fore, that the several governments rep
resented negotiate reciprocity treaties
upon such basis as would be accept
able in each case, taking into copsid-
Grafton the special situations, conditions
and interests of each country and with
a view to promote their common well
fare"
"only those" writes Mr.. Blaine, "who
have given the subject careful study re-
| alize the magnitude of the commerce OF
these sister nations. In 1883 the COM
bined imports OF Chilli and the Argen-
tine Republic reached the enormous
sum of S23S, 127,69S. The statistics of
Chilian commerce for 1889 have not yet
been received, but the imports of the
Argentine Republic for that year were
S143, ,000,0 ,000 These imports consisted
in the greater part of articles that could
have been furnished by the manufactur-
ers of the United States, yet, in 1883, of
the total of 1888, 900, 600 imports, we con-
tributed but S13, 3,O0O,O 900, while England
contributed S90,OOo,oOO, Germany S4S,-
100000 and France S34, ZOO. 600.
with our extraordinary increase in
population and the even more extraor-
iinary increase in material wealth, our
progress in trade with South America
has been strangely hindered and limited
In 1868 our total exports to all the world
were 1915, 49,, 900, of which $50, ,197, 600
went to Spanish America-fourteen per
cent In 1SSS our exports to all the
world were S742, 26S, 900, an increase OF
100 per cent, while but s69, 273, 900 went
to Spanish America, little more than
nine per cent, and the greatest gain
100000 000) has been noticed during the
last two years.
1t was the unanimous Judgment of the
delegates that our exports to those
countries and to the other republics
could be increased to great degree by
the negotiation CT such treaties as are
recommended by the conference. The
practical, everyday experience of our
merchants engaged in the trade demon.
strates beyond question that in all
classes of merchandise which we have
long and successfully produced for ex-
port, they are able to compete with
their European rivals in quality and in
price, and the reiterated statements
that our Latin-American neighbors do
not buy of us because we do not buy OF
them, or because we tax their products,
has been annually contradicted by the
statistics of our comG- arce for a quarter
of a century.
The lack of means for reaching their
markets has been the chief obstacle in
the way of increased exports. The car
rying trade has been controlled by
European merchants, who have forbid
den an exchange of commodities. The
merchandise we sell in South America
is carried therein in American ships, or
foreign ships chartered by American
commission houses The merchandise
we buy in South America is brought to
us in European vessels that never take
return cargoes, but sail for Liverpool,
Havre, Bremen or Hamburg with wheat,
corn and cotton. There they load again
with manufactured goods for the South
American markets and continue their
triangular voyages, paying for the food
they are compelled to buy of us with the
proceeds of the sale of their manufac-
lures in markets that we could and
would supply if we controlled the carry
ing trade.
There is no direct steamship com.
United States and the Argentine Re-
public and there are no direct banking
facilities. The international American
conference has earnestly recommended
the establishment of both, but recipro-
cal exchanges of tariff concessions will
be equally effective in stimulating COM
merce and in increasing the export OF
the produc ts of which we have the larg-
est surplus, not only to the progressive
republic named, but to all the other
American nations"
In closing his letter, the Secretary
says: Fifteen of the seventeen repub-
lies with which we have been in confer.
ence have indicated by the votes OF
their representatives in the interna-
tional American conference and by other
methods which 1t is not necessary to de-
fine, their desire to enter upon recipro-
cal commercial relations with the United
States; the remaining two express equal
could they be assured that
their advances would be favorably con-
sidered.
ITO escape the delay and uncertainty |
of treaties, it has been suggested that a
practicable and prompt mode of testing |
the question was to submit an amend |