Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-10-02
OUR FOREIGN TRADE.
WILL OTHER NATIONS BUY OF US
IF WE DO NOT BUY FROM THEM2

England's Free-trade Policy and Hopes.
Our Tariff of 1S46-what Has Resulted
from Our Present Tarif-How to In
crease Wages.
Our farmers are now enjoying series
of forensic encounters between the ad-
vocates of Protection and Free-trade.
in which the Protectionist will be found
talking for American interests every
time, and the Free-trader will appeal for
tolerance or sympathy for some foreign
interest, generally British, as their heav-
lest contributions, both of ideas and
money, are derived from that source.
The suggestion, if not the argument, of
the Free-trade orator will be that, as
England is the largest purchaser of our
farm products, clearing our markets of
surplus which would otherwise be very
inconvenient, we should reciprocate and
admit her manufactured goods; that
England will not buy of us unless we
buy of her.
This is fallacy. England will buy
where she can buy the cheapest in the
future, as in the past. The foundation
idea of the British political economy.
Free-trade, is to sell dear and buy cheap,
keeping the wages of operatives at the
lowest possible point, SO that the profits
of the completed transaction shall be at
the maximum.
England adopted Free-trade only when
her statesmen knew their country supe-
riorto all others in abundance of money.
in organization and in facilities of trans
portation, which gave her at that time
the cheapest freight rates of any coun-
try in the world. The measure was
adopted without regard to the interests
of her farming population, who are being
eliminated.
1t was the hope of England that all
the world would grow raw produce to
sell to her for her manufacture and con-
sumption, taking portion of it back in
payment, England charging her own
price for transportation each way; that
the world should ''sell her skins for a
sixpence and buy back the tails for
shilling"
When England devised Free-trade
and induced US to accept it also she
thought to offer US the only market for
our farm produce. She intended to keep
the only shop at which we could buy
Our tariff of 1916 gave her such start
in that direction that the balance Of
trade on merchandise against us was
over one thousand and five hundred
million dollars, a sum paid in gold and
bonds for goods we find we can manu-
facture cheaper and better than those
she sold. while we have debt to her re-
quiring the transmission of about one
hundred million dollars yearly as inter
est money.
These vast sums she has Immediately
invested, largely in countries intended
to compete with Us in the sale of farm
produce. The efforts of the Free-traders
seem to be directed to increasing the
capital which England can so employ ir.
the future.
Under our present tariff laws over five
hundred million dollars worth of mer-
chandise was brought into this country
the last fiscal year, all of which could
have been manufactured here This
sum at an average of $500 per capita
would have supported quarter of
million people, whose expenditure for
American farm produce Of all kinds can
not be put at less than twenty-five
million dollars, whereas if they were en-
ployed in England-our largest customer
for such productivity would not take
much over million dollars worth
Free-traders also claim that a tariff
enabling US to afford the employment
five hundred million dollars would pay
for would not increase the wages of
those so employed.