The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-05-07
cCNFEsslNG THE TRUTH

4 Protection Organ Secs Great Light
Exports. Imports and Balance of Trade.
The American Economist is the week
1y paper published by the American Pro
tectiYe Tariff league for the dissemina-
ton of protective ideas. Itgoes into the
Offices Of a large number of country pa
pers III sympathy with protection, for
the purpose of enlightening the brethren
in the beauties Of protection.
This Economist is an ''amoosin' little
cnss." 1t has for long time been try
ing to disprove the law that a nation
cannot sell unless it will buy, and that
in international trade, therefore, exports
and imports must always be equal, or
nearly so. In casting about for facts
with which to undermine this funda-
mental principle of trade The Economist
absurdly enough examined the statistics
of trade between two countries only,
rather than the simple and more OBJ
viously correct method of comparing the
| exports and imports of each country
/ singly.
After The Economists method of proof
it could point to the fact that our exports
to England exceed our imports from the
country by about 5000, 200, 900. Yet it
| is well known that our imports from the
| American markets south of us are now
more than 800, 600, 900 above our ex-
ports to them, and The Economist
| knows that England and the United
States exchange their debts in those
countries, we sending England an excess
Of agricultural products, and England
paying our debt i'll South America and
the West Indies with manufactured
products which we try to exclude through
high tariffs. In this way, by bills of ex.
change, international debts are trans.
ferred, and so in the long run exports
and imports will always be made equal
There may be in some cases a large
excess of imports over exports, as is true
OF England, to pay interest on foreign
Investments, ocean freights. insurance
premiums, etc, or exports may be greater
than imports, as is the case with rs, il
paying out commodities to meet thos.
same expenses.
This is all very obvious, is in fact the
~, II, " VI ltIttI IdllOIil tIdut. Du
nobody would have expected to Sc,
The Economist admit it, considering it
frantic efforts to prove the contrary. Il
a late number, however, The Economis
says:
probably no economic law is NOR
! rigid than that nations imports mus
) in the long run be paid for by its ez
ports. If its export of goods falls shor
it must make up the deficiency by its ez
port of gold and silver If these ar
{ continuously exported the consequen
scarcity of gold and silver money vii
produce poverty and depression of price
until the import of goods is checked an
the outflow of merchandise is enlarged
Just what you have been denying a
along, and just the position taken b
: the opponents Of McKinleyism all owe
the world. Now, after The Economis
! has learned the alphabet Of trade, let
go Il step further, put two letters tx
i gether, and see if it does not inevitabl
g follow from this rigid law that foreig
n nations cannot increase their purchase
: of our farm products and manufacture
0 except as we increase our purchase
8 from them; and that therefore whe
8 we erect tariff barriers to diminish in
ports we thereby strike blow at OF
7 export trade; that in protecting OF
: manufactures in the home market W
injure our farmers in their foreign ma
bot