The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-20
AFFAIRS ABROAD.

The new commercial treaties which Ger
many has negotiated with Austria and
Italy have rather disturbed the other ma
tions who are outside the combination.
The very purpose of the treaty, apart from
the mutual benefit which, freer trade is
likely to give, is the exclusion of French
and Russian products from those countries
The manufacturers of those countries are
somewhat alarmed at the prospect. In
England, as the Tribune correspondent
says, the new commercial treaties between
the powers who compose the Triple alliance
put the English critic into a dilemma. He
approves, if he is sensible critic, of the
Triple alliance. He sees that these new
treaties strene then that alliance, and he
must, therefore, approve of them as well as
the alliance, but he is also faee-trading
critic, and free trade is q subject on which
sense is not to be looked for in this country.
The treaties are protectionlst, and, as a
Tree trader, he must condem nWhat as poll
tlclan he applauded. In these perpleXing
clrcums tances the wise elect to remain
silent. The less wise are exhausting them
selves by futile effort to demonstrate that
these agreements are both good and bad,
and TO adjust the proportions of goodness
and badness
The treaties in their present form are
the nearest approach Europe has seen to
the American system. Germany, Austria
and Italy do not open their frontiers to
each other, as the American states do and
must, but they discriminate in each others
5evor. They constitute a new zollVerein
for Central Europe The powers who are
left out in the cold do not like it. France
does not like 1.-THE same France
which in her moments of patriotic
enthusiasm refuses TO send pictures
to Berlin exhibition and
talks of excluding German goods and the
Germans themselves from her sacred soil
She likes their policy the less because the
| lesser powers are invited to share its ad-
vantaRes. If they accept-as some of them
will, if not all-they inevitably become
parties for some purposes to the Triple al
lance. Their economical interests will
bind them in political partnership with
Germany. What France and Russia have,
therefore, to consider is the division of
| Europe into two politico-economical camps,
themselves holding one against all the rest
OF Europe, England excepted. No wonder
the prospect is not pleasing to the patrio tic
| E'renchman.
The committee of the British board of
trade has been discussing the new treaties
and finds that the most favored nation
clause, which is, of course, not applicable
to Great Britain, has been In great meas
ure nullihed by the extensive and va
ried manipulation of tariffs which
has been carried On by the Chief
contracting parties in these new. ar
rangements. Thus, the duties on cotton
yarns have been augmented directly to the
prejudice of England. Whenever any du
ties have been redeemed, as in the case Of
sewing machines imported into Austria
from this country. it has been with vieT
to stimulate the German trade, which i!
chiefly in the cheaper grades of machines
TO the injury Of the American and English
trade, which deals mainly with superior
machines.
The board of trade committees will rec.
ommend the government to negotiate
special commercial treaty with the Euro
pean Zollvereln, to counteract its one
; sided arrangements leaving England out il
, the cold.
The Times doubts whether Chancellor vol
Caprivi's plan of forming alliances to Sc
cure a food supply in the event of war viii
prove more trustworthy resource thar
the alternative of maritime supply. The
question of contraband will not be deter
mined by belligerents alone. On the con
trary, it is pretty clear that the decidini
, voice will be that of a strong power lik
England or the United States, at one
neutral and maritime.