The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-02-12

month to be the largest in our his
tory, although the excess over the
imports of December. 1888, amount
ed to less than $500, 600 But,
in view of the unusual quantity Of
goods imported during the summer
and early fall Of 1890, in anticipa-
ton Of the Mckinley bill, it is sur
prising that the volume Of imports
in the later months of the year
should have been so well maintained.
The stimulation given to imports
by the proposed new tariff is mani
fest if we compare the imports Of
1890 with those Of 1880 During
the six months ending December 81.
1890 the imports amounted to
$412, 191, 230 During the CORES
ponding period Of 1889 they were
1878, 1872, 1857. For the year 1890
the imports were 1923, 318, 1872,
and for 1889, $40, 521, 965.
The new tariff bill, it must be
conceded, has disappointed it's APP
ponents as regards its effects upon
imports. We are confident that it
will continue to disappoint them,
and that with the growing prosper
ity of the country cur imports will
steadily increase This is in har-
mony with the Protective doctrine,
and with experience. These i'm
ports will be limited more than
hitherto to such things as this coun-
try does not produce. Our own in
dustries will be developed and
widened. The larger exports Of
our manufactures will force q re
turn in such things as we want.
The increasing wealth of the nation
will demand greater supply Of
luxuries, the product Of foreign
climes or foreign skill, which our
own land does not yield or our own
workmen have not yet learned to
fabricate.
If the imports fail to show injuri-
Gus effects from the Mckinley bill,
our exports give equally decisive
evidence. Those of the month Of
December were the highest for any
one month in our history, amount
ing to 1913, 439 $50, exceeding by
nearly ST, $780, 600 the exports of
December, 1889. For the six
months ending December 81, 1890,
the total exports fell about 100000
behind those for the same period in
1889, but for the whole year 1890
the exports exceeded those Of 1889
by more than 500, 600, 600, and
reach the enormous sum of 1857
523, $40. It is gratifying to OBJ
serve in this connection, and to con-
firm our predictions of the increase
OF manufactured exports under the
new tariff, that the proportion Of
miscellaneous exports, including
manufactures, was greater in De
cember, 1890, than in December,
1889, while the proportion of crude
materials exported was less.
We have in previous issues Of
this paper pointed out that this
country has already reached the
point where nearly one-half (or ex-
Guiding cotton, quite one-half) Of
it's exports are manufactures-see
AMERICAN ECONOMIST, December 26,
1890. From this time on it may
be safely anticipated that the pro-
portion of our exports Of crude
products will steadily diminish IN
til we shall be known to the world
as an exporter of manufactures,
and as an importer of crude pro
ducts. The markets Of the world
will then contribute to our wealth
and give employment to our indus
tries, as for generations they have
done for England. But we shall
have reached this condition by a
policy dramatically opposed to
that which England has pursued.
Thanks to the American Protective
system, the American farmer will
not have been sacrificed nor the
American workman degraded for
the benefit Of either the banker,
the importer or the manufacturer
The wages and profits of the farm
er and the workman will be main
tanned or advanced, and the pro-
ducts of the farm and the factories
will find their way into the markets
Of the world, cheapened by that
combination Of skill and intelligence
which is possible only among a peo-
pie who have reaped the benefits Of
protection in wages, education and
social advancement. = Anaerjc03a
Economist