Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1891-09-30
Famine and Fair Trade.

MT. mural dalsteau DOasts tnat
our wheat crop is moving out at the
rate of million bushels day.
Where is it going, Mr.. Halstoad ?
To Cuba, to Brazil, to Buenos Ayres,
or to any of the purely agricultural
countries of South America with
which by grace of Mr.. Blaine we
would be allowed free trade?
You hardly need answer, for, every
one, knows it is going to Europe. And
everyone knows, why it is going there.
1t takes a famine there to move it
over the wall set up between the west
and its European market by the Nc
Kinley bill.
Take down the report of the Harri-
son Bureau of Statistics on the COM
MERGE and navigation of the United
States for 1890 and you will see there
that our exports of wheat to Germany
for an entire year are given as mine
bushels valued $11." There are your
figures, when there is no famine to
overcome your protection" of the
Mississippi basin from its European
customers.
Money is controlled in Europe by
usurers, as it is here. 1t is as scarce
as it is here. When the workers of
Europe are not allowed to give their
products for ours in ordinary years,
they go on short rations and we get
little or nothing for our wheat and
corn. In famine years the famine
forces the use of European money
which would not be so used otherwise,
and our surplus goes out at better
prices, but we could still get 80 per
cent. more in goods for our wheat if
we were allowed freer access to the
European market than we get now
when we are not allowed to exchange
it, but must take money, which is
high in Europe while goods are cheap,
and which must be spent here for
goods at trust prices.
The famine moves our wheat sur.
plus, but it does not remove the in
justice which shuts the Mississippi
basin off from Europe. The Republi-
can party says to the west "You
may sell in Europe, if you can, and
at what you can. That does not con-
Germ us. But you must not buy
there. European prices for what you
wish TO buy are too cheap. Gold is
as high there as it is here. So you
must take gold for what you sell. In
stead of buying cheap European goods
with your wheat you must buy from
the Industrial States only which
cannot afford to allow you to buy in
Europe. If you cannot sell there
without buying, you will haye all the
more to sell, and at lower prices, to
the Industrial States" And so it
takes famine to move our crop sur
plus to Europe, and so even ia fam
inc year we are not allowed fair
price for our wheat. A fair price for
it this year would be $3.50 a bushel
in European goods. IF we can get
81 in gold we will do well, and of this
81 at least 40 cents will he taken for
the protected profits of the northwest
when we buy our supplies. 1t has
been taken already, in fact, and the
best we can hope to do now in fam
inc year is to catch up with the over
due interest OH our farm mortgage.
We cannot have famine in Europe
every year, Mr.. Halstead, but under
Republican legislation the trade Of
the Mississippi basin with Europe is
taxed every year by duties against
return cargoes. One of these days
the west is going to break its way to
Europe, custom houses or no custom
houses. 1t cannot afford to rely on
famine years to move its crop surplus.
st. Louis Republic.