The record-union., 1891-01-20
TALLYRAND ON AMERICA.

We resume our brief review of the
criticisms of Tallyrand upon America,
based upon his observations while thirty
months in the United States in the first
period Of the infant republic
One of the most striking of the criti-
cisms of the great diplomatist concerns
his idea of the relation of proper circu-
lating medium to the rights of property.
He says in his memoirs, now for the first
time made public in this country, through
the enterprise of the Century Magazine:
Only twelve years had elapsed since the
United States had ceased to be 4 colony. and
the years OF their independence had been lost
tor their prosperity, owing to the inefficiency
of their first constitution The basis of their
public trust not having been properly Defined
a paper money, more or less discredted,
reused -, ,everlybody's cnpidity, encouraged
caused the institutions necessitated by the re.
cent independence of the country to be lost
sight OF. II was only in 1888, at the time of
the new Federal Constitution, that property
in the United States began to rest on truly
solid foundations, that social guarantees Sc
curing the safety of foreign Intercourse were
shaped and that the government of the young
nation was admitted to rank with older
powers. That is the true date of
the foundation of the United States.
Tallyrand relates with a sort of amused
expression that he engaged in solving the
problem of the new customs tariff adopt
ed by the American Congress. While
contemplating the subject, however, he
became acquainted with Alexander Ham
ilton, and in his memoirs quotes freely
from the expressions Of that brilliant
statesman and protectionist, who criti-
cised severely, but with the grace of the
scholar, the economists of Europe, whom
Tallyrand did not much defend; never
thelcss, he could not abandon the idea of
some generous combinations that would
result in the mutual advantage of all COM
mercial nations. That is to say, the idea
of reciprocal exchanges was firmly
planted in the mind of the French diplo-
mat and statesman.
Tallyrand's views upon the question
referred to may be stated in another form
Unsound finance makes property in
secure, because it makes value uncertain
and disturbs the balance between the
various kinds of property, That is what
in a measure, radical protection does. 1t
disturbs the relation between values of
property by putting a fictitious value upon
some and leaving the unprotected property
to take an actual value-that is, the value
determined always by the number of
days work it requires to produce any
article.
Suppose, for instance, that it takes ten
days of skilled labor to produce the arti-
Gle A, and ten days of skilled labor to pro-
duce the article B; they would exchange
as equivalents by the standard of the
number of days labor it took to produce
| them. Suppose A has protection and B has
not. 1t makes the labor expended on
y of a higher valuation, and Immediately
has tendency to discourage labor on B.
Now, when great realm of things is
protected, and another great realm of
things is unprotected, there will be a ten
dency for everybody to crowd the labor
into the realm of protected things. 1t is
for this reason that the rural spirit has
declined, not because of the unprofitable-
ness of the article produced, but because
of the high cost of things it converts itself
into.
And this brings the reader to Tally
rand's further consideration of the error
| that fosters speculation and commerce to
the neglect of agriculture and of rural
living, He says:
had noticed whilst travelling in the States
that agriculture was less encouraged than
commerce, that having to choose between two
sources of prosperity, Government had caused
the scale 10 fall in favor of commerce, and still
recently emphasized its intention, by adding
TO all the real wealth of the country the ficti-
tlous one procured by all the banking estab-
lishments which have sprung up everywhere
in the States, and serve exclusively the ends
of commerce Such directions once adopted
vanity and cupidity could not help soon to
denounce wisdom, moderation or simple pro-
bity, narrow views.
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