The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-06-11
If You Don't Buy You Can't Sell"


Our venerable transatlantic con-.
temporary, the Lr0n and Steel 1raaes
/ourudI, after quoting good part
of President Harrison's Galveston
speech, remarks with that air Of
great wisdom habitual and due to It's
strict orthodoxy as an economist Of
the Manchester persuasion:
Whilst American manufacturers
are "protected" by high tariffs, we
need have no fear Of serious compe-
titlon from them in the markets of
the world.
This is all very we'll from tie
standpoint of the Manchester phil
osophers, who, like Descartes, find
that it is always safe to assume any
proposition to be tact which is
necessary to their theory. But every
one who has taken notice Of the
course of our trade knew before
reading Senator Aldrich's speech at
the Protective Tariff dinner that OR
competitor with England in manu-
featured goods was increasing, and
the recent shipment Of Fl locomo-
tives TO Australia does not look as if
their fears Of serious competition, in
the markets Of New South Wales, at
least, are set entirely at rest by our
"high tariff"
This, however, is not all. The
Journal continues
President Harrison's remarks read
we'll, but it is hard to reconcile them
With the policy of the government.
The citizens Of the United States by
their tariff laws express their inten-
ton of restricting their relations
with foreign nations, and now the
President talks of encouraging and
developing the foreign trade of the
country.
We don't happen to understand
Mr.. Blaine's reciprocity policy that
way, and doubt if the /ournaI does.
But that is probably question as to
whether England is held to COM
prise all of the foreign nations. The
cream of orthodox reasoning, how
ever, is found in the following:
The report of the United States
Consul General in London on the
trade between Great Britain and the
United States during 1889 shows
that Great Britain trades twice as
largely with the United States as
with any other country, and that the
States sell Great Britain twice as
much as they purchase from her.
one-fourth of Great Britain's
entire import trade consists of Amer
lean products, and about one-seventh
of her exports is purchased by the
United States. During the year
1850 the United States sent to Great
Britain goods to the value of 477,
ooo,o 900 dolls, and bought in return
2Io. ooo, 900 dolls. worth Of goods.
We buy food from America because
it is to our advantage to do SO, ard
we have no right to complain be-
cause the Americans will not take
goods in exchange to the full value
of our importations. The barriers
raised against our goods on the 9TH
er side Of the Atlantic injure Ameri-
can commerce at least as much as
they do British trade. International
trade means the exchange of com
modities, and a nation refusing to
buy from other countries must
eventually lose the power of selling
to them.
Now, regarding the loss of power
to sell, predicted above, it is of ir-
terest to note that IN 1861 we re-
the protective policy of the
fathers of the Republic; and in
I 500 the total value Of our exports
of domestic merchandise was $780,
242,423 and the total value of our
foreign commerce in merchandise,
bullion and certificates of
such as railroad bonds
was s687,1o2,176, but the total of
our trade with Great Britain for
1889 was, as seen above, s6o6,ooo,-
300, or about nine million dollars
more than our total trade thirty
years before. Ard our exports to
The United Kingdom during the fs-
2al year 1880 were s161,o 900, or
more than SO per cent. greater than