The morning call., 1892-07-14
AN ENGLISH yIEw OF AMERICA.

A political campaign does not often fur
nish more refreshing reading than an article
in recent number of the Liverpool Journal
Of Commerce on American Politics." The
writer begins with the admission that Eng
lishmen had been in the past rather proud
of their ignorance of American politics.
But the DEM cratic convention had given
the country a platform which England
would be interested in. The writer then
proceeds to tel why:
EngIisbmen are naturally all for freedom Of
trade, for. as tie carriers OF the world. their eX
istence depends upon an interchange Of com
mobiles between one nation and another. a
great prOporiiOn OF the people OF the United
States are Of the agricultural class, and win
cheap and practically unlimited land fOOdstuffs
can be grown, at comparatively low cost, on the
most gigantic scale. England is supreme as
manufacturing country this being the accumu-
lated inheritance OF ages OF free competition,
hard WORK and strong hands and muscles What
could be more natural thau the fTeest CONNER cal
intercourse between TWO nations SO wonderfully
well fitted 10 be The complement OF each other?
The industrial position the people of
the United States Should occupy is clearly
def ed. They should till the land and send
their surplus products to Europe. Europe
Will supply them with finished goods and do
United States has contended that their coun-
try should compete with European manu-
featuring countries on their own ground.
As tie old-established manufactures of
Europe could underSell American competi-
tors. the Americans have committed the
unpard0nable mistake. according TO British
reasoning, Of putting heavy import duties on
foreign goods. The writer admits that the
result of this form of taxation is TO cause a
rise in the rate of wages and an increase in
the profits Of the manufacturers. But he
cannot exactly make out who pays these
highest wages and increased profits. Not"
he says, "the unfortunate manufacturers in
England, for they merely leave Off sending
goods, close their works and 60 into the
bankruptcy court; and not the still more
unfortunate British workingmen, for they
pack up their traps and emigrate to the
States, y here they compete with the Amer
lean artisans for the augmented wages"
Leaving out of consideration the peculiar
mental construction of a man who considers
the case Of British workingman who goes
to the States and competes with American
artisans for their higher wages more un-
fortunate than the British manufacturer
who goes through bankruptcy, we may
doubt the correctness of the writer's answer
TO his own question. 1T IS manifest" he
says, that the extra cost Of the goods is
paid for by the people who buy them. and
in a country mainly agricultural these are
the farmers and those directly concerned
with the products Of the land"
This conclusion is oyerthrown by the
prices current of he day, which the British
writer must have overlooked. After thirty
years Of protection the prices of clothes,
cutlery, ironware ana all other articles that
are included in the necessaries and common
luxuries Of life are cheaper than when we
imported them from Europe.
The British writer then quotes in great
glee the tariff plank in the Democratic plat
form. Light is breaking. Life is still worth
living. There is a prospect that if the
Democrats succeed in the coming elections
the United States Will resume its old occu-
patton Of raising grain and buy its finished
goods Of British manufacturers.