The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-03-25
The Country's Buying and Selling.

1Nc country Duy IHS anu ocllHR.
: The 1NTELL1GENcER is so much in
earnest inits laudablo effort to rescuc
theperishing that it finds pleasure in
talking some more with the Register OH
the issue which it declares to DO of par
amount importance and which, we are
able to assure our neighbor, has live
interestfor tho people Of West Virginia
The material for this lesson will be
found in the Mckinley tariff act Of 1890
and in recent treasury statistics. Free
traders shouted from every stump and
ratified it off from every press that the
Mckinley act would play hob with our.
foreign commerce. To maintain show
Of the gift OF prophecy they are now ar
guing that this should DO SO and must
:, DO SO because the tariff is so high.
1t is real delight to knock away the
underpinning Of false statement and
bad prophecy. We hope to BIO favored
with the close attention of the Register
while tho labor OF love is going on.
In the Mckinley act nearly one-half
OF the articles are on the free list
against about one-third in the Mills
bill, which the Democratic national
convention OF 1855 specifically endorsed
and which was designed OH the British
basis OF q tariff for revenue only. The
Mckinley net opens to Americans the
freest international trade in the history
OF the country. al
In the twelve months ending with
March l, 1892, we bought from foreign
countries merchandise valued at $685.
1925 not only tho largest volume OF
imports ever brought into the country
in any period Of twelve months, but
larger by S202,990,6 94 than the average
OF the five next preceding years. 3
This does not indicate that the Nc
Kinley act has impaired the ability or
restricted the opportunity OF tho Amer
lean people to buy foreign commodities.
It is, a crushing answer to ono of tho
iavorite free trade theories and to q
point persistently sought to be made
against the whole theory OF protection
and in particular against the Mckinley
net. ,si,
Hero is a still more interesting fact.
More than half, or $40 per cent Of this
foreign merchandise was admitted free
OF duty. In the preceding period OF
twelve months, the greater part of
which time was covered by the tariff OF
1883, only little moro than onc-third,
36.sl per cent, OF imports came in free.
e This knocks away another Of tho free
trade props and is another vindication
%of the Mckinley measure.
In respect of m crchandiso sold to for
eign countries tho exhibit is no less
gratifying-except to free traders. For
the twelve months ending with March /,
lso2, wo exported merchandise to tho
value OF 1908, 779,7H, practically a round
thousand millions dollars worth sold
abroad to people who, tho free traders
I said, were not going to buy OF us because
We were putting on their manufactures
prohibitory tariff.
Our sales to foreign countries last
year exceeded by the enormous total OF
s294,263,7ss tho average exports Of tho
next preceding five years. This lays
out another FREQ trade argument as cold
as q dead mouse.
This is not NIL. In the twelve months
s ending March !, 1892, we sold to foreign
countries Sl7l,GS7,537 moro than wo
bought from them, and they had to pay
tho difference in money.
So that, to sum up, under, tho McKin-
ley act We have just ended the largest
land most profitable years business i'll
tho country's history-thc largest vol
ume OF exports, the largest volume Of
imports, the largest volume Of imports