Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-05-05
THE TRADE BALANCE.
THE OLD IDEA THAT HEAPS or GOLD
AND SILVER MEAN PROSPERITY.

What the Excess Of Exports over I'M
ports Really Means-some Startling \
Figures Showing That the Mckinley Bill
Has Really Decreased Our Commerce.
A century or more ago, when the laws
Of trade and the nature and function OF |
money were little understood, states
men believed that the wealth Of coun-
try was to be estimated by the quantity
of gold and silver in it. Their policies
were accordingly directed TO drawing as
much of these metals as they could from
other nations. They stimulated exports
by granting bounties on them, and
checked imports even by laws as severe
as the Mckinley bill, hoping that in this
way they would maintain favorable
"balance of trade" which other nations
would be compelled to pay them in the
precious metals.
these ideas, although long exploded,
are such essential parts of the protective
system that they are continually crop
ping out in the arguments as they con-
tinually live in the thoughts of the de-
tenders of that system. Mr.. Blaine
himself reverted to them in his well
known letter about our trade with Cen
tral and South American countries two
years ago, and a leading organ of the
Mckinley school has lately pointed out
with great satisfaction the terrible ef-
fects of free trade on British commerce
in the great and steady adverse balance
of trade against the United Kingdom.
In other words the argument is that, as
her foreign commerce shows that for the
last ten years she has imported $3,000,-
600 more in merchandise than she has
exported, she has had to pay the diff
ference in money and is gradually sink
ing into ruin and bankruptcy. 1t does
not occur to them that with circulat-
ing medium of only about $700,OOO,O 900
she would have spent her last shilling in
/ little more than two years and would
long since have exhausted her credit,
: and they must be greatly puzzled to
I know why she has not collapsed or why
London is still the great money center
to which all borrowing countries go tc
effect their loans.
This very excess of imports over ex
; ports is, in no small measure, made VI
of the commodities sent from all part!
; of the world to pay debts and interes
due in England. 1t also represent
/. profits on exports and moneys earned il
the carrying trade of the world. In
:. stead, therefore, of being symptom o
exhaustion it is proof of the phenomena
increase in the wealth of this tradin!
/ country, and of how munifcently unde
/ her laws of free commerce the produc
of other lands and the abundance of tn
D seas are pouring into her lap. The yer
loans that she makes are not paid i'll he
! coin, but in the main by the exportatio
of her manufactured goods.
:, Let us see now what the report latel
issued by the bureau of statistics show
as to our own foreign trade during th
seven months ending Jan. 81 of thi
lie year. The first fact is the hollowness c
the claim that the Mckinley bill has il
es creased instead of decreasing our con
te merce. In the single item of breadstuf
W we exported more in value by $126,OOO
ig 900 than during the same period of tt
Is previous year, a fact due to the unprec
OF dented crops here and the unprecedente
I'D demand abroad. This is altogether e.
IS, ceptional, and but for this fact our fo
st eign trade would show a decrease
,k compared with that of the previous yea
K; But the special point to which | vii
y; AZ to call attention is that during the
10 10 seven months we exported $193,000,0 o.
n more than we imported. This is Il
,e, very state of trade that protection air
nd to bring about by its checking of il
ed ports. Now, of course, according to
as theories, we have only to turn to anoth
no table and we shall see that we collect
nf 'l9 the balance in gold and silver. But t
No. same report shows that our excess Off
ports of gold and silver was only $26, ,00
coo, leaving apparently a balance
S167, 100000 exports, for which we !
ed ceived nothing whatever. And wh
we turn to the report for February
lin find great aggravation of this enc
or mity, for we increased the excess of {
to ports of merchandise over $21 ,000, on
a and actually sent out $5,000,00 more
Sc gold and silver than we received. Ad
hin ing these to the amount already stat
ar and we find in eight months the gre
ere sum of $193,000,O0O merchandise a
of money "absent and unaccounted TO
q Truly, then, there are many things in
TED laws of trade, even when fettered by
ela Mckinley bill, that protection CAM
VS.: ac9oen' W. 49, --- wv -''