Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1892-03-16
Free Trade Shot at protection.

etfectually refutes all the arguments
of all the free traders in the country,
says the Toledo Blade. 1t is that
during the twelve months ending No
vember 30 we bought 1921, 800 less
than during the previous year, while
we sold 100000. This gratifying
fact is worth more to the country than
all the theories of free traders" Will
you kindly allow me to make few
remarks to this in the columns OF your
valuable papers
Let us see whether this fact is as
gratifying as the Toledo Blade tries
to make its readers believe, The OK
pectation of all protectionist papers is
that their readers take it for granted
that all we sell more than we buy
means cash in our pockets, They
have deluded the people by telling
them we must keep the foreign pau
per goods" out of this country and if
the foreigners want our surplus they
must buy for cash in American mar
kets. If we could do this we would
have in less than fifty years all the
money of the world in our country
and then we would live in a milleni-
UNI of gold and cash. Unfortunately
sometimes our experiences differ from
our wishes and expectations and |
beg to call the attention of the TRIB-
uNE and the Toledo Blade to fact
which is not quite in keeping with the
theories of protection. But before |
can show this fact | must make some
explanations. The editor Of the To
ledo Blade takes the twelve months
beginning Dec. l to Nov. 30. Our
fiscal year begins July LIST and ends
June 80. If the editor had taken the
twelve months Of the fiscal year he
could have used larger figures. Edi-
tors of such large papers as the
Blade ca0 well afford to buy the month
II reports Of the Bureau Of Statistics
of the Treasury Department.; but a
poor farmer as | am must be content
ed when he can get the annual report.
1t would take more than half Of the
wheat that 1 use the year around for
the bread for my family to buy the
monthly reports. presume the To-
ledo Blade got the same gratis ''for
services rendered to the cause of pro-
tection"-perhaps the editor got this
report in the same way as some aliens
get their naturalization papers-but
that doesn't matter. I would gladly
follow the editor Of the Toledo Blade
in his makeup of the year if [ had
his references before me. The read
ers of the TRIBUNE will see that he has
a great advantage Of me, yet I am
not afraid to meet the T. B. or any
other protectionist, no matter how
great my disadvantage may be.
There is common phraze, figures
prove. The Toledo Blade uses figures
and I have no doubt they are correct,
to prove to it's readers that protection
is better for this country than free
trade. If [ was protectionist I
would do far better than the T 3 7
would tell my co-protectionists that
for the fiscal year 1890 we exported
$SS0,076,O17 domestic merchandise, |
specie and our imports of the same
goods amounted to 1928, 1885, 35, leav-
ing a balance in our favor of S57, 1885,
2S2. This sum of our fifty-seven and
three-quarter millions is enough to tick !
tickle every protectionist in the, but I |
would make them jump out of their
boots by showing to them the figures |
from the last years report of the Blu
reau of Statistics, the same year the |
T. B. refers to. According to this re-
port, in 1891 our total exports were
81, O56, 186,O99 and our imports for the
same year amounts to $S99,409, 21O,
leaving sbalance in our favor of |
$156, 729,889. It will be seen by the
readers of the TRIBUNE that my figures
differ quite little from those of the |
Z. B., though both are correct and |
official, the difference is in the months |
as l have stated before It will be |
further seen that I can make as good
a show of figures for the cause of pro-
lection as any stalwart protectionist |
can make up and if this was the end |
of all the obtainable figures I would |
feel bound in honor and duty to sup
port the theory of protection. Do
these figures prove anything to
strengthen week protectionist? Not |
in the least,..except he is hoodwinked by |
the phrase Balance in our favor" For
years the Republican press has hum
buged it's unattentive readers by max
ing them believe balance in our favor
means cash in our pockets. The nine
ty-three millions of the T. B. and the
one hundred and fifty-six millions &C.
cording to my figures prove nothing
more and nothing less than that we
have sold and exported to foreign
countries SO much of taxable property
for which we have received no euuiva-
lence. Our exporters can have the
same atany time and from any trade on
the face Of the earth and then favor
it will balance our imports and exports
some time or they can invest their
credit in some foreign enterprise and