People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-09-30
RECIPROCITY.
The Showing Made by the Treasury Re-
ports For July-It Does Not Reciprocate
Worth a Cent


ports For July-It Does Not Reciprocate
Worth Cent.
The course of the trade of the United
States with those of the countries with
which reciprocity treaties have been
negotiated, is a curiosity which it is
difficult to understand. With some of
these countries our trade has actually
decreased since the removal of the OBJ
stacles to trade by the reduction or re-
moval of the import duties in both this
country and those with which we have
the treaties, while in the case of others
OF these countries there is no proper re-
lation between the effects upon imports
and exports.
The treasury report for July shows,
for the twelve months ended July 81,
1899, as compared with the correspond
Ing period one year previously, that we
increased our imports from Brazil by
the sum of SOS, 49, Sol worth, and for
the same period increased our exports
to Brazil by only s2,6OO,6SS worth. For
the former period the balance of trade
with Brazil was against us to the
amount of $40, 9l5, $50, while for the lat.
ter period this adverse balance has
swelled to sl12, 574,274.
The report for Cuba is for eleven
months. The United States increased
her sales to that country during these
eleven months by S6,44l,575 over the
corresponding eleven months before
reciprocity, and has increased her pur-
chases from that country by 81, 924, 464
During the period when we had no reci-
procity, the balance of trade against
this country in favor of Cuba was s49,-
7s4, 1872. Under reciprocity this adverse
balance has increased to $50, 277, 81 for
the corresponding period.
With Puerto Rico, fortune has. in a
small way, favored reciprocity. Thus,
for the eleven months of reciprocity,
we have increased our imports from
that country by only $685. $40, while we
have increased our exports to that
country by s556,67O, and have reduced
the adverse balance from s1,OS9, 900
without reciprocity to s66s,7OO with
reciprocity.
In the case of British West Indies,
reciprocity has been in effect for six
months. Both imports and exports
have decreased as compared with the
corresponding period last year, and the
balance of trade which was formerly
S5,96O,72 has been reduced to s4,67S,-
049.
With Salvador, our experience under
reciprocity has been even more sad
During the six months period we have
increased our imports by sS4S, 9S9 and
have decreased our exports by 5000,
increasing the adverse balance of trade
from $3.50, 1872 for six months without
reciprocity, to sl,69S,251 for the CORE.
spending period with reciprocity.
Our trade with British Guiana has
diminished on both sides, the imports
having declined from 81, 449, AS for the
six months ended July 81, 1891, to
s5i2,656 for the corresponding period of
1892, and our exports to that country
for the corresponding period have de-
clined from s57S,S to S577,S5S, chang
ing an adverse balance of trade to a
balance in our favor
In the cases of Guatemala and of
Austro-Hungary, we have slightly de-
creased our imports and have increased
our exports about the some amount,
but have left still balance against us
in both cases.
The aggregate showing is that our
exports to the reciprocity countries have
been somewhat increased, but, as in the
former showings summarized in these
columns, this increase has been at the
expense of greatly increased imports
from these countries and a much larger
balance of trade with them.
These results are doubtless disap-
pointing to both the advocates and the
opponents of the Mckinley law. To
the advocates it is far short Of an in
dorsement, while to the opponents it is
substantial argument against free trade,
apparently indicating that, with mar
kets on both sides free, American
traders are not sharp enough to sell a
dollars worth Of goods without buying
several dollars worth, and thus creating
debt to be paid in gold. kansas