The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-25
A DEATH BLOW TO RECIPROCITY.

The passage Of the Wilson bill will be a
accordance with the policy of this admins
tration as far possible to undo the acts
OF the last one The policy of reciprocity
mad Its origin in the passage of the Nc
hinley tariff law. 1t is based on the idea
OF securing the free admission of certain
American products into foreign countries in
return for the free admission of certain prod
ucts Of theirs into the United States. With
In two years after the passage of the Nc
Kinley act commercial agreements relating
to reciprocal trade had been negotiated with
Brazil. Dominican Republic. Spain for Cuba
and Porto Rico, Guatemala, Salvador, the
German empire, Great Britain for certain
West Indian colonies and British Guiana,
Nicaragua. Honduras and Austria-Hungary.
Every one of these treaties resulted in the
extension of our foreign trade by securing
the free or favored admission of an i'm
portant list of American products to coun-
tries where they were not freely admitted
before. This resulted in a considerable i'm
mediate increase of our foreign trade, with
prospect of much greater increase here
after. President Harrison in his last mes
sage to Congress in December, 1892 said:
The following statistics show the increase
in our trade with the countries with which
We have reciprocal trade agreements, from
the date when such agreements went into
effect up to Sept. 30, 1892, the increase being
m al 10nG vhnIl md in in,
important degree the result of these agree
ments The domestic exports to Germany
and Austria-Hungary have increased in
value from $n,6 100 to So. 993064, an in.
crease of 21.03 per cent. With American
countries the exports have increased from
SH l5O,2S to St6l3,59S. an increase of 1851
per cent. The total increase in the value
of exports to all the countries with which
we have reciprocity agreements has been
$2O772,62l. This increase is chiefly in wheat.
flour, meat and dairy products, and in man.
ufactures of iron and steel and lumber.
This was but the beginning of the increase
of trade under the reciprocity system, which
would have steadily increased had the policy
been continued. Down to and including the
month of May. 1898, the trade with each of
the countries with which we had reciprocity
agreements was given in the monthly sum-
mary statement of exports and imports is
sued by the Treasury Department. Since
that time this statement has been omitted.
According to the statement of last May the
exports from the United States to Cuba and
Porto Rico during twenty-one months under
reciprocity amounted to s42,S6S,5i7 as COM
pared with $25. 2SS. 464 during the last period
Of twenty-one months prior to the reciproc-
ity agreements, being increase of ST.
5s3, OS3, or nearly 20 per cent. No reason has
been given for disseminating the publication
of the statistics referred to, and the only
conceivable reason is that they made too
favorable a showing for what ths Chicago
platform denounced as "sham reciprocity"
While the reciprocity section of the Nc
Kinley law is not in terms repealed by the
Wilson bill it might well be, for if it
becomes law there will be no inducement
for any foreign country with which we now
have reciprocity arrangement to continue
it. Finding that they can have free access
to the American market without making
any concessions in return they will imme-
diately restore the former duties on Ameri-
can products