The Lafayette gazette., 1893-07-01
THE RECIPROCITY HUMeUo.
tOss0s to American Commerce Under Re-
publican Rule.

THE. RECIPROCITY 6Om6O0.
Losses to American Commerce Under Re-
publican Rule.
In August, 1890, ME. Blaine, recog-
nizing that there was growing de-
mand for larger markets, suggested,
Reciprocity rs a palliative of the evils
of profession. In a speech delivered at
Waterville, Me-, August 90, 1890, Mr..
Blaine said:- II am here to speak of an
expansion of our foreign trade" Com
pairing the returns for 1889, he declared
that with the countries to the south of
us we had by commerce '1ost" $142,-
O00, 900 in ono year. With Cuba we
'Iost,,'' according to Mr. Blaine, SAL
00O, 900, as we imported $50, ,OOO, 900 and
exported only 1900, 900. With Brazil
we ''lost' S51. 200, 900, importing &c.,
O0o, 900 and exporting $4,000. 600. With
Mexico we ''lost" $40, ,OOO, 900, buying
s21, ,000. 600 and selling &nf, 100000. That
was Mr.. Blaine's idea of commerce;
that was his plea for reciprocity
Turning now to. the record of 1892,
under reciprocity we find an alarming
condition infinitely worse, according to
Mr.. Blaine's philosophy, than in 1889.
In 1892 we ''lost'' with Cuba $50, ,OOO, 900,
as against $40, 600, oooin 1889, importing
s7s, ,O0O, 900 and exporting only s,O0O,
600. With Brazil our 'losses'' in 1892
were s1o4, ,341, ,781, as against s51 ,o52, 723
in the clark year. of 1890. In 1892 we
imported $11S, ,633. GOA and exported only
Sal FAC, ,OO9. With Mexico our closes
in 1892 were S13.s13, ,526, against 50, 766,-
105 in 1889, our imports being SIS, 1O7,-
525, our exports only S13, goo, ,53l.
Throughout the record is the same.
The discrepancy between imports and
exports is growing at an enormous rate,
and if this discrepancy represents
''loss,'' as Mr.. Blaine contends, then we
are rushing, headlong to ruin.
1H~1.
in our exports was inevitable. Every
obstruction, natural or artificial, les
sens commerce; every removal of an OBJ
struction increases the volume of COM
merce. The relaxing of the, protective
principle led to an increase in ex-
changes, but absolute free trade would
have led to q fair exchange and to
larger exports. OF course this discrep-
stncy between imports and exports is in
no sense a ''loss,'' but it has its lesson.
Brazil. Cuba and Mexico offer us their
products at prices we are willing to pay,
and SO they sell to us in great quanti-
ties.
We offer to Mexico, Brazil ana Cuba
products of our mills at prices greater
than those named by Germany, France
and England, and SO our aeighbors send
their orders across the water. Com
merce will continue to run in these
channels until we revise our tariff for
our own benefit; until we relieve our
own people, manufacturers and con-
su1ners of outrageous burdens and en-
ter,comPcti+ 1.-Two markets on equal terms
with other nations. What we need is
not reciprocity, but free trade. We
must be able to show all nations that
onr manufacturers do not need ''protcc-
tion;'' that they are able to hold their
home markets against all comers and
are ready to undersell Europe in any
American n market.
Our protective tariff is a proclama-
tion to all nations that the American
manufacturers cannot compete on
equal terms with the manufacturers of
Europe. What would be thought of q
city merchant who advertised that he
could not sell goods at prices named by
his competitors? That is what Amer
lea does with it's protective tariff and
it's alleged treaties of reciprocity.
For these reasons we should abandon
the hypocritical prctense of reciprocity
and substitute for it the offer of Jeffer-
sons ''free commerce with all nations
But other reasons remain for this
change. A Washington dispatch says:
''Spain has imposed an excise tax real
1y equal to the duties RENTED by the
Mckinley bill.''
The same dispatch says the Brazilian
government is also making trouble over
the treaty with that country, but it
is not apparently violating the treaty
so fagrantly as the government of
Spain. It was understood when the
schedules of discri limitations in favor of
the United States were made that the
general scale of Brazilian import duties
might be raised The discriminate
in favor of this country We're based
upon reductions of 25 per cent on the
duties levied on imports from other
coun tries, whatever those might be.
Brazil took advantage of this arrange
ment to raise her dutiable schedules
after the reciprocity arrangement
wasmadc, and she was obliged to
do SO in order to obtain sufficient
revenues for carrying on the federal
government"
Well, America needs this duty-which
must ultimately be paid by the con-
sEmer-as much as it is needed by Spain
or Brazil A slight tax on coffee and
on sugar would relieve the treasury of
its embarrassments and supply the de-
ficit i'll the revenue. Abolish reciprocity
and give us as near an approach to free
trade as the necessities of our govern
ment justify.-Louisville Courier Jour-
nal.
Col. Clar<son doesn't know just
what the repu ublicans are going to do at
their Louisville May party, but he is
quite sure they will adhere to ''protec-
ton and sound money! and he hopes
the organization will ''make human
right, liberty and fair election still its
cardinal DOCTRINES In other words,
Col. Clarkson wants the republican
party to rally for the congressional