St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-01-09
IF YoR SELL, YOU MUST BUY.

Secretary Morton, in his annual report,
speaking Of the interdependence of ex-
ports and imports, says: "And thus
the question will thus be presented to
the American mind: Can any country
shut out the commodities and products
of other nations without shutting in a
value eqnai to that of the things
shut out?" At no two points are the
free traders and the protectionists more
opposed to each other. except possibly
on the question as TO whether the for
eigner or the domestic consumer pays
the tax, than on the proposition that in
the final summing up there is an equa-
ton of values between exports and i'm
ports, and that exports will be- impossible
without the other term of the equation,
the imports. In other words, we cannot
sell abroad if we do not buy abroad
This MAY be expressed in the statement
that in its last analysis international
trade is but barter.
The accuracy of the proposition for
which the secretary contends that
1--WE cannot shut out commodities and
products of other nations without shut
ting IN value equal to that of the
things shut out"-will be E:ore readily
eomprehended and brought within the
average focal plane by an illustration
which the dullest protectionist can
sense.
Every merchant, no matter how large
or how small may be the volume of his
business, conforms his purchases of
wares to the buying capacity of his
customers. If he buy more than they
will purchase of him the surplus lies
idle on his shelves, representing SO
much idle capital, with the loss liable to
come from deterioration and changes in
the market. He knows that the pur-
chasing capacity of his customers is linn
tied by the quantity of the products of
their labor which they have to sell.
They cannot buy more in value than
the value of what they have to sell
without soon mourning bankruptcy. If
they produce nothing they can buy
nothing; if they buy not they cannot
sell, and, first and last, they will buy
quantity equal in value to that of their
produce sold.
This is true of any single instance in
any community in this country, and
what is true of one is true of all. The
same laws of trade operate equally
whether upon one individual or upon
aggregations of individuals which con.
stitute the nation. The surplus products
of the nation, beyond what the people
can consume, must find a market justas
surely as the surplus OF any Individual
N he
stands for the single merchant in our
illustration, and the exporters represent
the merchants customers, the latter
gathering up the surplus products of the
nation and bringing them to their only
market. just as the merchants custom
ers take their surplus to their local
market. The importers, as does the
single merchant, study the wants of the
country and import the goods necessary
to meet them, measuring their purchases
by their Judgment of the purchasing
capacity OF the country, and the measure
of this to them is the value of the sur
plus sent abroad. AS these exports in
crease imports increase, and as they de-
crease the imports necessarily fall off.
The nation no more than the community
can buy unless it sells. and the one no
more than the other can sell unless 1t
buys.
This proposition may be demonstrated
also in another way. Suppose that,
either by legislation or by general con-
sent, the people of this country should
determine to buy nothing made outside
of their borders, and that this determi-
nation should take effect in this opening
OF our new year. They agree that they
will take nothing for the products
which they send abroad except money.
Everything indicates that our exports
for this year will equal, If not exceed.