The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-01-11
METHODS OF THE DEMOCRATS.
They Believe In Retaliation Rather Than
Reciprocity.


They Believe In Retaliation Rather Thas
Reciprocity.
The senate, it will be remembered,
moved by the energetic craftsmanship
of James G.. Blaine, inserted in the
Mckinley tariff bill. after it had been
passed by the house, the reciprocity
provisions The house accepted them,
and thus the tariff law of 1890 became
powerful factor in the promotion Of
our foreign trade. The law admitted
number of products f-ce-sugar,
coffee, hides, etc.-but provided that,
if the countries exporting these i'm
posed extreme duties on certain prod
ucts of the United States the execu-
tive should have power to impose GER
tain specified rates of duties on the
imports from those countries. The re-
suit was the prompt negotiation Of
eiprocity agreements with all the
countries of South America exporting
these articles to the United States,
with Spain, as TO our trade with Cuba
and Porto Rico; with Germany, and
one or two other countries. The plan
worked well. Our exports of -four
and grain. pork and beef, butter, lard,
etc, increased steadily, and this in
crease would have continued had the
reciprocity law been maintained.
But the democratic party had Bit
terly autagonized Mr.. Blaine's Pan
American policy. and his views on rec
iprocity as embodied in the tariff law
of 1890. The democratic orators and
newspapers were never weary of abus-
ing and misrepresenting it; and of
course reciprocity was marked for de-
structiOn as soon as the democracy
came into power. The present tariff
law repeals all the reciprocity pro-
visions OF the former law. and imposes
a duty on sugar. The result has been
that the nations with whom we had
reciprocity agreements have promptly
receded therefrom. There was nothing
to be gained bv further adhesion to
the low duties on imports from this
country. They were showing us
favOrs, and we were not reciprocating.
So the old duties were reimposed by
Spain on American products imported
into the West Indies, and Germany has
begun a war on our food imports, re-
taliatory in its nature, because of the
duties we impose on her sugar.
What will be done in the case of Ger
many remains to be seen; but with
Spain the administration has begun a
policy of retaliation. That country
has low tariff schedule and high
tariff schedule. Favored nations are
given the advantage of low duties,
while nations on the blacklist can
only ship goods into Spanish territory
by the payment of high duties. The
United States is on the black list so
far as relates to Cuba, while Canada is
favored with a low tariff arrangement.
The state department has been del
uged with complaints from all quar-
ters, and especially from the flour in
terests, that Cuban duties are pro-
hibitive and that Canada is getting all
of the export trade that the United
States formerly had.
Hence a cablegram has been sent to
Madrid which intimates to the Spanish
government that if trade discrimina-
tions against the United States do not
cease measures will be adopted by the
president for the protection of Amer
lean commerce under the authority of
the act of congress of August 1S, 1890.
empowering him TO stop the importa-
tion of goods from countries that per-
sist in such determinations. 1t is un-
derstood that while this notice is
served on Spain. it is intended as a
warning to all other nations, and an
intimation that an embargo may be
put upon imports from Germany, Dem
mark, France and other countries.
Secretary Gresham, as the country
well knows, has an itch to develop for
eign policy-and that without any nee
essary qualification of craftsmanship.
He showed his discretion. however. in
making his bluff at weak and decay
ing nation. and not at Germany, who
is, after all, the chief offender. What
the outcome will be none can tell. But
it ought to be clear that reciprocity is
a better international policy than re-
taliation, and that the Blaine idea is
infinitely better than the Gresham
bluff-TOledO Blade,