The record-union., 1895-07-02

IcDTS8eQL the
writer's. All communications must be accom-
panied by the name of the writer, not for
publicatton unless SO desired, but aS GuafAn.
tD0 Of good fatth.-EDa
An Open Letter.
To the Marine Journal of New York, which
wages protection for shipping, but objects
to having protection granted TO staple agri-
culture.
The Marine Journal, in its issue of
June 22d, contains an editorial criticisirg
the proposition Of protection to staple ag-
riculture by an export bounty. Before
beginning my reply proper, wish to re-
mark thar there is much of the personal,
therefore of the irrelevant, immateriai
and incompetent in this editorial which
does not belong to sober criticism. Some
writer has said: There is no accounting
for style.n I am inclined to differ with
him. A vulgar, bullying style may be
the outcome Of inherited tendencies or
acquired bad habits which can be modi-
fed by moro liberal education. II the
editor of the Marine journal is not too
old, or too confirmed In his Objectionable
methods. he may profit by the above OBJ
servation. shall endeavor to crlticise
suchs portions of his editorial pertinent
TO the subject.
He saws that s'the Pacific Coast people
who have undertaken to indorse the
scheme, must have allowed their memo.
ries to become clouded in regard to the
history and tendency OF our ship-buIld-
ing industry, also uninformed on the
subject Of protection for 1t from national
point of view."
This seems to be gratuitous insult to
the people of the Pacific Coast. We shall
presently observe that the Pacific Coast
people, in their Endorsement OF this
proposition, did not "permit their
memories to be clouded," nor were they
''uninformed on the subject of protection
for 1t or from a national point Of view."
The Marine Journal says: 1T Is not q
matter of evidence that our agricultural
industry is in need of any greater pro-
lection than it at present receives directly
or Indirectly"
If the editor of the Marine Journal re-
fers to that kind and class of agricultural
products of which no surplus is produced
for export. he is right; buff he includes
In this the great agricultural staples OF
which we produce a surplus, then he IS
wrong.
Ample and indisputable evidence is at
hand that we do export agricultural
staples to foreign countries. The evil
dence is also ample and indisputable that
the foreign buyer will pay the American
exporter no more for his surplus than
this foreign buyer can procure the same
tine, Russia, India, Egypt and North
Africa, for instance, Or in other words:
1nasmuch as England is the principal
buyer of the surplus agricultural staples,
and as Liverpool is the central market
for this surplus, 1t follows that the world 8
price of the surplus is the Liverpool price
less cost of transportation from any place
of production to Liverpool. The surplus
is, therefore, sold at the worlds free
trade Drices in direct cOmDetition, with the
cheapest land and labor countries of the
word.
AS soon as we accept the worlds free
trade Liverpool price for the surplus
agricultural products, we must also
accept the same price for the
greater quantity sold for home
use. Because this is so, the entire vol
ume of agricultural staples produced
in our country (as long as there is a sur
plus must be sold as the worlds free
trade prices in direct competition with
the cheapest land and labor countries OF
the world.
That this is true must be evident to
every Intelligent mind. Should the Marine
Journal still have doubts on this point, I
refer him to House of Representatives Re-
port, No. 1899, Fifty-third Congress,
third session. On page 80 is the tesIi-
mony OF George f. Stone on this propo-
sition, and who gave it in his official
capacity as Secretary of the Chicago
Board of Trade, and in which is the fol-
lowing: mo domestic buyer will pay one
single fraction of a cent more for single
bushel Of wheat than the buyer for the
export will pay. If the Marine Journal
is still in doubt. let it take this article to
the New York wheat pit or to the cotton
exchange, and, upon Investigation, 1t
will learn that this is absolutely a fact.